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ARTICLES
Future Proof your Organization
The secrets of success during times of change.
In case you have not noticed, the world of business is in turmoil.
So what can you do in your organisation to minimise the impact of these crazy times?
It’s no longer enough to do it faster, cheaper, better, you have to do all that......... and more!
Whilst we know there is no single right way, research is showing us that the key to the future is “mind-set flexibility” and “great people skills”.
Get ready: we are in transition from the Knowledge Age to the People Age. We have always known that people like to do business with people they know, like and trust, and for the new generation Y, this is particularly important.
They are not going to be the 9.00 – 8.00 generation, loyal to their company, they want flexible timings, flexible contracts and the opportunity to make a difference in their workplace. They willingly embrace the concept of being their own CEO. Their loyalty is to people, business is not business: business is personal. What was right for yesterday may not be right for today and will be totally wrong for tomorrow.
If you learn to ride the wave of this change, you stand to reap massive windfalls in the new opportunities it will bring.
Mind-set flexibility must start at the top of an organisation. Senior managers can take the lead by following the advice from research by the London Human Resources Group in an article called “Tomorrow’s People”.
First, the culture of jobs for life has ended. Security is now based on performance rather than on paternalism.
Second, in order to retain their jobs, staff have to treat their employers as customers of their services, provide these services when and where they are needed and see themselves as self-employed people keen to retain these customers' business.
Rewards have to be in accordance with individuals’ contributions and they must acquire the skills and attitudes that are needed in their role to improve their employability inside and outside their current organisations.
Third, employees need to realise that, although their employers will provide training that helps with the acquisition of these skills, responsibility for development will rest with themselves.
Great People Skills should be the first stage of that development and comes from knowing yourself and others. Emotional Intelligence helps us with these insights. Difficult people and situations cause blocks in organisations, team energy does not flow and performance goes down. Individuals can restrain feelings like self-doubt and focus on positive feelings like confidence. By testing people for their emotional quotient during recruitment and making sure that people know and can manage their emotions, motivate themselves and others individuals will see the impact on their performance and organisations on their bottom line.
Anne McDougall
