Women in HVACR
not seamless enough to be useful ? Keeping employees engaged through strong communication is a clear focus area too . WFH has people generally surprised at their increased productivity relative to the office .
In one of his interviews , Bill Gates revealed that there is a downside to virtual meetings to that of in-person events . His inability to meet and collaborate with new people was noted as a significant challenge and therefore a new way to build social engagements and trust is required .
The value of digital networking can be a significant resource during this time . Platforms like LinkedIn offer a place to increase learning , contribution and increase value . Value creation and business opportunities continue to develop . Business development opportunities are in fact endless as travel time has , for the most part , been eliminated , it is now really all about a mind shift .
Targeting clients in a unique way has also changed under the parameters of digital channels and so too have many businesses ’ social impacts . International collaboration as another element has also increased .
Visiting customers , trade show cancellations , or any other live events have been replaced by focusing on alternatives like virtual events , online webinars , technical presentations and social media engagements .
Many companies have resorted to doing digital product launches with a clear focus on digital sales and marketing journeys . Virtual tradeshows have paved the way , and one can attend a show that you would usually need to travel to . This also reduces costs significantly and opens each of these companies up to personalise their user experience .
Covid has certainly changed how systems and the supply chain work . Optimisation of these systems is required , hence , engineers have focused on artificial intelligence , automation , and process control . A big focus for companies now will be education and how their employees are trained and kept engaged .
Intra-team communication has remained good , but inter-team communication is down . A renewed focus on keeping people from the age old ‘ working in silos ’ now needs to be addressed again and monitored .
What 2021 and beyond will bring will no doubt require a lot of innovation and creativity , and possibly even trial and error as so many aspects of what we used to consider ‘ normal ’ business ’, are no longer .
“ The enterprise that does not innovate , ages and declines . And in a period of rapid change such as the present , the decline will be fast .” - Peter Drucker RACA
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RACA Journal I April 2021 www . hvacronline . co . za