Workplace evolution
WORKPLACE EVOLUTION
Workplaces are changing in response to ongoing technological, environmental, and social transformations and their imminent reverberations. Since ‘Re-inventing finance for a digital world’, the hybrid workplace has emerged as a long-term outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic. The mandated lockdowns in many countries in 2020 and 2021 challenged us to work, learn, and lead in a hybrid and remote mode of work, which opened our eyes to both their benefits and limitations. Although we now understand better how to seek and achieve a more balanced way of living and working, hybrid and remote work also demonstrated discrepancies in collaboration, inclusion, acculturation, and belonging. Those need to be addressed with the tools of transformative leadership.
Along with that, the models of outsourcing, shared finance services, and operating centres of excellence have embraced new ways of working based on harnessing the power of better human and technology interactions to support meaningful decision-making.
From where we stand, the future of work in finance teams looks like a fusion of generalist and specialist roles, defined by a mix of technical and enabling skills — business partnering through creativity, communication, collaboration, and agility. Our previous Future of Finance research found that the finance function was moving away from working in isolation with a narrow focus on analysis and reporting to becoming integrated across the organisation to create value. The findings from our Future of Finance 2.0 research show that this movement is continuing. Today, more than ever, finance needs to collaborate with other departments and creating a business partner model is an effective way of doing this.
The ‘Workplace evolution’ paper will explore what hybrid working looks like across different organisations and industries, the ways it has changed how people work, and whether enhanced or different skills are needed to operate effectively in a hybrid environment.
CFO, Technology & IT Services, Europe
Chief Audit Executive, Banking & Financial Services, Africa
Transformation & Digital Lead, Energy, Europe