The Digital revolution…or is it evolution?

If you think back to the early 2000’s, the internet was the virtual playland for the big companies looking to do big business. Budgets were being pumped into creating vast, complex platforms that customers were able to explore (providing their bandwidth was good enough!) and place orders. Many predicted the bubble would burst and it some cases it did, with many dot.com imploding and unable to sustain the manpower, labour and technological capabilities their businesses demanded.

We are now in 2018 and the digital platform has changed dramatically, in a way that I think many didn’t expect. Social media superstars now capture huge audiences, raking in stupendous amounts from company sponsors but can also walk down the street without even being recognised by the public. Online start-up companies can set up a digital store front within minutes and grow year on year revenue exponentially (a great example is that of Gymshark.co.uk).

What I’m essentially getting at is the internet or digital environment being a better word, is now open to anyone willing to put the time in. Whether it’s a service or product, having a significant budget now is not a barrier to creating a successful business. Sure, you will have some base level costs such as website subscription and your production costs (if it is a tangible proposition) but overall your biggest ‘cost’ will be time.

This brings me onto my next slant – we as human beings and employees do not have enough time anymore. Yes, it has been a common saying of your elders and many people before me but it feels very real and prominent now. As a nation (that sits in Europe but not part of it after Brexit) we work the longest days out of any of them, whilst being one of the least productive.

I’ve been through a number of companies both small and large where it still feels like the employee should be ‘grateful’ for being there. Now in some cases I do agree with that, in most other cases though I don’t. The reason is that no matter how difficult or easy the job market is out there, jobs are always available. On the flipside, entrepreneurs are at an all time high and quite a few have started their own business due to being made redundant or simply getting fed up of being overworked and under-rewarded.

Newsflash…employers need to start focusing on their employees as much as they do on their business. As Richard Branson once stated, “clients do not come first, take care of your employees and they will take of your customers”. Yes, it is a corny saying but it is so true.

Trawl through many job adverts now and its all about what you (the employee) must or need to deliver to the business. Very few have stated what they can do for you in terms of career and benefits.

My point is that companies need to continuously improve their internal service just as much as they constantly improve it to their external customers. Employers need to observe it as a relationship rather than ‘employment’. Fall behind and you’ll find your talent leaving for pastures that are greener or setting up their own.

#digital #employers #internet