By Sreedhar Narayanan, Managing Director, Americas at Qualitest
Every company is going through a process of modernization or digital transformation. This could mean building modern, scalable application stacks, continuing to invest in cloud infrastructure and leveraging AI and machine learning technology to build better customer and internal insights. Businesses could be getting modern data infrastructure up and running, or simply starting to build the foundation.
That shift has created a demand for tech-savvy people to set up these new digital infrastructure and apps and has contributed to a full-on war for talent. This is further intensified by the culture war over in-office versus remote working arrangements, leading companies to either commit to remote work while others attempt to coax employees back to the office. These and many other challenges lie ahead for business leaders in 2023.
Leaders need to rethink hybrid work
Some companies are insisting that employees come to the office on specific days or even return to the office full-time. Subsequently, this type of leadership often leads to hikes in burnout and attrition. Research has shown that employers that utilize a human-centric approach to workplace management – including empathy-based management, intentional collaboration and flexible work experiences – experience a 3.2 times higher likelihood of employees staying.
Right now there's a lot of experimenting, with some businesses trying out in-office arrangements two or three days a week. Technical teams that benefit from prolonged periods of focus are more productive working from home and may benefit from less in-office time, which offers plenty of external distractions and in-person interruptions. On the other hand, teams that require collaborative ideation are more innovative when together in the office.
The question remains of how to adopt the best of both situations, and the answer may lie in open communication with employees. The current work culture has moved the goalpost, and people have shown that working from home and being highly productive is possible. Organizations have to find a way to meet employees in the middle. Embrace the collaborative tools that have enabled companies to work asynchronously, which will only continue to improve.
People want to be treated like adults and have the flexibility to balance their work with their personal lives. When management and employees are in disagreement on schedules, people on both sides become disillusioned and disengage. Whether employers like it or not, the hybrid model is here to stay.
Attracting talent is an ongoing battle
While many tech companies laid off certain departments or froze hiring, the demand has not died down, and with the recession, the challenge has become broader and more significant than ever. Tech layoffs are a boon to HR departments, especially for traditional companies, leading smart recruiters to take advantage of the sudden access to top talent.
Companies that have laid off staff should be prepared to rehire in those positions that, for a time, had become redundant. No company is too small to have an alumni program, which is a great way to keep warm relationships with top talent and opens the door for employees to come back. Employees returning after a while with new capabilities – combined with their existing in-house knowledge – will be a massive benefit to any organization.
Employee retention is more important than ever
While the bargaining power may be returning to employers in part, this doesn’t mean retaining workers has gotten much easier. It’s still incredibly important for businesses to continue to invest in the workers they have, especially if they just made other staff redundant. Morale may be low as the remaining employees have lost friends and oftentimes shoulder the burden of work that did not simply disappear along with their colleagues. The chances of burnout are therefore exponentially higher and can lead to further attrition. Taking into consideration the “anti-work” movement led by the youngest in the current workforce, it’s important to address the next generation’s living standards, which will shape future work culture, ideally for the benefit and well-being of everyone.
Identifying top talent helps to select the workplace “influencers” who set the tone and drive the corporate culture. Does management know what the top talent within their company looks like? Do those high performers have a meaning and a purpose? When there is a skills gap, do they receive mentorship and support?
Businesses ought to know what these top performers of the company look like and focus on nurturing them, which will help to keep them from looking elsewhere for opportunities. To determine these top employees, try regular check-ins, feedback loops that include periodic open-ended reviews to listen, incorporate and change along with formal quarterly and 6-month performance reviews. These reviews will help management understand the shift in the sands, how well the knowledge and technology skills learned are being retained, as well as each person’s capabilities in other areas.
Furthermore, workforce enablement is key. Companies need to know how to enable their staff to keep up with technological and process changes and to stay successful. Onboarding and skill-building programs – including tech skills and business acumen – must be examined. Organizations will find that they can continue to grow, despite current attrition levels in the market, due to investing in their employees.
Companies should focus on the essentials
As companies experience growth periods, they may end up struggling as they are doing too many things, with hundreds of initiatives firing off all at once. In the end, it doesn’t matter how good at multitasking managers may think their team is – progress comes one step at a time. It’s crucial to reflect and examine what are the one or two different things that your company does well and to focus on these main things.
For example, account managers may be juggling multiple accounts and finding it difficult to build a deeper relationship with each client. A company can instead focus on building a deeper relationship with fewer clients. Is it worth spreading a limited amount of time across every little thing, or would it be more fruitful to focus more on the important things? These types of cultural shifts can only start from the top.
Set priorities for the new year
Overall, company leaders that seek to bring back growth during a difficult and uncertain market are encouraged to reassess their priorities, focus on the strengths of the company, and make sure that investing in employees stays a top priority. These challenges are nothing new, but working on underlying issues and learning from past mistakes is absolutely crucial to start this year on the right foot. Company leaders should make sure they don’t simply hit the reset button and go on with business as usual.
About the author:
Sreedhar Narayanan is the Managing Director, Americas at Qualitest, the world’s largest AI-powered quality engineering company. In his previous role, Sreedhar was the Healthcare Analytics solution leader at McKinsey and Company. An innovative and result-oriented business and technology executive, Sreedhar has built and scaled $1B+ businesses, creating digital and transformational impact at Fortune 500 clients globally. He has held leadership roles and has led strategy, product development, P&L, and global delivery functions. Sreedhar holds a Master's degree in Software engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.