[Podcast] The evolution of work patterns and skills after the crisis

To shed light on the opportunities for change in working patterns and skills brought about by the health crisis, Jean Baptiste Gouin, CEO of talenco, provides his insight on the microphone of Matthieu Deboeuf Rouchon and Lionel Tardy in the podcast « Innovation & Prospective Talk« .

Jean Baptiste Gouin

The first lockdown and the recovery period that followed were powerful revelations of both good functioning and dysfunctionality in more ways than one. Middle management proved to be a powerful lever when it was agile, swift, and competent enough.

This period was also an opportunity for some companies to thoroughly rethink work methods and identify the key skills needed within the company.

Work modes transformed by the health crisis

Action, reaction!

First of all, we were able to observe a very strong reaction capacity Companies. The majority of them have managed to overcome the established and generally very «process-oriented» organization and find the necessary resources and agility to cope and bounce back. Now it will be necessary to capitalize on this agility and take advantage of these new practices.

Secondly, we saw Massive development of teleworking And we were able to see that this new organization was working quite well. This successful experience will inevitably have consequences in the organization of work within companies.

Finally, we were able to observe two types of reactions from the part of companies: those that have adopted a defensive mode and those who made it one opportunity. They have taken advantage of this to develop new skills, new management rituals and to reflect on the developments of tomorrow.

A human relationship “low touch“

The working remotely and videoconference relationships have allowed for development new relationships of proximity. Sharing part of their personal environment via webcam could, among other things, generate a certain level of privacy and foster a new relationship with their employees or clients.

However, one must remain alert to the risks that a constant connection and workflow can entail. The sequence of calls, video feeds, and intense connections increases the risk of overactivity and burnout. burn-out. It is therefore important to take the time to recharge and taking care of oneself and one's teams.

The advent of the digital era

This crisis marks The advent of the digital age. While companies have been initiating their digital transformation over the past decade by developing e-commerce or remote work, the crisis has suddenly propelled them into a new era where technology comes to our rescue.

Now we have no choice; we must initiate the necessary transformations and Technology is now useful to us in serving these transformations..

A new paradigm

The crisis has had the effect of sustainably reversing well-established precepts.

Teleworking is becoming the norm

This logic will continue well beyond the health crisis. Of course, this has a profound impact on management practices that are evolving towards a more human approach. hybrid management. These must of course promote autonomy and therefore rely on trust. They also impose new team rituals, the setting of new priorities…

This teleworking also requires clarification The organization of work in a hybrid mode : what tasks to perform remotely versus in the office, how to rethink office layouts? etc.

The end of goal-oriented management and annual rituals

Now, deadlines must be much shorter, focused on priorities and with measurable indicators in the short term.
The main challenge for leaders in this period of crisis is to align the company with extremely clear priorities and indicators. Therefore, it will be necessary to re-prioritize and make key choices!
For this, there is a very effective method: The OKR method (Objectives & Key Results).

The development of skills at the heart of the recovery

An opportunity to develop your skills

Some companies have fully understood this and have taken this time to prepare for the recovery and develop the skills of their employees. They can benefit from the government’s implementation of the FNE-Enhanced Training device in which up to 100% of the training costs for people who are partially unemployed are covered.

This type of funding will continue in 2022. This is therefore a real opportunity for HR managers, which must be seized. Indeed, the crisis has revealed that The development of skills becomes a fundamental asset of the company.

The trends ahead

We see this in most of our clients; very few companies have stopped their major skills development programs. Quite the opposite, and despite a general context of budget restrictions, some are even accelerating and intensifying them. support programs on key skills management, remote customer relations or e-commerce, for example.

The companies that will emerge from this crisis will be those that have both prepared themselves best for the recovery and are prepared for the next crisis.

The post-Covid-19 era is the beginning of a new era, which is an opportunity to disrupt our traditional organizational elements and to sustainably anchor new trends:

• the end of goal-based management in favor of shorter-term management,
• the dislocation of the pyramidal hierarchical structure and the elimination of certain management lines,
• Through collaborative practices, a return to the essentials and the emergence of communities around a common interest that brings people together… and gives meaning.