Malcolm Frank, chief strategist, Cognizant on what the future of work will look like
The future of work is no longer in the future says a video on the Cognizant website. Even as the world comes to terms with a reset economy, its apparent that the same rules no longer apply. Malcolm Frank , chief strategist, Cognizant says that the world as we know it is rapidly changing, in part because of a series of events over the last few years. As we started talking to clients during the recession to understand the situation better, we realised that this was not a cyclical shift but a secular one, he explains.
Companies are now being faced with the reality that in order to remain successful, they will have to reassess their business models and their entire approach to business so far.
Frank cites the example of a client, an insurance firm. Prior to the recession, they had a 200 people set-up which is now down to eight employees. In reality, the firm has grown over the last two years and hires far more than 200 people, but these are virtual captives who no longer work out of the same physical space.
virtualisation has been the biggest, and yet most underplayed issue, in the last three years, says Frank. With social networking and newer technologies like cloud computing gaining in popularity and accessibility, location is increasingly getting unimportant.
While companies have been outsourcing work and moving to an increasingly globalised world for a few years now, Frank says that post the slowdown, as companies get used to dealing with lower growth expectations and greater margin pressures, virtualisation is going to rapidly gain acceptance.
The recession in a sense showed the world that a worker could be as effective working virtually as he was physically, says Frank.
Another significant factor which is impacting the w! ay organ isations function has been the coming of age of the Millennials or people born between 1980 and 2000. Today, 25% of a companys workforce comprises millennials and if there is one defining feature of this generation, Frank says it is that theyre tech savvy. They more often than not will know more about IT than the companys IT department.
For the millennials, their Sunday night experience using technology is far superior to the Monday morning experience. Walking into office is like going back in time. Companies should realise that if they truly want to utilise the full potential of these employees, they need to provide a suitable environment, he says.
On the flipside, as millennials start emerging as a core consumer group, businesses will need to adapt to their needs and requirements. For instance the new consumer finds the idea of going to a bank branch idiotic. For him its a waste of time when he knows that it is possible to carry out that transaction either on the phone or online. In a situation like this, the age-old theory of a consumer joining the bank at a young age and then staying loyal all through his life no longer holds.
Consumers will automatically gravitate towards a bank or service provider who meets his requirement of CRM virtually and can provide a better virtual experience, says Frank. What these consumers expect is a very rich human interaction, but in the virtual space.
Companies are now being faced with the reality that in order to remain successful, they will have to reassess their business models and their entire approach to business so far.
Frank cites the example of a client, an insurance firm. Prior to the recession, they had a 200 people set-up which is now down to eight employees. In reality, the firm has grown over the last two years and hires far more than 200 people, but these are virtual captives who no longer work out of the same physical space.
virtualisation has been the biggest, and yet most underplayed issue, in the last three years, says Frank. With social networking and newer technologies like cloud computing gaining in popularity and accessibility, location is increasingly getting unimportant.
While companies have been outsourcing work and moving to an increasingly globalised world for a few years now, Frank says that post the slowdown, as companies get used to dealing with lower growth expectations and greater margin pressures, virtualisation is going to rapidly gain acceptance.
The recession in a sense showed the world that a worker could be as effective working virtually as he was physically, says Frank.
Another significant factor which is impacting the w! ay organ isations function has been the coming of age of the Millennials or people born between 1980 and 2000. Today, 25% of a companys workforce comprises millennials and if there is one defining feature of this generation, Frank says it is that theyre tech savvy. They more often than not will know more about IT than the companys IT department.
For the millennials, their Sunday night experience using technology is far superior to the Monday morning experience. Walking into office is like going back in time. Companies should realise that if they truly want to utilise the full potential of these employees, they need to provide a suitable environment, he says.
On the flipside, as millennials start emerging as a core consumer group, businesses will need to adapt to their needs and requirements. For instance the new consumer finds the idea of going to a bank branch idiotic. For him its a waste of time when he knows that it is possible to carry out that transaction either on the phone or online. In a situation like this, the age-old theory of a consumer joining the bank at a young age and then staying loyal all through his life no longer holds.
Consumers will automatically gravitate towards a bank or service provider who meets his requirement of CRM virtually and can provide a better virtual experience, says Frank. What these consumers expect is a very rich human interaction, but in the virtual space.
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