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Restructuring the ways CIOs can lead IT departments in the pandemic era

By Megana Natarajan - September 17, 2020 3 Mins Read

Restructuring the ways CIOs can lead IT departments in the pandemic era

CIOs acknowledge that boosting IT teams to complete work productively and innovatively has always been challenging, the pandemic has made the already demanding task even more complex

Organizations say that all successful IT projects resulted from the team effort, collaboration, inspiration, advocacy, support, enthusiasm, and brainstorming. All these factors are critical elements in an IT innovation. The pandemic has resulted in a socially distanced workplace or remote work environment, making teamwork a tad difficult.

IT leaders needed to adapt to the scenario and adopt a new strategy for team-building. Some organizations have proactively adopted measures to tackle the issue. They have fully embraced the practices which enable the enterprise to respond fast to demands of navigating through the pandemic, keep the operations running, fostering social distancing, and teamwork. Organizations are promoting the culture of viewing work as a thing to be completed and not as the premise employees have to go to by encouraging the adoption of technologies, resources, and behavioral places.

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The following principles will help CIOs promote forward-thinking policies that encourage productive and collaborative teams in the current demanding and cloistered remote work environment.

Understanding that the future is hybrid

The new normal where employees work with decreased in-person interactions have had a depressing and adverse effect on general productivity. Enterprises are looking to blend the advantages of a remote work environment and in-person/on-site employee interaction, and harvest the best output from both.

Work will progress towards a hybrid model where people work both remotely and from the office. The entire dimension of communication, coaching, and collaboration needs to be updated as the virtual work environment spreads. Better deployment of tech will not only enhance employee productivity but also be a metric of a differentiator for the business.

Understanding that ‘Digital-first’ is a priority

CIOs promote a “digital-first” strategy in the social distancing era to ensure effective team-building and productivity. Cross-regional and remote teams are not a new concept, but the pandemic has resulted in hasty and chaotic adoption of the strategy, which leaves little time for the employees to adjust.

Enterprises are encouraging the development of an ecosystem of virtual technologies, resources, and cultural policies that help duplicate and serve the same collaboration and support that an on-premise office location would have. Digital-first tech like analytics, cloud, mobile and social tools are efficient only when employees utilize them. IT leaders are tasked with encouraging the utilization of new kinds of services, processes, and applications across the organization. Employees will be attracted to a new service or product when they have a good user experience. Blending design thinking in the entire journey will enhance the effect of a digital tech’s impact.

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Understanding the importance of open communication

CIOs acknowledge that a scattered workforce will result in deterioration of team communication. Enterprises that need employees to be on-premise have promoted meetings that respect employee preferences and social distancing needs. Seating arrangements are made with a six-foot distance setup and mandatory mask-wearing throughout the business hours. Business leaders promote non-work activities that help team-building like in-person and remote social hours, virtual coffee chats, club meetups, etc.



AUTHOR

Megana Natarajan

Megana Natarajan is a Global News Correspondent with OnDOt Media. She has experience in content creation and has previously created content for agriculture, travel, fashion, energy and markets. She has 3.9 years’ experience as a SAP consultant and is an Engineering graduate.

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