Covid-19 and the ensuing lockdown and social distancing stipulations have taken a severe toll on economies, businesses, and working professionals around the world. Here are top 5 lessons for the IT industry and IT professionals.
- Transition to the New Normal
- Enterprise Resilience
- Strategic Investments
- Augment Customer Experience (CX)
- Scale-up Employee Experience (EX)
- Transition to the New Normal
The shift to the new normal has not been an easy feat for many, and the way the IT industry functions now will never be the same in the post-pandemic phase. A lesson from the crisis is the quick transition to a high percentage of virtual work, and the high use of digital collaboration tools. The industry is thinking about restructuring their job posting templates to adopt work-from-home options once the pandemic subsides. The industry envisages a significant portion of the workforce switching to remote work in the future.
- Enterprise Resilience
Another key lesson from the crisis is the need to bolster wherewithal. The turbulent seas have revealed deft sailors who can sail through the choppy waters. The IT fraternity is taking this learning to speed up its Customer’s Experience (CX) journeys. Enterprises are strategizing beyond core capabilities; they are thinking about emerging and future capabilities to future-proof their operations and business. Building operational resilience tops the list of IT leaders.
Customers don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care.
- Strategic Investments
Similar to what I mentioned earlier, a critical lesson from the crisis is to invest in best practices, frameworks, solutions, and industry standards. XaaS (cloud, consumption-based pricing), digital innovation, extreme remote work, employee re-skilling, and rapid response programs are a few examples that leaders need to think about. The way we work and operate will never be the same again. The industry has learned to make quick decisions and accelerate digital transformation.
- Augment Customer Experience (CX)
The industry learned to handle the sudden and extreme surge in demand for support requests from customers, especially in industries such as telecom, airlines, retail, healthcare, and the like. IT professionals realized that an organizations’ display of proactive communication, empathy, assurance, continuity, and engagement during a crisis would be indelibly embedded in customers’ memories. The IT industry has realized that when the stakes are high, customers don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care. The pandemic is the accelerator to transform the customer engagement model.
- Scale-up Employee Experience (EX)
The final but critical learning for the industry is that employees require emotional succor. IT pros have had tight schedules, and they have gone the extra mile to ensure business continuity for clients. The fragile job market, lengthy confinement, and disconsolate news have brought IT professionals’ psychological and physical health problems into sharp focus. The industry has taken this seriously and intensified their programs on counseling, self-help, psychotherapy, and virtual engagement. The industry has learned to be more empathetic and appreciative so that employees have a deep sense of belonging and satisfaction in what they do. By providing employees the right tools, resources, and skilling opportunities, the EX curve will see a new high.
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