We Cannot Look to the Past to Move Us Forward
First and foremost, I would like to thank Profiles in Diversity Journal for this prestigious award. I am honored to be recognized among this amazing group of talented and dynamic women who have made significant contributions within their industries.
The past two years have changed how businesses, the economy, and society operate—no one was left unaffected by the pandemic. It has certainly changed the world of work, and in some cases, accelerated trends that were just beginning to pick up speed, like the transition to digital. As employees navigated their new normal, both personally and professionally, employers began shifting their approach to adapt and address the evolving needs of the workforce. The fact that we were working differently did not get in the way of providing employees with the access and information they needed to work and make informed decisions.
The first piece of this puzzle was ensuring digital access. While mobile and digital tools were previously a nice to have, when the world went virtual, they quickly became an essential need. Resources that lived in print pre-pandemic needed to be quickly transitioned to digital and made available on-demand or within digital tools, like applications and virtual dashboards. And as the pandemic shifted the desire to be within physical proximity of the workplace, there also came a need for flexible tools that could be accessed from any device, at any time, from anywhere across the globe. This required investments in easy-to-use and streamlined digital experiences that kept users engaged, despite distractions from the world around them.
While the pandemic challenged us to work in different ways, it also led to advancements in digital technology that will serve us all for years to come. It taught us that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to the future of work, so we cannot look to the tactics implemented in the past to move us forward. We must remain flexible and continue to evolve, change and grow, and the digital advancements we’ve seen come as a result of the pandemic are just one step forward in allowing us to do just that.
