As is well known, crises are transformation accelerators. What will change in the long term and why that is actually good news for many. Here is an interim balance.
1. Come to stay: home office
For many companies, working from home was already firmly established in daily business before Corona. Other companies started from scratch and worked flat out on interface solutions. But the surprising realization for everyone was: it works. And better than expected. The American tech giants have switched completely to “remote”. Facebook is sending its people to work from home until the end of the year, Twitter is sending its people to work from home forever, while Google is introducing a rotation principle for its teams. Martin Krill, managing partner at HAGER Executive Consulting, emphasizes:
"I can only encourage all companies and executives to continue to support their employees when it comes to working from home. Of course, this also includes trust on the part of the employer. But honestly, whether my employee is at his desk at 8 a.m. sharp or starts his work later because he does sport beforehand, if he is motivated and successful afterwards, it's a win-win. Ultimately, it is the results that count - Corona has proven it, working from home can bring real advantages for those involved if everyone follows the rules of the game.
Scientific studies have now also proven the benefits. According to organizational researchers at the University of Konstanz, 45 percent of employees said they worked very productively at home. Nicholas Bloom, professor at the Stanford University, found that home office performance is actually 13 percent higher. He sees it as a “future-looking technology” with enormous potential. Not only could employees concentrate better and be less distracted. The fact that they can act more independently and organize their time more autonomously has reduced the termination rate by 50 percent.
2. B2B events are becoming more virtual
Flying to Cape Town for a conference? Going to Tokyo for a conference? One thing is certain: Corona marks the end of the B2B world as we know it. If you look more closely, this turning point was already apparent; the pandemic has merely accelerated these developments. Christian Muche, co-founder and creative mind behind the DMEXCO from 2008 to 2018, forecast: “Of course there will still be analog events, they won't disappear overnight. But there is a shift towards digital formats, with completely new ways of interacting and exchanging information in a targeted manner.” At the same time, digital or hybrid events open up much greater reach. This too is democratization in the best sense, breaking down barriers, sharing knowledge and experience. Much of what used to be accessible only to an exclusive circle can now be accessed. Anywhere, anytime. The recent London Fashion Week is a good example of this. For the first time in its history, the shows were streamed in full, accessible to all. Bye-bye, front row. Martin Krill says: "Currently in times of Corona, virtual exhibition stands are a successful alternative. But if you start from the 'normal state' again, this virtual variant can be a very valuable addition to a balanced marketing mix. One must not forget that with an online invitation one can achieve a larger reach of potential participants. Of course, the direct personal contact that makes trade fairs interesting is disappearing. It is therefore important not only to rely on personal chemistry here – which is not completely lost thanks to virtual tools – but also to focus more on the content.”
3. Leadership with left (and right)
What has not already been written about leadership, agile and new work. How essential this transformation is has now been shown. When was trust in the employees, the literal letting go, a harder and more resilient currency than in Corona times? Martin Krill is convinced: “Corona has not only proven for many companies that working from home works, but has also often put the leadership qualities of managers to the test. Remote leadership is not easy to manage. Trust and letting go are the buzzwords, but there are also many employees who are left disoriented and need their leader to give them direction. Others, on the other hand, are running at full speed remotely because they enjoy the laurels of trust, know their way and want to achieve the best results with new impulses. A good balance and a feeling for the individual needs of the employees are required here.”
What is interesting in this context is the two-handed leadership principle, “ambidexterity”. Originally from medicine, it meant the ability to use the left and right hands equally. In management, it describes a synchronous principle: expanding the core business and developing it at the same time, day-to-day business on the one hand and speed of innovation on the other. Julia Duwe has written a relevant non-fiction book about this: “Ambidextrous Leadership”. This trend will only increase over the next few years. And another component will become more important. Glen Llopis speaks in a Forbes article (“Leadership Will Change Forever After the Coronavirus Pandemic”) about the end of standardized work processes and towards individual solutions. Although they are more chaotic, simply because they are separated from one another in a decentralized manner, sometimes even across time zones, these models still have the advantage of being much more resilient. He sees an age of individuality dawning (“The age of personalization”)
4. Two roles, one life: The private becomes more public
Who still remembers the reporter Robert E Kelly, where in the middle of a live interview with “BBC World News” the children burst into the study and were frantically pushed out again by their mother. That was just two years ago. The video went viral at the time. Today this sequence would no longer be newsworthy. In the last few months we have seen and experienced more private things than in any previous year. We know our colleagues' children, dogs and cats, we have studied their bookshelves and know that CEOs of DAX companies wear hoodies at home. Martin Krill explains: “Corona has made us all more human. The view into the 'home office' was really very interesting for some of my contacts. But I also have to say that it was precisely these impressions that replaced the personal exchange to a certain extent. Personal aspects also resonate in a face-to-face meeting. Be it in small talk, when a conversation partner has a family picture on their desk and you refer to it. Or awards for sporting activities adorn the office walls. All of that is being replaced by those very 'private attitudes' that video conferencing participants unpack.” And, perhaps most importantly, we've seen everyone struggle with technology, blurred images and a rattling sound are no reason to hyperventilate. In this regard, a new serenity, a good enough, has prevailed, which was previously rather foreign to Germans in particular. Keep going instead of wasting energy on perfection. 2020 also saw the rediscovery of the Pareto principle, also known as the 80-20 rule: 20 percent of the result is achieved with 80 percent of the total effort, while the remaining 20 percent require 80 percent of the effort.
5. Diversity – especially now
The reflex was there. In the past few weeks, one has heard statements from companies that went in the direction: We now have more important things to do than worrying about diversity. As if it were a "Sunshine Issue". Of course the opposite is true. We are not running out of arguments for diversity, making progress here is even more urgent than ever. "Mixed teams increase creativity and innovative power - skills that are irreplaceable for organizations at the moment. That's why we need even more active diversity management right now.", says Stephan Dirschl, press spokesman for the “Charter of Diversity”. Who would deny that we need to become even more creative and innovative in the next few years? Martin Krill also sees a need for action here: "I can only underline that. Diversity is a key to entrepreneurial digital competence. Diversity opens many doors. However, what is required here is not only an open-minded attitude, but also action. Everyone can and should exemplify diversity as normal and not just discuss it.”
There are many studies that have examined diversity as a success factor and driver of innovation. An interesting and underestimated dimension in this context is the question of group intelligence. Claudia Peus, Professor of Research and Science Management at the Technical University of Munich, Has recently pointed out this aspect. She quoted a paper that appeared in Science. According to this, an important predictor for the success of a group in making good decisions (and this is essentially what a company's success depends on) is the proportion of women. The reason: "Women tend to listen more and be more responsive to each other." Catastrophic decisions like the “Bay Pigs disaster” under Kennedy would not have happened like that.
