A new digital way of working - The digitization of work

This prolonged pandemic crisis had created immense operational backlash and logistical challenges for organizations who had downplayed the first wave of COVID-19 as well as the timely adoption of new Digitization of work to manage a long-term virtual or hybrid workforce.

The significant shifts are evident in forcing many organizations business operation to become ever more digitally agile to sustain, adapt, and thrive in the volatile and fast changing market conditions brought about by COVID-19.

Looking back, in the early wave of pandemic, we have witnessed how digitalization has driven technology’s adoption in the products and delivery of services as well as changes in digitization of work in the organizations. Digitization of work has allowed staff to learn and develop new capabilities, explore new opportunities, and utilize their creativity in ways that benefit to the organization. It has promoted both versatility of a virtual workforce and the opportunity to improve processes, streamline, and increase operational efficiencies within an organization.

With cashflow management visibility and operational budgeting becoming a top priority in many organizations to manage the prolonged pandemic crisis, the next wave of digitalization efforts should be focused on the finance function. Many of the challenges faced in the finance function are a result of the digital-manual hybrid state of financial operations causing late nights on tedious and manual tasks. 

Transitioning to a digital finance organization would streamline the efficiencies into the organizations which will enable the finance team to run smoothly even in times of crisis. Removing the traditional manual and labor-intensive finance operations workplace to run digitally can be a strategic advantage. Leveraging on digital finance processing technology to interact with others and drive the finance business processes, the virtual finance workforce can gather, analyze finance data to generate valuable insights. For example, the utilization of the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology to manage and process the travel and expenses can automate the generation of expense reports to manage and tighten expense management. 

In essence, virtual teams need a coherent shared digital environment if they are to be productive. If team members are drawn from various geographical locations, cultures, or organizations from different digital environments, it becomes imperative for the organization to negotiate and determine within itself what tools its own shared digital environment should contain.  

We have identified three key features which can help support virtual teams to thrive in the digital work environment: building a safe environment for freedom of opinions, technological capabilities of employees, and support from management.

• Building a safe environment for freedom of opinions
The safe environment for opinions will create a nurturing culture for team members to believe they can speak up freely, without being judged, and that they will be confident in sharing unique ideas and participate in developing creativity at work. If employees can express their thoughts and ideas, an organization could recognize and apply their views to improve, change, and modify the work process, which will enhance the overall work efficiency and help a company to adapt agilely in digital transformation process and journey. Moreover, right, or wrong, new opinions come from those who experience the process themselves to modify their work scheme.

• Technological capabilities of employees
The second factor behind the team's efficiency of remote work is the employee's technological capabilities. Technology competencies are abilities to apply business tools and platforms and utilize digital communication. We may notice changes from digital transformation, but each employee might have a different level of technological knowledge, causing them to face limitations when managing these technologies. Therefore, enhancing technology skills is essential for transforming the work methods of the organization.

• Support from top management
The last and perhaps the most crucial factor in digital work is management's support. Support from management is necessary to improve flexibility and empower teams to explore and implement distinct work methods, which might be a better procedure, including work processes that may modify the standard working environment of the company. 

In conclusion, organizational digital transformation cannot happen without support from the top management. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the traditional way of a workforce operates and there is no looking back. It is imperative for organizations to empower their workforce with the “flexibility” to work from anywhere solidifying a virtual and hybrid workforce, providing real-time collaboration, and minimizing tedious and manual processes. When work happens in the digital world, then our concept of the workplace must follow suit, or we would miss the opportunities to help teams to be as successful as they can be.