Unlearning and Learning: How can you build an agile workforce in a COVID-19 world? [Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles]
Miles Everson’s Business Builder Daily speaks to the heart of what great marketers, business leaders, and other professionals need to succeed in advertising, communications, managing their investments, career strategy, and more.
A Note from Miles Everson:
Happy Friday, everyone!
In August 2020, we conducted a webinar titled, “Building an Agile Workforce in a Post-COVID World.”
In this event, MBO’s Chief of Market Strategy, Bryan Peña, and I shared our thought leadership on how the pandemic is changing the global workforce. You may access and view the recording of the webinar here.
Would you like to know more about the main points of this discussion?
Continue reading the article below. We’re shedding light on what you can do to set up your own brand for success in the future.
Miles Everson
CEO, MBO Partners
Chairman of the Advisory Board, The I Institute
Mindfulness by Miles
The world today is in a state of transition. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, lots of changes have happened, especially in the structure of the workforce.
… and while we are not yet in full post-COVID-19 territory, many companies are starting to reopen and navigate what the future of work looks like.
Major changes like transitioning to a remote work setup were done, and some firms had to quickly adjust their structure and workflows.
However, as lots of workers continue to work in this new environment, organizations need to have a more active say on how they adapt their business models to remain profitable and competitive.
Photo from HRdownloads
On August 25, 2020, MBO Partners conducted a webinar titled, “Building an Agile Workforce in a Post-COVID World.”
Here, MBO Partners’ CEO Miles Everson and Chief of Market Strategy Bryan Peña shared their thoughts on how the pandemic helped accelerate major changes in the workforce. They also gave insights on what businesses can do to continue to thrive in a new work environment.
The discussion covered:
- The changes brought by the pandemic and how to adapt to them
- The definition of independent and agile workforce as critical factors of success
- The pent-up interest in direct sourcing
- The adoption of techniques in building independent alliances and hunting larger scale projects
- The long-term effects of the health crisis on the consulting and professional services industry
Let’s get into these topics in detail…
Overcoming the Challenges of “Restarting”
According to Everson and Peña, while running a business during the COVID-19 pandemic is far from easy, there are still positive changes that emerged from this crisis.
Some of these positive changes?
Many organizations have recorded a rise in productivity from their workers, and others have adjusted their operating models to attract new customers or clients!
In a survey involving MBO’s clients and client prospects, 43% of respondents indicated that reducing friction and increasing efficiency in their firms were top priorities. Aside from that, the study generated these results:
- 19% said access to higher quality talent is their top priority
- Another 19% said increasing program adoption is their top priority
- 14% said reducing costs is their top priority
- 5% said minimizing program risk is their top priority
Based on these outcomes, Everson and Peña say that to develop a business model that will thrive amid a changing business environment, companies must identify the right revenue opportunities and embrace an agile work structure.
They believe even large companies will benefit from adopting a start-up mentality where they react quickly and personally to customers’ needs, explore new lines of businesses, and invest in collaboration tools that aid in transparency and efficiency.
What’s more?
According to Everson and Peña, firms that are able to quickly scale and adjust their operations based on the current market conditions will be more resilient and agile, and find themselves on safer ground.
Rethinking How Work Gets Done
Everson and Peña say there are several forces changing the world before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and these trends aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. They believe these factors will have a HUGE impact on organizations today and in the future of work.
The first trend is in the future, a larger portion of the workforce will be made up of independent professionals vs. full-time employees. This means as the number of independents continues to grow, companies will need to adapt a new business model that welcomes outsourcing these kinds of workers.
The second trend is companies will increasingly utilize project-based outcome arrangements over full-time hourly rates. This is due to the increasing need to tap into specialized deep skills vs. generic skill sets, and the need to accomplish work in quicker sprints.
The third trend is the current workforce is in a talent shortage, not talent surplus. This means a world where there is too much work to be done but too little workers. To prevent this trend from worsening, Everson and Peña say broader recruitment strategies, targeted skills training, and better plans for talent retention should be implemented.
The fourth and last trend is that global wage scales are normalizing for white-collar jobs. This is because the same job and function can now be accomplished remotely and done by people working in locations with lower costs of living. As a result, companies need to grow used to having both a remote and more transient workforce.
We hope you’re not getting overwhelmed by these kinds of information!
According to Everson and Peña, by striving to create a frictionless business model, companies can adapt to a changing work environment, transform ideas to reality, and create value for customers.
One of the ways to achieve a frictionless business model?
Embracing the independent workforce!
Everson and Peña say these types of workers are critical to effectively build an agile workforce. By accessing a wide array of talent using multiple modes of engagement, businesses can experience a myriad of benefits like:
- Better cost management
- Increased speed to market—the speed by which a brand is able to establish a presence through its products or services
- More ability to develop and improve offerings
In fact, a 2020 study by freelancing platform Upwork showed 59% of hiring managers agree that organizations not currently adopting a flexible workforce risk falling behind.
This explains why nearly three-quarters of hiring managers are now increasing their usage of independent professionals to get several tasks or projects done.
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Everson and Peña believe that the time for change is NOW… and whether or not enterprises are ready, they need to quickly adapt to how work gets done.
They say it’s great that there are new technology platforms that facilitate an exchange of value nowadays—recruiters and managers can search for and engage with the talents they need, and independents can put their skills to use and work the way they want.
By using these technologies, companies are able to provide program management support, streamline administrative processes, and increase overall efficiency.
We hope you learned lots of great business management insights from Everson and Peña’s webinar!
Through:
- Identifying solutions to the challenges and changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic
- Assessing internal talent demands
- Working with leadership teams to strategically incorporate independent talents
… you can help increase your team’s agility and develop strategies that will enable your brand to adapt to the future of work.
Happy Friday!
(This article is from The Business Builder Daily, a newsletter by The I Institute in collaboration with MBO Partners.)
About The Dynamic Marketing Communiqué’s
“Fridays: Mindfulness by Miles”
High-performance businesses are run by people who think and act differently.
In other words, these are people who are high-performing individuals.
Companies and individuals of this kind have found ways to escape the grind of commoditization and competition by focusing on the RIGHT goals.
High-performing businesses and individuals are also “return driven” businesses and “career driven” individuals. They conscientiously develop unique capabilities and resources that allow them to deliver offerings in ways no other firm or individual can.
Every Friday, we’ll publish tips and insights from MBO Partners and The I Institute’s “The Business Builder Daily” newsletter.
These will help you gain knowledge on the things that Miles Everson, the CEO of MBO Partners, often talks about regarding the future of the workforce.
We’ll also highlight other mindfulness advice on how you can be a high-performing individual both in your career and personal life.
Hope you’ve found this week’s insight interesting and helpful.
Stay tuned for next Friday’s “Mindfulness by Miles!”
Cheers,
Kyle Yu
Head of Marketing
Valens Dynamic Marketing Capabilities
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