Good riddance, 2020!Posted over 3 years ago by Nick Boulton

2020 will be known as one of the most disruptive years in history. Professionally and personally, everyone has dealt with a lot. At this point, it’s stating the obvious to say that the way we work has drastically changed and it will never be the same. (If someone talks to me about the “new normal” again, I think I might throttle them!)

Evolution and innovation is taking place every day and has been for thousands of years - just look at us as a human species, look how far we have come in just the last 20 years. Every time there is a change, an evolution, a Eureka moment, we don’t start talking about “the new norm”??! This pandemic is not the first, nor will it be the last, turbulent force to impact businesses or our lives.

But we are incredibly resilient, we adapt, we evolve and we move forwards. So as we approach the finish line of 2020, here are a couple of things we are going to focus on next year and I think many businesses will.

• Flexible working is the future

No matter what industry you work in, it will involve more flexibility. This is great for mental health, family time, work life balance and ultimately, if managed correctly, will improve businesses and productivity.

It’s not just where people work that has changed, but how people structure their day now looks radically different. There is complete acknowledgment that there is an alternative to the normal long hours of recruitment and being flexible when you speak to candidates can actually increase your chances of finding the right people.

Managing productivity has been the main worry, but after more than 10 months of this in our lives it’s actually quite simple. The same people that take the piss at work, rock up late, underperform, leave early and dodge responsibility are the same ones that take the piss at home.

My advice – get rid of them! Replace them with people who actually want to do the job and don’t just say they do.  Because flexible working only truly works if you have 100% trust in your business.

• There’s always an opportunity

It’s easy to view 2020 as a year of professional and personal doom and gloom, with millions of people put onto furlough schemes, hundreds of thousands of redundancies and unemployment figures rising.

But there is always opportunity out there - while the pandemic is temporary, the demand for remote and flexible work opportunities is not. Each organisation has an opportunity to adopt more efficient recruitment strategies that fit their unique needs. Take this opportunity to leverage what you’ve already learned. Don’t throw away what you have established, instead determine how to continue to use the experiences and learnings to manifest an employment brand that is attractive to job seekers who want to be part of a modern, cutting-edge business.

• A happy workforce is a productive one

Having a happy productive workforce is a recipe for success in any sector and with all the challenges we have faced so far this year, one thing that remains, when you enjoy your work, everything else can fall into place. Nothing is ever perfect but if you enjoy what you do, leverage your expertise and commit to performing your role to the best of your ability, you’ll be successful.

Everyone has experienced some form of difficulty this year, that is inevitable, but one thing I have realised is how resilient and adaptable people are.