Back in 2015, the chairman of the World Economic Forum at the time, Klaus Schwab, coined the phrase the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”. He was trying to convey the dramatic changes ahead in the way that we live and work, driven by emerging technology and interconnectedness. These emergences denote a turning point for mankind, and one that he saw unfolding at a whirlwind pace. However, what Schwab couldn’t predict at the time was how the transformation was going to be realized in double-time, thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Has your organization put together a survival strategy for navigating the pitfalls of pandemic corporate culture? If not, then now is the time, because without oversight, there’s a pretty good chance that you’ll be paying the price later. Why? Because the mainstays that used to define the culture within any workforce have largely vanished—or at least they did for a while there—and the impact of that isn’t something that should be ignored.
While some of your employees might have come back to the office, global indicators like the “Great Resignation” tell us that the undercurrents of business have changed and things won’t be going back to the way they were before. The pandemic has well and truly pushed us into the arms of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, so now is the time for revamping corporate culture and embracing the potential of what is yet to come.
What Are the Technologies Driving the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
During the first industrial revolution, man harnessed the machine. With the second came mobility and the infinite possibilities of electricity. The third, also known as the digital revolution, saw us ask computers to do things beyond human capacity. So, what of the fourth? Our current shift sees us sharing our world with the Internet of Things, virtual and augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, biotech, artificial intelligence, and so much more.
Normalizing technologies that were once conceptually sci-fi is exciting, but as they transform our daily lives, the need for businesses to keep up is at peak urgency. With faster, glossier, more complex tech comes far more intricate data-related security risks, more sophisticated criminality, and dramatic changes to the ways in which people consume and communicate.
Beyond the need for businesses to transform how they meet their customers’ evolving expectations, there is also an unmistakable need for companies just like yours to pay close attention to where the pandemic corporate culture that their team has moved into might go next. Make no mistake; if the performance and cohesiveness of your employees has taken a hit during the disruption of the last few years, a Corporate Culture Audit may well be your saving grace.
Revamping Corporate Culture to Meet the Fourth Industrial Revolution Head On
The businesses that cruised through the upheaval of Covid-19 unscathed may have been many things, but what they certainly had in abundance was united resilience and flexibility. The corporate culture of tomorrow—the one that will inherit and build upon the remnants of pandemic corporate culture—is going to need to have these qualities baked in, because dynamism is going to be a defining factor as these new technologies and forms of communication gather ground.
If revamping corporate culture is your next vital step, the place to begin is understanding the foundations that you’re working with so that you can firm-up and remodel as required, and get ready to build towards the sky. A Corporate Culture Audit from Lauth Investigations is the ideal tool for this task, dispatching expert corporate investigators who will build a clear picture of your organization’s current status quo, and help you draw up plans for making that all-important foundation unshakable so that you can leap ahead of the innovation curve. If you’re ready to be the change, learn more about the power of Corporate Culture Audits, or explore your unique needs with our team today.