HYBRID WORK COMES - and a few questions to ponder with it

// Leena Nyman

The global coronavirus pandemic accelerated digitalisation in the way we worked like never before. It would have taken considerably longer to carry out a similar development through management. Now the coronavirus pandemic forced companies and employees to find new coronavirus-safe ways of working almost overnight. Finland only thrives by catching up on post-corona growth and in this international race we must progress fast. Finland has strengths in providing the world with solutions to the challenges of a digital and carbon-neutral world.

The Confederation of Finnish Industries (EK) was the first to set up an innovation project called Digital Game Changers in the coronavirus spring, in which pioneering companies looked at the business impacts of accelerated digitalisation. One of the most active working groups in the project focused on changes in work and management in the new digital age. Cybersecurity was also at the heart of the review - without functional cyber security, there is no business either. The working group was led by Arto Räty, a long-term business influencer at Fortum.

It is in the interests of the whole of Finland that Finnish companies can catch up on the growth market that opens with the corona exit on a broad front. The SME sector has a lot to win in digitalisation. That is why the best practices identified in the Digital Game Changers project are being distributed to the business field so that more and more companies can become the pioneers.

One concrete outcome of the project is the report 'Digital working life and cybersecurity'. The report makes recommendations to four target groups: management, decision-makers, employees, and the education sector.

These groups were chosen because a digitalising world of work requires everyone to work together. Without corporate management's understanding and strategic management, new ways of working and cybersecurity will not become the foundation of the organisation. Decision-makers again play a key role in helping to create structures that support digitalisation and contributing to the digitalisation of public services through their decisions. No company can survive without the valuable input of employees, and employees can support the digitalisation process by learning new digital skills and supporting cultural change in organisations. The changed working life also affects the skills needed, which also challenges the education sector. What kind of skills companies and working life need in the future is a question that everyone is currently thinking about answers to.

In the report, pioneers outline digitalising working life through five main themes. These are: 1. cultural change achieved through leadership, 2. new disruptive and agile business models, 3. continuous in-service training and retraining of staff, 4. innovations and cooperation in ecosystems, and 5. technology and infrastructure.

Here are some picks from our key observations:

Digital working life and cybersecurity are crucial enablers of business and therefore need to be at the forefront of corporate strategy discussions and operations. A company cannot be truly digitised without always leading digitalisation from the top management level through the entire organisation. Leadership is otherwise emphasised in digitalising working life and places new demands on leadership and pays more attention to emotional leadership as well.

Hybrid and remote working also require local flexibility, which will inevitably affect labour law in the future. Concultant work in particular is in transition.

The training should focus more on continuous learning, which should be implemented agilely and customer-oriented at all stages of the working life. The link between education and business life is more important than ever in the midst of change! Learning new things will happen more and more at work in the future, and it will be a systematic and goal-oriented process.

Hybrid work plays a key role in an organisational culture that promotes innovation, networking, and information sharing. This can be supported by the creation of an encouraging culture that introduces new tools to stimulate innovation and is supported by regular and effective pulse meetings.

Throughout the board, cybersecurity is at the heart of our success in leading, working and doing business in the new digital age. Without functional cybersecurity, there is no business either. That is why cybersecurity is at the heart of the company's strategy.

Digital Game Changers project checklists for corporate management

Checklist for switching to hybrid work:

� Creating principles for hybrid work � Setting roles and responsibilities � Determining the times and places of remote working � Meeting policies and accessibility � Security, including cyber security � Wellbeing � Engage teams and employees into development work � Draw up concrete checklists. � Train managers to lead hybrid work. � Prepare to learn from experiences and adapt to changing situations. � Remember to share information and maintain communication!

Checklist for cybersecurity management:

� Create comprehensive and reliable cyber security awareness � Ensure adequate capacity for cyber risk assessment and management � Build an agile cyber preparedness and continuity plan � Create well-trained cyber crisis management competence � Procure superior cyber technologies – make smart choices � Allocate an adequate cyber budget � Build an agile and comprehensive cyber culture. � Build superior cyber competence in the human sector

Hopefully, the observations, conclusions, and tools of the Digital Game Changers project will benefit as many companies as possible. Let's continue to strengthen Finnish pioneering spirit!

Leena Nyman, Adviser, Digitalization, Confederation of Finnish Industries - EK

Leena Nyman works with promoting digitalization at the Confederation of Finnish Industries EK. She is also the product owner of Covid Digital Game Changers Task Force that was founded for forerunners to find new solutions on how to tackle challenges caused by the Covid pandemic and the fast digitalization. Leena is currently a Board member of the Foundation for Aalto University Science and Technology. She has previously also worked at the Economic Policy department at EK as an Adviser. Before her EK career Leena worked with Customer Insight at Kärkimedia and Yle.