The future-ready organization
Not since the Industrial Revolution has there been this much disruption at once. Whether it’s rapid technological change, evolving employee values, constant geopolitical shifts, or increasing third-party operational risks, we’re experiencing discontinuity in almost every aspect of our work lives.
Want to be future-ready?
The future-ready organization is one that can ride out disruption because it has built resilience on all fronts. It finds the capacity to look beyond the next quarter, sensing internal and external trends, building future scenarios, adapting and innovating its strategy and operations. And it does this grounded in a strongly held sense of purpose.
Of course, it takes more than just talk to build a future-ready organization. It takes planning, and a practical approach to finding and implementing solutions. Here are some questions you can ask yourself:
Which functions of your organization need to be future-ready?
In short, all of them. But our experience is that these five areas stand out as having the most impact in creating a resilient and ready-for-anything operation:
Reputation and brand
Protecting and advancing your reputation and brand by developing a sense of purpose, and a value proposition, that motivates your employees, guides your business forward, and fulfills a social responsibility.
Operations
Understanding, preparing for, and managing the growing operational risks and disruptions to processes, technologies, and facilities that come with an ever-expanding cloud-based technology ecosystem and increasing use of third-party vendors.
Workforce
Building a resilient workforce with the skills that can evolve with the rapid pace of change, enabled by workforce analytics, new talent models, and work-integrated learning—all while supporting well-being at the individual and organizational level.
Workplace
Reimagining new work environments and the way we work, whether that’s developing hybrid arrangements, optimizing existing or new real estate, understanding the tax and legal implications of workforce location, or using new technologies to create compelling workplace experiences.
People-centred design
Putting employees instead of technology at the heart of a digital transformation. It requires redesigning the way work is done, focusing on outcomes, and thoughtfully implementing productivity-enhancing tools.
What have other business leaders been asking about how to become future-ready?
Becoming a future-ready organization involves complex and evolving issues. Often, questions from leaders are central to developing pragmatic and effective solutions for their organization:
Over the past few years, we have implemented all sorts of changes to how we work. How do we maintain these changes going forward?
How do I know what skills and capabilities our workforce needs to thrive long-term?
Should we evaluate our real estate portfolio and look to manage costs differently, given the rise of hybrid work arrangements?
With the rapid move to cloud technologies, I'm worried about risks with data security, operational continuity and privacy. How can I mitigate these risks?
How can I be more confident in the ability of my supply chain to deliver while ensuring I’m socially responsible?
How can I create a sense of purpose for employees that is both socially responsible and commercially viable?
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Additional resources
Organizational resilience
Resilient organizations don’t just survive—they thrive in an unpredictable world. They take on new challenges with confidence.
The resilient organization
How to thrive in the face of uncertainty
A practical guide to resilience
“Resilience” was well on its way to becoming a business buzzword before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
A board's eye view on organizational resilience
Anne Marie O’Donovan shares her views on how to develop resilience and create supportive cultures.
“People have been talking about the future of work for a long time, but the future of work is now. What you may have once perceived as a risk, has shown benefits. So how are you going to turn risk into opportunity, even as we face economic uncertainty? How will you become not just an organization that reacts, but an organization that is resilient?”
- Kathy Woods, National Future-ready Organization Leader, Deloitte
