We are quickly approaching nearly 2 years since the Covid 19 pandemic threw a wrench in the enterprise machine, and over that time many things have changed.  As we look back on decisions made and forward to develop future strategies – what has changed in the industry, in people, and in the world that will affect life in global corporations for decades to come?

Personally we’re not a fan of the term “new normal” that has been blasted over the airwaves and the Internet for the past year or so.  We get what it means and the idea behind it – but as we’ve seen over the past 20+ years in IT and technology, things change…often rapidly.  The advent of the Internet and more recently iPhone and powerful smartphones have forever changed the way that we as humans interface with the world around us.  In some ways, the changes in the world caused by the pandemic will be yet another set of circumstances that at first force change and adaptation – but may eventually be seen as the catalyst for change that may have not otherwise occurred.

Now that companies have built the framework – and experienced the cost and time savings associated with it – there’s no real reason to turn back.” – Mark Lobosco, VP of Talent Solutions at LinkedIn

Back in May 2020, companies were thrust into a scenario that in the past probably only existed in tabletop disaster recovery exercises.  CEO’s and Boards of Directors were breathing down the CIOs and CTOs necks – asking questions that nobody knew the answers to.  How do we operate in this environment?  What does this mean to the viability of our operations?  And while VOIP and video conferencing solutions were stretched past their limits, working from home took on a totally different meaning in a matter of weeks.

The calm after the storm…

While we’re not advocating that the storm is over with from a pandemic standpoint, for the most part over the past 18 months companies have learned to adapt to remote work and virtual operations.  Employees have gotten comfortable balancing their home life with the concept of working from home.  Or living at work – depending on the situation.  They don’t want to go back to the office 9-5 anytime soon.

Resourceful companies have used this opportunity to optimize processes and make innovative changes that in some ways may have benefitted operational efficiencies in ways no one would have ever imagined had such a situation not occurred.  The idea of outsourcing or sourcing talent from different parts of the country or world may have never been permeated to the top of the priority list had the pandemic never happened.  Too many questions of how remote employees could be as productive as those meeting face to face in the office every day would always be asked.

However if Zoom has taught us one thing – employees adapt…and adapt quickly.

So what does this mean going forward?  Will we ever go back to the pre-pandemic working environment?  From our perspective we don’t think everything will ever go back to the way it was before – and to be honest, that is probably a good thing.  Certainly there will be hybrid situations where employees may flexibly go into the office as required, but the work environment will be much more dynamic than it was in the past.  Smart companies will realize that there is great talent based around the world and start to integrate those locations into their talent sourcing strategy more so than ever before.

At RedPath, we’ve been proponents of virtual teams and remote workers for many years.  Our team members have personally seen success in remote environments when it was the exception and not the rule.

If you are struggling to make sense with how to embrace the “new normal”, RedPath has some ideas – especially around the topic of sourcing remote talent and building highly performant teams that can execute in your enterprise organization.

Feel free to reach out for a discussion & stay safe out there!