To manage "digital transformation" flexibility is a must
When NASA representatives at a recent “digital transformation” webinar talked about “digital transformation” at that agency, a lot of what they said was based on the forced switch to telework and working from home related to the pandemic. This has put pressure on changing or accelerating how management, collaboration technology usage, networking, and security practices are handled.
One question is, how will this forced transformation impact the future? Will things ever return to “normal”? What is the “new normal” we will all have to deal with? Will people continue to work from home? How will this affect real estate values, office construction, and rental properties? Most serious of all, how will this affect those who cannot work from home?
No one really knows. My guess is that those who have had more success in avoiding a second wave (China?) are in a better position to manage change. But what of the rest of us? How do we make plans for the future?
One of the most level headed commentaries on this dilemma recently appeared in, of all places, the official Microsoft blog in an article titled Embracing a flexible workplace. Here’s a list of the three areas in which Microsoft employees are being provided guidance:
Work site (the physical space where you work, e.g. office, center, home, mobile): We recognize that some employees are required to be onsite and some roles and businesses are better suited for working away from the worksite than others. However, for most roles, we view working from home part of the time (less than 50%) as now standard – assuming manager and team alignment.
Work hours (the hours and days when employees work, e.g. workday start and end times, full- or part-time): Work schedule flexibility is now considered standard for most roles. While part-time continues to be subject to manager approval, our guidance is meant to facilitate an open conversation between a manager and employee regarding considerations.
Work location (the geographic location where you work, e.g. city and country): Similarly the guidance is there for managers and employees to discuss and address considerations such as role requirements, personal tax, salary, expenses, etc.
What comes through loud and clear is that this official statement is not a “one size fits all” prescription. Flexibility is required.
Even before the pandemic it was clear that some employees resist innovation, some welcome it, and some just need to be led. I learned something similar long ago while consulting on integrating standard collaboration technologies with regular workflows. Some employees embraced collaboration and information sharing online in a group setting. Others wouldn’t give up using email to spread file attachments even if you tried to pull it away from their cold dead hands.
You have to learn to live with diversity in a diverse non-military workplace given the power and control commonly available technologies give to the worker.
The challenge is that (a) managing a flexible approach to adapting to pandemic realities still requires real leadership and (b) we need to accommodate those who are not in a position for economic or political reasons to make free choices.
Copyright (c) 2020 by Dennis D. McDonald
