{"id":641,"date":"2021-11-17T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T15:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=641"},"modified":"2023-10-18T17:35:27","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T17:35:27","slug":"3-ways-canadian-cios-can-begin-shaping-the-future-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/ca\/blog\/3-ways-canadian-cios-can-begin-shaping-the-future-of-work\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways Canadian CIOs Can Begin Shaping The Future Of Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For decades, a lot of the tools with which CIOs were expected to equip their organization’s workforce were remarkably standardized. <\/p>\n

New hires were often given space in a cubicle, and the IT department provided them a desktop PC with word processing or spreadsheet applications, a landline phone and a connection to the Internet. <\/p>\n

The role of IT leadership in the past was also largely support-driven. CIOs were responsible for making sure the network didn\u2019t go down very often and that everyday tasks, such as sending jobs to the printer, were as seamless as possible.<\/p>\n

With the pandemic, though, the CIO took on a far more dynamic assignment: to help shape the future of work.<\/p>\n

This will look a bit different from one organization to the next, but the best way for IT leaders to be successful is to look at common principles and approaches from their peers.<\/p>\n

To that end, Salesforce recently partnered with the IT Media Group to produce <\/a>The Future of Work: Reimagining Workforce and Customer Experience<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Based on first-hand interviews with more than a dozen CIOs across Canada, it identifies 20 different use cases to overcome potential challenges and discover new opportunities. It\u2019s the kind of playbook CIOs have never had, but need. <\/p>\n

How The Journey Towards the Future of Work Sped Up<\/b><\/h3>\n

Even before COVID-19 broke out last year, the CIO\u2019s mandate had already undergone a huge transformation. <\/p>\n

They were increasingly becoming pivotal in helping companies expand into digital channels. Instead of a top-down approach to provisioning IT, they were trying creative ways to allow a more diverse mixture of devices and applications that were approved for use by individuals and teams. Beyond supporting existing IT, they were turning greater attention to how they could drive innovation.<\/p>\n

This includes not only providing technologies to help employees be more productive or efficient, but evaluating IT investments with a goal of fostering greater collaboration as companies seek to let employees work from anywhere. Technology shouldn\u2019t just get the job done, but help employees support customers throughout their journey with a brand. <\/p>\n

The \u201cfuture of work\u201d isn\u2019t just limited to those CIOs serve. The role of IT leadership is evolving too, where CIOs need to think of themselves as accelerating the pace of change. <\/p>\n

CIOs can no longer be the execs who say \u201cNo\u201d to new tools based on security concerns or the challenges of integrating them. They need to become the people who help organizations live out their purpose and mission with the best solutions available. <\/p>\n

As the IT Media Group report shows, there are a few things about the future of work that CIOs can count on \u2014 and which should inform the work they do from here on in:<\/p>\n

1. What Was Once \u2018The IT Strategy\u2019 Needs To Become A People Strategy<\/b><\/h3>\n

CIOs have historically made purchasing decisions based on whether it could solve a business problem, whether it fit within their budget and how quickly they could measure return on investment (ROI). <\/p>\n

Those are all still important considerations, but none of them speak specifically to the impact on people. <\/p>\n

The report includes stories from furniture manufacturers such as Teknion to financial services firms such as Manulife about the connection between technology and its impact on the employee experience. <\/p>\n

CIOs can make IT decisions that help reduce sick days, boost a feeling of belonging among the team and fuel engagement even when staff are working remotely. <\/p>\n

2. \u2019Customer Satisfaction\u2019 Becomes An IT Metric Vs. \u2018Output\u2019 or \u2018Uptime\u2019<\/b><\/h3>\n

IT conversations can often get mired into speeds and feeds, such as how fast a microprocessor runs or how a platform can scale to manage a larger volume of data. Yet CIOs are beginning to realize that their definition of \u201csuccess\u201d is based more on numbers that were once seen as the jurisdiction of other business functions. <\/p>\n

Many of the organizations featured in the report, such as Loblaw Companies Ltd., Equitable Bank and KTC Canada, are evaluating the progress of their digital transformation based on how it:<\/p>\n