The digital change in the company – stay on the ball through further training
Experts now assume that the acceleration of digital change due to the corona pandemic has been shortened by a good five years. Surprisingly, however, many companies coped with the inevitable process better than one would expect. However, it turns out that not every employee can handle this pace.
However, those who are well trained and prepared for digital change now have the better cards in their hands. With targeted further training support for employees, many possible sources of error could be cushioned in advance. Even during the lockdown, those employees who were better able to cope with the relatively short-term switch to working from home gained self-confidence and competence. Due to the decentralized cooperation, many were forced to make decisions more independently and thus gained valuable insights into their individual worth as employees.
Further training: The key to success in Corona times
How important it is to be well positioned digitally was also shown on the other side of the entrepreneurs, that broad front of services that were suddenly offered and requested via the Internet. Those who could, made an online shop available within a very short time. Months beforehand, many companies considered whether such a shop would even be worthwhile for their target group.
As a result of Corona, there was suddenly a need that well-trained employees can optimally cover. In addition, regular training courses, whether online seminars or face-to-face events, also give employees more security. Flexible action and good communication with already overwhelmed customers, who in turn had less to do with online purchases, were in demand like never before.
Sector weighting shifted
The lockdown has shown something else. Sectors that previously seemed unassailable, such as aviation or gastronomy, experienced turbulence. Global trade has come to a standstill due to the supply chains being overwhelmed and air traffic being restricted. Regional entrepreneurs find opportunities here to train their employees accordingly in order to be better prepared for crises like this one and to really be of support to their customers. Instead of shopping online, personal contact – with a mask and distance – had now become more important.
Buying regional products instead of ordering elsewhere, factoring in longer waiting times, supporting the bookstore on the corner with an extensive book order – all of these are also positive aspects of the corona crisis. And again it shows that those who have employees who understand their job and who have optimal customer service in their blood draw their trumps here.
Rediscovered channels and new platforms
How can customers make contact, how are they best advised? These core questions were and are indispensable for entrepreneurs. If you are tech-savvy and know what the actual requirements are behind the term SEO, search engine optimization, you will win new customers. However, the company must also be easy to find on social media and online in general. Digital jobs are currently gaining attention, as are employees who can work well from home.
Online shops that are installed too quickly could lead to legal problems, because here, too, data protection and compliance have priority. The customer needs to know how their data is being used and protected. Everything is also aimed at ensuring that online customers have a positive experience when shopping. However, this also requires the right know-how in order to optimize decentralized data storage and enable transparent communication.
Optimal preparation for the employees
Digitization was a nightmare for many employees, because not everyone can handle the speed. However, working at a distance and a certain flexibility in where you can work offers many advantages, as has just been shown in the corona crisis. However, some employees may experience some form of stress. The so-called technostress has long been an issue, because many feel the constant accessibility via smartphone as a curse.
However, those who can tame the flood of these influences and know which tools they can use to create a relaxed working atmosphere score points here. A good balance between workflow and processing e-mails or appointments creates time windows in which concentrated work is possible. However, the prerequisite is that as an employee you know how best to work as a digital nomad.
Digital change in times of further education
Of course, digital change also shapes the corporate culture. Many companies are noticing that there is a need to catch up. The competition never sleeps and those who are fit in this topic related to digitization also have good job opportunities. Appropriate further training for digitization is therefore a sensible, good investment in your own career, even in the long term.
However, problems related to digital change must also be overcome. Big data and broadband are considered to be the challenges for companies. The organizational structure must also become flatter in order to be able to make faster decisions and enable agile working. Managers are important role models here. They increasingly use further training for themselves, but also for their employees.
There is a particular demand for further training in online marketing, technical know-how and project management. Whoever leads wins. However, you do not necessarily have to hold a job as a manager yourself, but rather distinguish yourself through soft skills and individual competencies.
Smart, smarter, digitization
The digital change also aims at the efficiency of work. The smarter you use the new tools and offers, the more purposefully you can work. Even if the machine is still faster, one should bear in mind that, despite advancing technology and digitization, not everything can be done by machine. Control by the person at the desk, but also communication between customers and employees is a broad area in which real-time contact will continue to be of the utmost importance.
Where the monologue used to be in the foreground, and employees demanded a feeling of security and order, today the focus is on dialogue. Therefore, it is now much more important for an employee to find out which values the future employee considers important. The meaning of one’s own work also needs to be clearly understood, why and wherefore has become more important in times like these, when further training is becoming an indispensable stepping stone to a career.