Leadership Challenges In The New Normal

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the world. Overnight, every organization turned to “working from home” and IT leaders everywhere had to figure out how to support remote work. Since the pandemic, the landscape has continued to change, and organizations have had to navigate a New Normal. These changes include workforce and IT transformations:

Digital Transformation

With the pandemic and the need to work from home, organizations accelerated their digital transformation projects. Many IT departments found it easier to get project funds if they divided their projects into phases: The first stage replaced paper-based processes with electronic approvals. The second phase built on this foundation to change and elevate business processes - true digital transformation.

For example, staff need new ways to collaborate. Some organizations used this as an opportunity to completely replace their collaboration systems, and moving their email and collaboration systems to the Cloud, leveraging the Google Suite or Microsoft Office on the Web. Whatever the solution, organizations needed new ways to collaborate online.

The transformation getting the most attention right now is AI. The promise of AI is that we can streamline our work, that AI can automate processes to make organizations more efficient. If you're looking for how to get started in AI, look first to the "edge" of your processes; those are more likely to require manual steps that can be made more efficient with machine learning and other AI.

Remote Work

Many corporate organizations were already laptop- and mobile-based, but many governments were not. Budgets took a hit as IT departments ordered new hardware to send home with staff. And not just laptops, but sometimes additional webcams, microphones, and mice.

Most organizations moved to Zoom to support remote meetings. Getting new Zoom licenses was a challenge for many organizations who were already stretched for funding. Remote video meetings are here to stay, whether it’s Zoom or another solution.

If there’s one lesson to be learned about communication, it’s that not every employee needs an office phone. While working at home during the pandemic, many staff managed to remain effective without an office phone. For these staff, contact via Zoom or email was enough. For others, a work-issued or work-reimbursed cell phone was more than adequate for the job.

Any IT leaders who are planning an upcoming phone system replacement should seriously consider who needs an office phone. Instead of an office phone, consider reallocating funds to a work-issued or work-reimbursed phone, and provide Mobile Device Management for data protection.

Office Space

Since the pandemic, many offices have remained empty. Some staff returned to the office for specific tasks, such as server and storage administrators who needed to work on hardware, but most staff continue to work from home. Even now, organizations adept a hybrid approach where some staff might continue to work from home and others from the office, or some rotation of in-office and at-home work.

IT leaders are upgrading conference rooms to support hybrid meetings. Anything that can be moved from physical to virtual is probably already in progress, if not already done. Consider larger meeting rooms equipped with technology to support collaboration and video.

While working from home, what have you needed to print? Compare your current print demand to that of January or February 2020. With an investment in digital transformation, the need to commit documents to paper, either by printing or copying, has dropped significantly.

Budgets are less likely to include individual or department printers. IT leaders should have honest conversations with their internal business partners about their print needs. One way to realize cost savings is by eliminating desktop printers and consolidating to departmental “workhorse” printers for the few jobs that need to be printed.