Guest blog from Tony Solomon
Many business experts have spoken about it over the past few years, and especially today: Where does the future of work lie, and what are the best methods to creating a positive employee experience? Not so coincidentally, the two are very closely related, and the recent shift of focus towards human resources is one of the biggest proofs. Globally, businesses have come to understand that in order to have high-quality and satisfied employees, they have to give them meaningful purposes. That attracted a shift of focus in human resources department, and they have gained in importance a lot more in the past few years.
A Shift of Focus
The biggest mistake mankind has made regarding work is that it’s always tedious, management is always about controlling the work environment and employees are just an expendable workforce. That is far from the truth, and many businesses today strive for the non-traditional organization of work. That means that employers now invest more time and effort into building relationships with their employees and making sure there is a positive working experience.
Another thing that has contributed towards this shift into human resources is flexibility and freedom. Many companies have chosen to cater to their employees in various forms, from which both can benefit. There is team-building, flexible working hours, telecommuting, and even freelance.
To Reach a Common Goal
By allowing employees the freedom to choose and accommodate them accordingly, a big perk that comes with it is increased productivity and an overall happy worker. Depending on the business, that might mean the best choice for everyone are the standard shifts in a collaborative office space where everyone can work as a team and solve problems together, but for others it may mean a little more adaptable working schedule that allows employees to even work from home – saving time and stress from commuting and therefore increasing productivity.
All-in-all, the main focus of everyone should be to reach the goal of the company by all means. That might be one of the main reasons for a stronger desire for communication – opening a network of information available to everyone in order to stay focused on the goal and work towards it.
Autonomy
Organization is much more transparent, and the hierarchical structure is almost to be forgotten. With less one-on-one guidance from managers or other higher-ups, employees are less independent and are able to work uninterruptedly. That feeling of autonomy is the main reason for the rise of the freelance culture – which is growing as we speak.
Companies with employees to spare have their work cut out – that’s why they have to make sure they have everything they need, and even consult search engines such as Yak Portal to find the right service their company needs. These kinds of multi-purpose services are just what the modern CEOs need to cater to the alternating needs of the millennial workforce.
The Sandbox Approach
Many employees of the past had a strict linear path laid out to them in terms of promotions and similar – and that shouldn’t be the case as well. Today everyone gets to make their own choice for their career path: they can switch departments, teams, anything they need and are qualified to do. The corporate ladder isn’t a ladder anymore – it’s a sandbox. As long as employees do their job well, there is no reason not to let them switch careers if there is a benefit and demand to it.
Physical space also affects this shift, in terms that there were various researches conducted to determine what the best environments are for inspiring and promoting productivity. That also greatly depends on the nature of businesses, however there are some things every business has in common, and that’s how to accommodate every employee. Ergonomic furniture comes as the most popular thing in recent years, especially in busy office spaces, as well as game rooms, coffee places and other areas that can serve as a haven for employees to take a much needed break in.
Teamwork for the Win
Employee experience doesn’t mean that business owners have to break their backs to make them happy, it is just a mean to create a healthy and stable community within the working environment, which can only affect the business positively. The future of work lies here – because the most effective way to reach a goal is to work together towards it, not to fight the current.
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