One year after New Zealand's first lockdown, we were lucky enough to speak at Raygun’s Survive to Thrive event. The event galvanised technology leaders across New Zealand, sharing stories of resilience and success across the sector. We were asked to answer the following question: where are successful organisations doubling down when it comes to their people?

Here’s what we think:

Thriving organisations provide customer-grade experiences for employees

People are one of our greatest sources of performance potential. We’re seeing thriving organisations focus on their internal customer experience, their employee experience.

Thriving organisations are designing with people, versus for them; gathering insight, listening to different perspectives, and creating solutions with mutual value.

It can be as simple as figuring out what matters to employees, identifying where they’re coming unstuck, and understanding what they need to be successful. Together, finding the sweet spot where employee and business value meet.

Thriving organisations are investing in leadership

Leadership is hard and the pandemic did a great job of reminding us just how hard! Many leaders were expected to display deliberate calm, bounded optimism, and empathy, all while being highly engaged and fact-based in all decisions. As we moved out of lockdown, the increase in remote work added a heightened requirement for mature leadership skills. We’re seeing thriving organisations recognise leadership as a standalone skill and a critical one to invest in.

Thriving organisations understand the need for speed (and excellence)

Last year we saw how quickly we could move and now we’re seeing organisations transition from adrenaline-based speed to sustainable speed.

Many organisations are re-thinking their ways of working and re-imagining their structures with a specific focus on speed and excellence:

• Flattening structures
• Unleashing nimble and empowered teams
• Making hybrid work, work
• Speeding up decision-making cadence
• Dialling up their performance culture

Last year, we saw the fruits of ruthless prioritisation and focus. At its best, we’re seeing this combined with employee input and deliberate comms that create the alignment required for executional excellence. We’re seeing organisations celebrating success and having fun along the way!

Thriving organisations are making hybrid work, work

We’ve seen organisations adopt hybrid working, unlocking significant value. This includes more satisfied employees, decreased real-estate costs, and increased productivity.

Hybrid working has other benefits including access to a broader talent pool, as well as attraction and retention of talent. It’s becoming an increasingly important edge in a competitive market.

Thriving organisations are taking a deliberate approach to designing flexible working arrangements. They’re involving their teams, designing ways of working that truly work for all stakeholders, and continuing to seek feedback and iterate to ensure hybrid work continues to work.

The time is now

We’re excited about this opportunity for all leaders to leap into the arena and recognise that what worked in 2019’s organisational constructs need to be reimagined for 2021.

What worked well during COVID that you can reintroduce in your organisation? The time is now!