The "future of work" phenomenon is guiding organizations toward new outcomes, but for some reason, you may feel like your company is out of the loop. Your company culture may not be as collaborative as you'd like it to be, management may not be very supportive of new ideas, and technology at your company might seem out of date. You feel like the only person motivated to progress toward a better future, and you're lost in terms of how to reinvent your company.
Although it may seem like your company is suffering, there may be an opportunity for you to take action to improve collaboration where you work.
In order to succeed with the future of work, your company will need to rethink old habits and mindsets. Author Jacob Morgan talked about how T-Mobile managed to reinvent themselves after being thought of as a "dying brand." Below are some of the steps T-Mobile took to accomplish the future of work, mixed with our own advice for companies striving to change their workflows and outcome.
1. Follow transformative principles and update your values
Every company needs something to trigger change. When you're stuck in an old mindset, some sort of guideline needs to be made to get out of it. At ServiceRocket, we have specific values that keep us in check with what we're doing and how we're performing as a company. These principles can focus on teamwork, collaboration, helping employees to be themselves and really just anything to best guide your team to success. In order to transform your team, make sure the transformation can be envisioned — come up with a set list of principles and values. This list not only helps promote change, but is useful for the long run. In addition, it helps maintain a healthy company culture.
2. Incorporate new technologies, but also remember the importance of strategy
Make sure every technological tool you incorporate in your company is up-to-date, and make sure everything you're offering customers is up-to-date. If you want to see a technology transformation in the industry, make sure you're transforming yourself first. ServiceRocket, for example, uses the entire Atlassian suite as a company, in addition to offering training and implementation for the suite to our customers.
And while technology is important, remember that strategy is vital. Shoot for using collaborative tools, but remember how necessary a collaborative strategy and culture is to your company.
3. Rethink talent management, and management in general
Talent management is the foundation for the future of your company's work — the team is responsible for rebuilding your company from the ground up, with new people in roles that fit them best. In addition, talent management also establishes what it means to work at your company. Is your HR team hiring valuable players? Are they making sure each person hired is adding to the collaborative and diverse company culture? These are questions you should be asking yourself. In order to reinvent your company for the future of work, reexamine your talent team and rebuild the function completely. If you have the right talent in the right place, your company is sure to soar.
In terms of general management, be sure that leaders are endorsing and supporting any change needed to guide your company toward the future of success. Without influential leader decisions that benefit and support collaboration, driving strategy forward will be difficult. The hiring of leaders who value the "future of work" mindset will provide powerful instruments for change.
Keep these three ways in mind, and your company will surely be led to a new future of success.
Call for comments
- How do you define "future of work"?
- Have you seen other companies (besides T-Mobile) take the same route to the future of work?
- In what way is your company struggling to work toward a new future?
