A new appetite for investing in growth
One unintended consequence of the pandemic is that companies have had to drastically reinvent themselves, in particular, businesses whose primary model is a physical place that consumers and office workers invest their time in. So, whether a business happens to be a health club, a brick and mortar retailer or other physical destination, it has had to immediately reinvent itself as its customers have accelerated their digital engagement, raised expectations, thereby changing the table stakes in retail. To do that, businesses have begun to use tools such as design thinking, agile methodologies, having weekly scrum meetings and so on, to urgently reinvent how they show up to their customers on the retail front.
The other challenge is the pandemic-driven supply chain . The companies in the enviable positions now are the ones that have been able to get in front of it and commit their forecast and lockdown supply early on.
So, this period is driving organizations that historically have moved at a more lumbering speed to learn how to innovate pragmatically and quickly make decisions on the fly, rather than waiting to put perfection in front of their customers. The key has been to iterate – to show a willingness to meet your customers where they are and iterate your value proposition, so it’s closer to what they need.
As companies hunkered down, we saw serious reductions in overall expense line items by, for example, having employees work from home. The result is an increase in business activity – we’ve seen leaders stepping back from the panic that was 2020 to a situation where their revenue and profitability are flat or down and they’re saying “I’ve got some money to invest in growth and in reinventing ourselves.” They’re asking themselves how they will restructure their overall business model so they can be more successful, place the right bets, and lay out the ideal set of technology partnerships to create a better experience for their customers.
People have become more comfortable with living their lives virtually.
It’s much easier to accelerate the ROI of technology solutions than it ever has been before by moving from physical to digital. Whether you’re in the business of chronic disease management, fitness, retail or telemedicine, many people have become more trusting of living their lives virtually. For example, healthcare consumers have fewer qualms about having an appointment online with their doctor via virtual telemedicine or using digital therapeutics.
Also, the pandemic accelerated consumer adoption of digital, throughout touchpoints from e-commerce, to BOPUS, to digitization of customer care. Think about older demographics who are becoming more comfortable with using online chat rather than calling a call center; it enables them to watch their ballgame or multitask while they are on hold, and that’s a huge shift for someone who has always picked up the phone first.
The common theme here is how businesses are transforming by getting closer to their customers, by being able to see around the corner for them and predict where their unmet needs are and meet them before the customers even know that’s the direction they’re going.
Introverts win in the “work-life” experience.
The expectations of today’s worker are vastly different than they were even in 2020. Companies are experiencing a huge problem in finding talent, from restaurant, retail, and distribution center workers to highly skilled strategists or someone who knows how to write code.
The “frontline” workers realize there is more out there than 12-hour backbreaking days at entry-level pay. According to a report released by Joblist in July 2021, 38% of former restaurant workers surveyed stated that they would no longer be seeking work in the hospitality industry that fired them. Several retail companies are now offering debt-free college tuition and raising pay to retain their workers.
On the corporate side, the move to virtual/digital was instantaneous and now that workers have leverage, it’s never going back to a full-time office norm. This has created new expectations from talent – it isn’t about work-life balance because that’s now an outdated concept. This is about how people live their lives, so it’s not an “either/or” situation; it’s now “my work-life experience” and how those two aspects of life complement each other. Companies that are reluctant or stubborn about adapting will struggle to attract the talent needed to achieve their goals.
Here’s the other piece: the introvert wins in this environment! In an in-person office setting, less extroverted people are viewed differently. Introverts typically are not as vocal in group situations, and when they do speak up, it generally makes more sense than for the extroverted person. In this new virtual and digital world, introverts are playing in their power zone. It creates a different environment for people who have a high intellect and emotional IQ but who may not have historically felt they’ve had a voice.
The bottom line is that companies need to reinvent their in-person, in-office requirements, and the smartest leaders are leaving that selection up to the employees.
It’s not over yet
Some call this period “post-recovery” (in the West, at least), but many are still in the throes of uncertainty, loss, and stalemate. Yet, despite the challenges of the last few years, these three themes – the appetite for growth, anticipation of customer needs, and the talent-first environment can be seen as positive opportunities if businesses are willing to adapt and invest.