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When you have a small team, employees need more training and mentorship. McKinsey data reveals that 87% of employers are or will be experiencing a skills gap. Leaders should not only proactively offer internal training but also support external professional development and educational initiatives. This includes attending industry events to help workers acquire new skills while instituting improvements that benefit the company holistically.
At Ground Labs, we introduced the finance team to dashboards and reskilled the staff so they could leverage analysis tools that help reduce ad-hoc work whilst enabling the team to achieve far more insightful data analytics. The initiation of dashboards led to better decision-making and dramatically improved our performance.
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Prioritize mini DX initiatives
Digital transformation involves many small-scale initiatives to digitize a company’s operations. We merged platforms between sales and our support team which decreased the number we used and reduced the repositories of data we relied on while dramatically improving visibility.
Deploying DX internally should be done strategically, thoughtfully and in places where it will help employees become more productive. Nothing dulls a team member’s spirit like mundane tasks that could be streamlined. Finding ways to give employees time back into their day, allows them to focus on areas that they are more passionate about.
Part of a successful implementation calls for changes in processes compared to how things were always done at your company. Be prepared for potential pushback and consider how to overcome these objections in an inclusive way. Change can be challenging and taking the time to ensure that employees are adequately trained throughout the initiative will prevent grievances.
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Consult with employees
We started testing a remote work environment in 2019 and noticed the war for talent was increasing, so we wanted to be more flexible as a global employer. Millennials are our next generation of leaders, and they want different things compared with their predecessors. As we transitioned to a remote and hybrid office, we learned that we needed to improve our virtual workplace culture. Our company rolled out laptops and safe remote work practices that allowed non-IT people to work productively from home. This initiative enabled our team to be ready to adapt and adopt remote work quickly once the pandemic hit.
We cannot assume that everyone is in similar situations — in fact, 59% of U.S. workers shared that they were concerned about returning to work before it was safe to do so. If workers did not already have decision fatigue, add in family and health concerns and it is a recipe for even more uncertainty.
As leaders, it is our responsibility to ensure all of our employees are equipped to work effectively. Above all else, we must put people at the center of our business and give them the flexibility to make the best choice for themself wherever possible.
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