As the spread of COVID-19 slows down and is contained across the country, a question looming on everyone's minds is what shape the workplace will ultimately assume when the pandemic is over.

With office parks nationwide shut down and workforces adjusting to performing duties remotely, companies have been forced, whether they like it or not, to assess their ability to digitally transform. This disruption to "business as usual" has served as a wake-up call concerning the increasing role digital transformation will play in our post-pandemic work lives.

But once the pandemic crisis fades away, will the urgency for such transformation stick?

COVID kick-starts digital transformation

Up until now, it's been easy for many companies to back burner any plans for making digital transformation a business priority. Then the COVID-19 crisis came about and forced businesses to change, pivot and transform, pretty much overnight. Suddenly, many job functions previously believed impossible to be conducted outside the office, or via mobile, could be–but only when appropriate technical infrastructure was put in place.

Our own survey, which Blue Fountain Media conducted to better understand how employees and managers are experiencing remote work, came to the same conclusion. Given the right digital tools, working remotely could be accomplished – of those who reported that they were less productive working from home, 24% lay the blame squarely on not having the technical resources or infrastructure in place.

This same survey found that:

65% of respondents feel that the growth of technology has played a role in the success of remote work "without a doubt."
41% of respondents have found video conference calling apps, like Zoom or Microsoft Teams, to be the most helpful since working remotely.
38% of respondents feel nervous about going back to work after restrictions are lifted, saying they'll have to see what safety measures they've put in place.
And 20% of respondents like working from home so much they will try to work out an arrangement to continue doing so with their boss after restrictions are lifted.

With numbers like that, it's pretty clear that a tepid approach to a digital transformation won't cut it going forward. Companies that have invested whole-heartedly in digital transformation prior to the pandemic are now in a much better position to continue operating smoothly when compared to those that took a limited or piecemeal approach.

The future of the workplace

So while digital transformation may be more critical than ever, according to reporting from econsultancy, the expense of undertaking such a transformation may prove cost-prohibitive for businesses that take a financial hit during this crisis.

That many businesses will suffer losses in the upcoming months is going to complicate any transformation efforts, at a time, ironically, when they're most needed.

But if enterprise is going to be successful in the post-pandemic market, digital transformation is going to be a necessary and on-going initiative.

What does the new-normal office look like?

Winners in the post-pandemic workplace are those companies that continue or escalate their digital transformation efforts.

Here's what we can soon expect:

The digital tools that enabled work from home will become mainstays, affording business more flexibility to have jobs performed in mobile environments.
The rollout for supporting infrastructure such as 5G mobile networks and high speed internet will be hastened because of this new demand for robust connectivity.
Virtual teams and events will increasingly replace in-person meetings and the audio-only conference call.
Cloud tools will replace in office mainstays such as whiteboards, meeting rooms and multimedia projectors.
Training, recruiting and HR onboarding will be primarily accomplished using the distance-learning models.
Clients and customers, who have quickly adapted to engaging with businesses online and through mobile devices, will expect those services to continue and improve as we return to the "new normal."

There will undoubtedly be many lessons that emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, but a big one for business will certainly be the necessity of strategically planned, thoughtfully implemented digital transformation as the only way to survive this crisis and future ones. Brian Byer is vice president and general manager of Blue Fountain Media, a Pactera Company, which is a full-service digital marketing agency. He has more than 20-years' experience helping businesses navigate major technology trends to create a competitive advantage and ultimately transform their organizations.

Read more:

Instant Insights /

Returning to work: Why recent steps toward digital transformation will stick

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