Seemingly overnight, CIOs were tasked with the responsibility of getting entire organizations ready to work remotely. Now, as many states are in the process of reopening, CIOs now have the herculean task of preparing for what work looks like post-COVID-19. From reassessing the benefits of remote work to tackling the challenges of remote work policies, CIOs must be ready to ensure businesses can operate securely with a mix of remote and in-house workers. Here’s how COVID has changed work and how IT leaders are moving forward.
COVID 19: Short-Term and Long-Term Impact on Manufacturing and IT
When states began imposing mandatory shutdowns for all but essential services, many of manufacturing facilities were simply unprepared for remote work. The need for social distancing created supply chain disruptions across several industries, leaving many organizations scrambling to adopt remote work, staggered shifts, and virtual shift work. Many companies in the manufacturing space quickly adopted automation and remote functions to stay open and keep pushing forward.
Undoubtedly, this has brought into the forefront of discussion the need to do things differently. From the revival of automated domestic manufacturing for basic goods to organizations pushing to build out data infrastructure capabilities, smart manufacturing has been kicked into high gear and digitization is, rightly, being seen as a competitive advantage. What this means for IT teams going forward, is managing remote and local workers will be the norm and not an anomaly.
Reopening for a Blended Workforce
During the initial crisis, CIOs earned a more prominent seat at decision-making tables thanks to their quick response rolling out remote work where possible. For many organizations, these actions not only kept their staff working but kept them productive through a truly challenging time. Now, as all states are in reopening phases, CIOs are once again tasked with the difficult task of getting employees ready to return.
In the immediate future, CIOs will have to ensure that organizations can keep their remote and socially distancing, local workers productive and that means ensuring that IT policies reflect the work that each does. On an organizational level, the same CIOs who were pivotal in creating remote work policies will become an integral part of your business’s digital transformation strategy. Work is not going back to normal – digital is the new normal and that means that organizations will need CIOs to focus on digital transformation strategies and move beyond IT-related responsibilities.
Technology Investments
The right technology matters. As the shift to remote work has shown many organizations, emerging technologies that were once seen as “unproven” are now vital. Cloud technology and development has become a crucial component of today’s digital organizations. But as Mark Runyon warns, CIOs need to be strategic in their tech investments.
Focusing on the right technology investments makes all the difference in determining the success of your digital transformation efforts. As we begin to reopen our offices, we must consider that the technology we invest in today will have a lasting impact on our workforce in the future. That’s why a focus on code automation, workflow process automation, and investments in Robotic Process Automation are all vital to ensuring both remote and local workers remain productive. Each of these technologies allows the robots to focus on the mundane, yet necessary tasks and free up human hands for the tasks that only a person can do. This will ensure that workers are not only productive but put an emphasis on their well-being as well. A win-win.
Reopening facilities also means having to monitor and mitigate potential risks to your employees’ health and safety. COVID-19 isn’t done with us yet, but we can ensure that we reopen our offices and plants in a safe and responsible manner. This will ultimately usher in a new era of IoT-enabled devices that will be adopted for use in manufacturing and commercial spaces.
Manufacturing will benefit from IoT devices that can actively monitor distancing on production floors and commercial building operations may even incorporate medical monitoring tech to identify potentially hazardous conditions. Even before the world stopped, IoT had been gaining popularity in digital transformation plans, and now it may be as common as telecommunication infrastructure is in an office.
What Have We Learned?
Experience is the ultimate teacher and if nothing else, COVID-19 has taught organizations the importance of forward-thinking leadership. Nowhere has this been truer than within government agencies. As State Scoop covered, many of the CIOs interviewed pointed to some concrete and actionable lessons. From ensuring that continuity of business plans are in place and sound, to partnering with tech vendors to help manage an emergency transition, to the willingness to adopt a new mindset around work culture, CIOs have led the charge in preparing organizations for remote work and modernizing organizations. In the end, persistence and willingness to move forward will be vital to our efforts to get back to business.