A social media story claims that UPI payments have killed the candy business in India; and the accelerated adoption of contactless payments due to the pandemic has added fuel to the fire. In 2017, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings declared the streamer’s biggest competitor was, in fact, sleep.
While some reports suggest this may only partially be the cause of declining sales for toffee makers, and the role of other OTT platforms in cannibalising Netflix’s revenue cannot be ignored, it brings to the forefront a key question that organisations today are grappling with – How do they keep up with the ever-evolving behavior patterns of their customers?
Today’s organisations have to deal with increasing complexity in market dynamics, and their survival is no longer predictable. In the next 10 years, 75 percent of S&P 500 companies are expected to disappear.
What leaders will need, is to organise business in a manner that can respond to constantly evolving customer, environmental, and market needs.
Meet the adaptable organisation
Adaptable, resilient, agile, responsive, flexible, role based – these facets represent the ideology of an organisation that Embraces change, Empowers its people to navigate uncertainty, and Evolves with market dynamics.
While the concept of the adaptable organisation has been doing the rounds in management circles for some time, COVID-19 has accelerated the rate of change in building/scaling up adaptability.
Unravelling layers of the adaptable organisation
Latent human potential is driven through each layer of the organisation and throughout its culture. Let us explore each of these layers and learn how they can contribute to adaptability.
The ecosystem ─ How the organisation is integrated with the ecosystem: The pandemic also served as a lesson in collaboration and evolution of the traditional boundaries of the organisation and its value chain. Essential goods producers with traditional distribution networks across the country entered into unlikely alliances with app-based food aggregators, transport aggregators, and even quick-service brands – with the collective mission of ensuring the last mile delivery of essential goods. The boundaries of “organisation” are blurring and businesses will need to embed their vision and strategy with a shared purpose.
The organisation ─ How the work is organised: Earlier, products were defined, customers predictable, and the DNA of an organisation was the pursuit of efficiency. The new order demands a transition to a network of multi-disciplinary teams that are empowered to respond to shifting market dynamics with agility, by aligning the right resources and eliminating the need to navigate complex hierarchies
The team ─ How capabilities are mobilised: Traditionally, teams have members with similar capabilities, organised to work on set processes within siloed structures. For teams to become multi-disciplinary, organisations will need to bring together individuals with diverse capabilities, creating an ecosystem of teams that work on specific missions, “own the problem,” and “drive the solution” end to end.
The leader ─ How the work is managed and led: Balancing agility with efficiency in networked, mission-based teams require distributed leadership across levels, a significant shift away from the hierarchical mindset. An effective leader in an adaptable organisation: can exist at any level; is an inclusive orchestrator that brings together diverse capabilities and individuals; and is resilient in the face of navigating ambiguity.
The role ─ How the work is delivered: Remote/hybrid working has led to a dramatic shift in how certain roles deliver on the ask. For example, sales teams had to adapt to selling virtually. As businesses re-organise themselves into mission-focused teams, roles will need to be consolidated based on outcomes, rather than responsibilities. Disruption in technology will create “super jobs” that use technology to both augment and broaden the scope of work and value added.
The talent ─ How capabilities are augmented: A key tenet of an adaptable organisation remains flexibility. As market dynamics are unpredictable, organisations will need to manage fluid patterns in workload and capability demands. As fully traditional workforce model has its limitations in adequately addressing these challenges, organisations are transitioning to an open talent economy; they are earmarking roles that can be fulfilled with alternative employment models, such as part time, joint ventures, contracting, freelancing, and gig working.
The workforce ─ How the work is executed: With most organisations retaining hybrid working even with the recession of the pandemic, organisations must build an ecosystem conducive for physical and virtual teams to work side by side. Adoption of technology will be key. Acceptance of remote working and institutionalisation of scaffolding mechanisms, such as technology, flexi policies, and satellite offices, have also enabled organisations to tap into latent talent based in tier 2/3 cities.According to a recent Deloitte survey, 68 percent leaders rate themselves highly on readiness to integrate with the Ecosystem and 69 percent on managing the Workforce effectively. However, only 40 percent believe they are Organised for flexibility and 44 percent believe they have the right Leadership model in place.
How ready are you?
Do your workers, peripheral talent, and stakeholders see a shared purpose that unites them?
Do your teams operate on trust and believe in bringing diverse perspectives to the table?
Are your people comfortable experimenting and learning from mistakes, knowing that you will reward them for learning?
Do your talent programmes address talent beyond the traditional worker, such as contingent workers?
Can you support your people in building their capabilities across a range of experiences, or are they encouraged to continually move up?
References
Theguardian.com
The Adaptable Organisation | Deloitte Study | 2021
Survey on Adaptable Organisations | Deloitte Study | 2022
Authors
Nikhil Kolur, Partner, Human Capital Consulting, Deloitte IndiaSonali Gupta, Associate Director, Human Capital Consulting, Deloitte India
This is a Partnered Post
First Published: Dec 26, 2022 4:55 PM IST
