Business continuity has been the focus for leaders navigating the unprecedented nature of the past 18 months. As the state of the pandemic continues to evolve, being up-to-date with the latest workplace trends can help companies ensure that they remain innovative and agile.
One recurring theme is having the modern tools needed to operate efficiently, especially with a distributed workforce. Because many teams are working in different places, and even different time zones, it is essential to have the right technology to make the workday move seamlessly.
These tools should include work processing and presentation programs, virtual communication platforms that make hosting and attending meetings easy, as well as organization and collaboration applications to keep teams working together and accountable.
Another trend emerging is the idea of how we communicate in the workplace. While attending a Zoom meeting can be effective, they can often be repetitive and hinder workflow.
That’s why keeping team members in the loop through asynchronicity and organizational tools makes it so each worker can show their work progress, while maintaining their productivity.
Lastly, how success is measured must be addressed too. While the number of hours worked and words typed may have once indicated work progress, measuring success is more nuanced nowadays.
Instead, setting short-term, attainable goals can help team members meet larger goals, while helping them understand where bottlenecks may be in the usual work process.