In a matter of months, the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation of businesses around the globe. Since the start of the crisis, companies have had to dramatically change the way they work in order to survive and that means embracing the digital world.

As a result, they’ve seen much of their workforce work remotely, which means the need for the traditional office set-up is changing. But the ones that are certain to thrive are those that quickly develop a digital roadmap to keep up with these ever-changing processes and embrace this tech-focused world.

Shift to digital

A company’s digital roadmap is a blueprint which outlines goals and aligns their digital progress to their business objectives. In the last eight months, hundreds of thousands of businesses all across the world have had to incorporate working remotely into their business plans. While flexible working has been a steadily growing trend for decades, more companies than ever now need to incorporate a digital workplace to enable their employees to work from anywhere.

It’s important that the digital platform that you use should have three main requirements: for collaboration, for coordination and for control. This way, everybody will know where they stand at all times.

Communication and collaboration

While the essential watercooler interactions are but a distant memory this year, communicating with our teams and colleagues is still a key part of business life, albeit though now largely conducted online. From emails and WhatsApp groups to Zoom meetings, Google Hangouts and Slack, the digital workplace, if used correctly, can be even more efficient than in-office communications and encourage even greater innovation and growth amongst employees.

Recruit and retain talent

While recruiting new staff is not high priority for many companies right now, attracting – and retaining - good, tech-savvy employees is one of the best ways of successfully migrating to a digital workforce. In recent years, flexible working has been the number one requirement from potential employees, so now, with remote working becoming the norm, companies are able to recruit from a much wider talent pool. However, it’s important to not lose focus on your current employees. Try to encourage autonomy and motivate them with further learning and a commitment to their progress.

Innovate, educate and motivate

As part of future-proofing any business, technology needs to be an integral part of day-to-day operations. The foundations of a company’s data infrastructure must be able to support new technology, and data in all departments should be transparent so everyone knows what’s expected of them.

Finally, as digital technologies start to reshape your business, take some time out to consider what has worked and what has not worked over the last few months and adapt accordingly. Business leaders with a flexible approach who employ proper technology and, more importantly, have an adaptable workforce, head up the companies that will not only survive in this ever-changing climate but will also prosper.

As businesses adapt to this new way of working, find out how IWG can offer alternative working solutions for your company