Originally posted on Mitel.com: https://www.mitel.com/blog/expert-tips-for-embracing-extreme-change

As organizations reach the end of the year and enter the budgetary phase of fiscal planning, they must prioritize technology and tools to help employees deliver on plans for growth.  Complicating the planning process this year is the result of the global pandemic that forced leaders to invest in solutions to solve their immediate needs to send their workforces home to work remotely.  This unexpected exodus had two impacts on plans for the new year.  First, budgetary dollars were spent on unplanned licenses and digital capabilities.  Second, these purchases were made without sufficient time to consider the long-term impact on their current infrastructure.

Now organizations must reconcile the latent needs of the business with the short-term decisions made to ensure business continuity.  Earlier this year, Mitel CHRO Billie Hartless and Josh Hortsmann, Partner at Sales Benchmark Index, discussed how HR and IT can leverage technology to support business continuity in the webinar, Powering Connections Through Crisis

Here’s a recap of their advice:

Technology is Transformative

Organization must deliver flexibility in employee work arrangements. According to a GetAbstract survey , the top three reasons for wanting to work remotely were the absence of a commute, flexible schedules, and a sense of increased productivity. This crisis proved technology can help to mitigate change during short and long term challenges. Yet, many companies have delayed the investments that could provide employees with effective remote working.

The COVID-19 crisis will eventually be resolved, but the tangle of technology organizations had to piece together will further highlight what changes need to be made to IT policies and communications strategies to reduce the impact of a future disaster. IT departments met the challenges of rapid relocation with quick fixes, but these solutions do not support effective and seamless business continuity practices. And poor communications can cost your business in the long run.

Collaboration Is Key

Looking into 2021, we have learned that collaboration between people and the acceleration of information transfer is critical to staying competitive regardless of the challenges that befall employees.  Whether it is a global pandemic, a weather phenomenon or a personal need to work from another location, it is clear that employees can be effective no matter where they are.

Yet collaboration can take many forms. It is important to choose a technology that facilitates teamwork with dedicated workspaces, task management and file sharing for each project. Tools that allow for quick response, such as SMS or messaging, as well as telephony and video to help teams have real-time interactions ensure that communications can speed through the organization without friction. While these technologies may exist in your organization as a result of communication needs from the pandemic, most are standalone, disconnected from other systems and add additional complexity to IT environments.

Seamless Communications

Now is the time to evaluate your organizational capabilities to ensure your team can be more productive, even while working remotely.  The time taken to fortify your communication strategy will result in robust conversations about the risks and opportunities your organization may face in the coming year and what investments you can make to unify disjointed technology to maximize employees’ chances to deliver on your plans for the year.