This blog post is the third part of our Evolving Workplace series. To hear more thought leadership, check out series episodes on the Remarkable Leadership Podcast.
This is the third post in our Evolving Workplace series, where we try to make sense of what’s going on in the workplace as of today, how we got here, and where it’s going (near as any mortal can tell.) Today we are looking at what technology will do for (and to) us in the next five years.
If you think about all the new technology that we’ve dealt with in the last five years, it’s pretty daunting to think the rate of change will continue to be that rapid. After all we went from “what’s Zoom?” and “What is this Microsoft Teams thing?” to having this tech just be what we use every day. As always, some people use it well, others make do, and some are still lagging behind.
If the notion of another five years of this makes your stomach clench and your head spin, don’t panic. As with most such periods in history, we’re probably going to go through a period of retrenchment and refinement with one major exception.
Let’s take a look at five of the most obvious changes and what it will mean to leaders.
Enhanced AI
Let’s start with the exception. Artificial Intelligence will be built into more of the tools we already use and will become a more common part of our everyday workflow. Some of this we’re already seeing (although not everyone is taking advantage) in things like the AI summaries and assistants built into tools like Zoom and Teams. We can get language translated, create transcripts, take notes and increase the overall effectiveness and retention of meetings and training.
Some of the work will be done automatically, but the big change for many people is learning how to access the information they want. AI information is only as accurate or useful as the questions you ask.
AI will play a critical role in communication, task prioritization, and training/onboarding.
Virtual and Augmented Reality
Virtual and augmented reality will play more of a role than ever in training and practicing key skills. We will become more comfortable interacting with avatars and virtual spaces. The speed at which this is adopted will have less to do with organizations and more with people. The most impressive use of this technology right now is in the consumer space. As gamers, shut-ins and tech nerds use this technology at home for entertainment, it will impact the workplace. Gear will become less expensive, and the learning gap will be shrunk as many workers will already know how to use it. The best analogy is when AOL hit in 1993, and more people had email at home than in the workplace.
Cybersecurity
Cybersecurity will become more important to companies than ever before. Data must be protected, and it’s an arms race between hackers and bad actors, and those of us just trying to get our work done.
Most of the enhanced cybersecurity will be invisible to workers and hidden behind the scenes. It will impact how we use our own devices at and for work and is a surprisingly big driver of the return to office movement.
Cloud Infrastructure
Like cybersecurity, most of us won’t spend much time worrying about exactly where the information we use and need sits. It will make a difference to employers. One expected change will be increasingly simple user interfaces so more people can access or share information that will interact more with Artificial Intelligence.
Customizable Hybrid Work Platforms
This is where a lot of the refining and retrenching of existing tools will take place. The introduction of brand-new tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and similar tech will likely slow down while these are tweaked, upgraded, and adapt to a hybrid workplace. They will become increasingly customized to both companies and individual workers. This in turn will enhance their productivity and create more consistent work and information flows.
So, what now?
For leaders this will mean a few important changes in focus. First and most important, upskilling themselves and their teams must become a priority. How to use the technology will be important. How to maximize its impact (especially around AI and Hybrid Work Platforms) will be equally important. You can’t assume everyone on your team will use the same tools in the same way for the same results.
At a higher level of leadership, investments in technology will go hand in hand with changes in the traditional office. Most corporate leases will be renegotiated in the next five years. How much office space will you need? If you’re a truly hybrid organization, do you need to reorganize who gets desks? What will the physical workspace need to look like if you’re maximizing technology and workplace flexibility?
You can learn more about this topic from our audio podcast series on the Evolving Workplace. It is a new part of the Remarkable Leadership Podcast.
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