Managing Teams in the Digital Era

When you manage a young workforce in technology, it’s a different ballgame because they are curious and aware and the way they work is very a huge departure  from the traditional standard. How do you keep them engaged? How do you actually retain them? How do you ensure your corporate goals overlap with their interests?

Kenyan business leaders are finding it harder to adapt to this increasing and unpredictable change in the work environment. For a majority of them, the cause of this change is the disruption by digitization of products, processes, and business models. To remain competitive, leaders require a set of competencies and style that can adapt to the demands of their time. Different work environments, culture and social values require different approaches; no one size fits all. Blockchain, machine learning, cloud computing, Internet of Things (IOT), just to mention a few, are the digital technologies behind this disruption.

The imperative motto of digital disruption is “anytime, anywhere” meaning that companies need to adapt their structure and processes to guarantee frictionless transactions with their customers that eliminate any form of delay or frustration. The digital disruption is linked to several challenges for business leaders which are often hard to address due to the increasing pace of change. To cope with the speed at which new expectations are introduced, leaders must rely on a very agile infrastructure and proper technology that moves away from a process-centric approach to embrace an outcome-based attitude.

Staff Recruitment

Digital transformation requires digital competence, and it is difficult to find people who are already immersed in a fully digital world using standard channels. Mobile technology has shaped the way we consume information. Businesses need to adapt to the latest trends and activate channels which are likely to address people who are already part of the digital revolution.

Staff Engagement

Employees demand authentic and engaging experiences that can be created with the help of modern platforms that hinge on cognitive solutions, and design thinking processes targeted at enhancing the individual experience, increasing motivation and performance, and promoting leadership, ownership, and self-sufficiency.

Company Strategy

Business leaders have an overview of the entire organization. In the era of digital disruption, the leaders can clearly identify innovative units within the company and help transfer this know-how across different departments. Early adopters need to be addressed and their experiences communicated throughout the entire organization. Successful digital operations can be used as examples to motivate other units and spread the digital mindset across the board.

Staff Performance Measurement

Attainable goals must be connected to Return on Investment (ROI) and broken down into digestible KPIs that define success at different stages of the transformation. Since data flows in from multiple systems, the real issue here is figuring out how to create a harmonic overview that consistently relies on comparable benchmarks. Business intelligent data must be incorporated into talent management data and vice versa for monitoring and planning.

In conclusion Kenyan businesses that are driven heavily by technology require a management approach that is adaptable, vision oriented, engaged and with high levels of humility. This approach should have an informed decision-making process that focuses on a fast execution style to ensure the companies navigate through the disruptive operating and economic environments. Slowly we are seeing good to great companies being guided by such management theory practices.