Is your workforce ready for the digital future?

Digital technology has become an essential part of our everyday lives and continues to change how we work. For example, innovative artificial intelligence (AI) assistants can create and assign tasks to team members or follow-up on sales leads.

In order to succeed in the global marketplace, companies need to invest in employee education and intelligent digital tools for increasingly distributed and diverse teams. Now is the right time to future-proof your business. That’s because…

…digital transformation is here.

By the year 2020, most of the workforce will be comprised of digital natives: Millennials (50%) and Gen Z (20%). These younger, tech-oriented employees tend to favor companies that prioritize dynamic collaboration and encourage remote work.

If your organization wants to attract and retain top talent from these groups, it must adapt to their needs and current workplace trends. This can be done by: offering flexible work hours or location, relaxing the traditional management structure, encouraging idea-sharing, and providing the right tech solutions for remote teams.

By the year 2020, 70% of the workforce will be comprised of Millennials and Gen Z. These digital natives seek companies that prioritize dynamic collaboration and encourage remote work.

Why is this important? Research suggests that flexible work environments are linked to increased productivity, higher employee retention among Millennials, and lower turnover costs. What’s more, companies that embrace the culture of collaboration experience faster growth and are two times more likely to be profitable.

In other words, digital transformation can positively affect the bottom line. But in order for that to happen, it has to be a company-wide effort. When focusing on younger workers, don’t ignore Gen X and Baby Boomers, who might feel more anxious about the changes.

Digital future is everyone’s business

According to “Future-Proofing the Workforce,” a recent study by Adecco and Boston Consulting Group on the changing work environment, the impact of digital transformation on business in widely anticipated. Two-thirds of respondents know that their responsibilities will change within the next five years, whereas one-third fear that their job may disappear altogether.

In the rapidly-changing, more distributed and AI-focused workplace, successful companies can no longer rely only on the traditional business know-how. It is inseparable from new technology skills. Big players, such as Renault, are already investing in digital-ready workforce.

In the rapidly-changing, more distributed workplace, successful companies can no longer rely only on the traditional business know-how. It is inseparable from new technology skills.

Education is the key to adaptation

How can you prepare employees for the digital future? Start with education. Creating a company mindset where learning new digital skills is a priority, not an extra, requires proactive planning. Here are some things you can do:

• Encourage learning for all employees, regardless of their position or experience;
• Show value of education by discussing company needs and their link to individual goals;
• Create a desire to learn by giving opportunities to be creative, take initiative, apply new skills;
• Listen to feedback, help seasoned staff adapt to new technologies;
• Consider your employees’ workload and make education convenient (offer online or lunchtime courses that won’t interfere with personal time).

What else can you do?

The digital future will not wait for anyone, but your success starts with educated, engaged teams that are not limited by geography or traditional hierarchical systems. Make transparency and collaboration a part of your corporate culture, and give your teams the right technological tools to collaborate.

Kantree is here to make your digital transformation smooth. Try it for free and let your teams digitalize any process by themselves, stress-free. Questions? Send an email or tweet us at @kantreeapp.