Although the world is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel regarding the effects of the pandemic, we remain at the mercy of infection statistics, government measures, and the vaccination strategies being rolled out across various countries. The only certainty is that the future remains uncertain regarding the consequences of social distancing, as even the most optimistic forecasts suggest that face masks and restrictions on indoor gatherings will remain in place throughout 2021.
Unfortunately, much of the damage done is irreversible and has ended millions of businesses across the globe. Regardless of the quality of their products or services, the inability to continue operating under the measures established to protect against COVID-19 devastated their finances, eliminated millions of jobs, buried years of hard work, and confirmed that the companies most likely to thrive are not the largest or most powerful, but the most flexible and dynamic: businesses capable of adapting rapidly to change.
Technology empowers organizations, provides operational transparency, and introduces automation to map and measure processes. It allows them to verify the effectiveness of their strategies and, most importantly, centralize cross-functional communications and actions. As a result, any changes or adjustments can be implemented quickly, guided by concise and transparent data accessible to management.
Did you know that the only companies that survived and grew during 2020 were those equipped with a cloud-based CRM, which enabled their teams to continue operating from anywhere?
What can we do at this point?
Resistance to change is a constant in every industry, company, and country. Humans are creatures of habit, but when the status quo jeopardizes the survival of our way of life, we can and must adjust, adapt, and evolve. Similarly, leveraging technology as the backbone of our economic activity is an imperative in these times. Even with COVID-19 under control, very few companies and employees are willing to return to previous routines that forced them to spend hours commuting to the office or spend a significant portion of their salary dining out because they could not return home for meals.
A survey by Future Forum Research revealed that 72% of knowledge workers based in offices want to transition their work model to a hybrid setup combining remote work and the office.
Where do I start to enable remote work for my business?
The first and most critical step is making the decision. The next step is to build an action plan outlining the core elements that will guide our operational digitization path.
1) Establish clear, numerical, achievable, ambitious objectives with a defined timeline.
2) Map out our current operational workflow and begin identifying the tasks, teams, and users to be empowered through technology. While this marks the start of a comprehensive digital transformation across the business, you can begin with core teams; typically, sales and customer service teams are enabled first, as they have direct contact with the market.
3) Set a budget for software procurement. The allocated amount should realistically reflect the level of task automation expected to be executed, measured, and managed remotely.
A study revealed that companies operating a hybrid work model allowing employees to work from home half the time saved $11,000 per employee per year. Meanwhile, employees working under this model save between $2,000 and $7,000 annually.
Essential Tool Guide for Remote Work Enablement
Here are the remote work tools you can start using:
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💻 Communication Tools:
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🗂️ Work Management Tools:
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This set of tools facilitates instant communication across the team, virtual meetings, session recordings, document sharing, and even source code collaboration for technical teams. |
This group focuses on managing daily tasks. Teams can share activity lists, implement agile methodologies using boards, and gain visibility into individual workloads and project progress across all involved teams. |
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🗄️ Document Storage Tools:
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🔃 File Sharing Tools:
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These tools allow you to store documents in the cloud and download them to any device—whether a phone, tablet, or computer—ensuring files are always accessible whenever an internet connection is available. |
When storage is not required and direct sharing is needed, these tools allow you to send specific files to one or multiple recipients. They are ideal for large files that cannot be sent as standard email attachments. |
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♻️ Customer Management Tools
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🙌 Additional Tools
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Marketing, sales, and customer service teams can continue working remotely while tracking all customer interactions and daily tasks using platforms like Sales Automation. This ensures complete internal visibility into customer relationships and identifies how to support them effectively. |
For companies that do not yet have a website or an e-commerce platform, these tools offer a simple and cost-effective way to launch digital channels. This serves both as an entry point for remote customer engagement and as a workspace to manage distributed operations. |
The measures implemented during 2020 have changed the business landscape permanently. The closure of millions of businesses will pave the way for thousands of startups and new ventures that must leverage every available tool to compete with established industry players. In 2021, the only way to mitigate uncertainty is to prepare our organizations for any scenario. Technology delivers the foresight and capabilities required to adapt and thrive amid changing conditions. The competitive landscape has never been this level regarding market variables. Any company is susceptible to failure if it fails to adapt to the new reality; likewise, any company can succeed if it learns to understand and capitalize on it.
