The world of work is undergoing a gentle revolution, but a revolution, nonetheless.
The advent of the hybrid model (face-to-face and remote), the fact that many employees want to reduce their working hours or change direction after the pandemic, and the fact that the younger generation wants to give much more meaning to its activities by putting salary in 4th or 5th place of the requirements for example, show that companies must reinvent themselves quickly.
Are they able to meet all these demands and do they really want to?
The power of innovation, adaptation and anticipation is often the DNA of successful companies, and it often doesn’t take much money: the key is management’s ability to develop pragmatic solutions in an employee-friendly environment.
Make no mistake, it takes more than that to get the right chemistry, but it is a fact that most companies do not have the right governance and/or do not allow employees and their managers to act with speed and common sense.
There is no reason to hide behind the legislative framework, which is certainly becoming increasingly restrictive, to freeze any initiative.
To be frank, the problem is often internal and at the highest level: micro-management is omnipresent and risk-taking is no longer part of the vocabulary or the action, whereas the solutions are often found in a subtle mix of risk-taking, creative initiatives and controls at all levels.
There is also another parameter. Education - especially higher education - has evolved a lot in recent years, and that is good, but one thing can hardly be learned - by definition - on the benches of technical schools or universities: a sense of proportion and experience. However, the appointment system gives pride of place to technicians from all walks of life, who often have only a vague idea of the interdisciplinary approach.
The often simplistic and useless dogmatism must be countered by fine minds and proportionality. This is no easy task in a world that has become increasingly binary and even caricatured. However, it is only with a pragmatic approach, full of finesse and options, that the change of model can take place with the maximum of chances and within a bearable timeframe.
Companies will have to adapt and change their models if they want to maintain their strategies in the medium term. This does not mean that everything must be changed. Here too, it is necessary to find the most effective way of achieving the often-contradictory objectives of each party and, why not, to compare and draw on the experience of others.
The traditional business model is certainly outdated in many sectors. All eras have experienced this, but the accumulation of changes and their rapidity have never had an equal in the past
Let’s hope that business owners and their management teams will find the best way forward for shareholders, customers, suppliers and, finally, employees. Even if it is a form of “circle framing”, the company’s survival depends on it.
Have a good week, good thoughts, and good reading.