Future of organizational change

 “Change is great. Change is a new possibility. It’s changing that’s hard. Therefore, managing change is one of the greatest challenges any organization faces” says Kevin Murphy who is an expert partner in Washington, DC in one of his articles (Murphy, 2021). The covid-19 pandemic has had a lasting impact on the future of work. It’s imperative that HR leaders evaluate the longer-term impact of these trends and the degree to which they will change strategic goals and plans. Current trends in business and technology after the pandemic show that the way employees work has and will continue to change over the next decade bearing little resemblance to work as it stands today (Turner, 2022).

The following are a few things that will eventually come as organizations change soon.

1.              Hybrid work becomes mainstream

Many organizations in the world have already started hybrid workforces by now. With 75% of hybrid or in other words, remote knowledge workers agreeing their expectations for working flexibility have been increased, there is no doubt that the future is hybrid (Turner & Baker, 2022). Also, some organizations might completely move onto a remote workforce at the same time. The organization that the author of this article works for moved into a completely remote base because the organization found that it is more reliable and saves a lot of money compared to maintaining an office space.

2.              DEI outcomes could worsen

Hybrid and remote work do not guarantee all employees will experience the benefits of this change equitably (Turner & Baker, 2022). This has the potential to worsen diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) outcomes. For example, 76% of managers say on-site employees are more likely than remote workers to be promoted (Turner & Baker, 2022). The author doesn’t agree with the above statement completely because in the organization that the author hasn’t experienced it. Because the author believes that showcasing potential doesn’t rely on whether the employee work on-site or off site.

3.              Manager’s roles are changing

With fewer opportunities for spontaneous in-person interactions in the workplace, managers need to be more intentional in establishing and developing relationships with their team members. The manager-employee relationship is critical in shaping the employee experience and connection to the organization. If this doesn’t maintain in a more frequent manner, many conflicts could happen, such as misunderstandings and employees not performing up to the expected standard. Therefore, it is highly important that managers show that they have complete trust in their teams.

4.              More technological advancement and automation will be required

This means that the company can track the performance of employees and make their lives easier at the same time. Companies will start to increase the functions of smart machines, software, apps and avatars. Employees will develop personal toolkits of virtual doppelgangers, and virtual counterparts, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) software and devices that are more accessible to their personal or team-based activities (Baldocchi et al., 2021).

The relationship between employees and the workplace has changed immensely because of the pandemic due to COVID 19 and organizations are changing rapidly. This requires organizations to invest seriously in helping people navigate through their vision for the hybrid workplace and any changes to the physical workspace. Doing so can help employees balance productivity, well-being, and a sense of connection in the evolving future of work.

References

Baldocchi , M.M., Schaninger, B. and Sharma , K. (2021) The future of the workplace: Embracing change and fostering connectivity, McKinsey & Company. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/the-organization-blog/the-future-of-the-workplace-embracing-change-and-fostering-connectivity (Accessed: December 1, 2022).

Murphy, K. (2021) Cards of change, Bain. Available at: https://www.bain.com/insights/cards-of-change-snap-chart/?shareid=ad3f6552-6471-4ca4-b463-e1a78d23a123&site=linkedin (Accessed: December 1, 2022).

Turner, J. (2022) 6 ways the workplace will change in the next 10 years, Gartner. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/6-ways-the-workplace-will-change-in-the-next-10-years (Accessed: December 1, 2022).

Turner, J. and Baker, M. (2022) 9 future of work trends post covid-19, Gartner. Available at: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/9-future-of-work-trends-post-covid-19 (Accessed: December 1, 2022). 

Comments

  1. Zacky Hassan5 December 2022 at 08:23

    Good content Dananjani, the practice of continuously updating an organization's direction, structure, and capabilities to meet the constantly shifting needs of both internal and external customers is known as change management (Moran and Brightman, 2001: 111). Change is a constant in organizational existence, both operationally and strategically, according to Burnes (2004).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wasana Perera6 December 2022 at 05:22

    Thank you for the comment Hassan, Organizations must deliberately address the changes wrought by the pandemic and the rapid pace of technological investment to enable remote and flexible work (Turner & Baker, 2022).

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jeyarajasingam Iyngararaj6 December 2022 at 08:24

    According to Kotter and Schlesinger (2008), organizational change is somewhat similar to organizational transformation. However, change implementation is a more demanding activity than it is often being Perceived, that is why it is estimated that two thirds of all organizational change effort does not succeed (Szabla, 2007). The goals of organizational change are very many, but they major ones centers on performance improvement, elimination of organizational crisis, and capacity to endure race and environment commotion (Isern & Pung, 2007).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 03:52

      Thank you for the comment Jeyarajasigam, They are really valid points. In the end, the reason behind the change management can be anything for an organization but its role is critical in every company (Sakshi, 2022). It helps to streamline processes after changes, ensures no disruption happens and keeps the employees on the same page as the organization.

      Delete
  4. Manula Himanshu9 December 2022 at 15:49

    Great article Wasana. Also there is a rapid digitalization is going inside the organizations as well. According to IDG’s 2018 State of Digital Business Transformation, 89% of organizations have or have plans to adopt a digital-first strategy. Digital transformation does have its challenges. Budgets, lack of key skills, and cultural issues make the list. However, enthusiasm for digitalization is clear.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 04:04

      Thank you for the comment Manula, Yes, Digital transformation do have its challenges. Now we’re firmly entrenched in the digital age, and businesses of all sorts are creating clever, effective, and disruptive ways of leveraging technology (Benioff, 2022). Netflix is a great example. It started out as a mail order service and disrupted the brick-and-mortar video rental business. Then digital innovations made wide-scale streaming video possible. Today, Netflix takes on traditional broadcast and cable television networks and production studios all at once by offering a growing library of on-demand content at ultracompetitive prices.

      Delete
  5. W.A.Nimesha Madushani10 December 2022 at 09:59

    Kuo (2013) a successful organization must combine the strengths and motivations of internal employees and respond to external changes and demands promptly to show the organization’s value. In this paper, we have taken various techniques of motivation from existing literature, and managed to make flow of motivation from young-age employees to old-age employees. From organization perspective managers need to understand the flow of motivation, it helps them to create a culture where employees always get motivated to do better.

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    Replies
    1. Wasana Perera14 December 2022 at 04:09

      Thanks Nimesha, An objective for change management can also be to create empathy among the employees of the company towards the company (Sakshi, 2022). For this, the employees need to be communicated about the issues the company faces, the strategic vision of the organization and the need to bring about change.

      Delete
  6. Divangi Cooray17 December 2022 at 00:20

    Nice article Wasana.Furthermore, organizational change as either responding to changes in its environment or as a preemptive action (Damanpour,1988). A change within an organization does not need to be an original or novel but simply a new idea within that particular working environment that may or may not prove to be successful (King, 1992).

    ReplyDelete

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