Digital Collaboration and the 21st C.

In March 2020, some of our McKinsey colleagues argued that the COVID-19 crisis could be the “imperative of our time.” A month later, we noted that it could bring a “dramatic restructuring of the economic and social order.” We stand by those assertions. The COVID-19 pandemic has been an economic and human catastrophe, and it’s far from over. But with vaccines beginning to roll out, it’s possible to be cautiously optimistic that the next normal will emerge this year or next.
And we believe that, in some ways, that normal could be better. With good leadership, from both business and governments, the changes we described—in productivity, green growth, medical innovation, and resiliency—could provide an enduring foundation for the long term.

Via Farid Mheir

The cybersecurity skills gap has been plaguing enterprises for years—but despite garnering much discussion and media coverage, little progress is being made.

State of Cybersecurity 2020 looks at questions such as:

• How long does it take to fill a cybersecurity role with a qualified candidate?
• What percentage of cybersecurity candidates are qualified for the role?
• Is retention improving or worsening?
• Which cybersecurity skills are in the highest demand?
• Are HR teams informed partners in the search for qualified cybersecurity candidates?
• Are cybersecurity teams becoming more gender-balanced, and are diversity programs doing enough to help?
• What can companies do to staff up more quickly and find better-qualified candidates?

Via Farid Mheir

eBook featuring the tools we think are essential for remote work, tips for using them with your team, and Zaps you can use right away.

Via Farid Mheir

Remote work has been the norm at Buffer for many years now; we ditched our office in 2015 and have been hiring remote teammates since 2011. Here's our take on remote work.

Via Farid Mheir

7 steps, from communication tools and performance reviews to team morale and helping new hires.

Via Farid Mheir

Mazin Gilbert has an ambitious goal. As vice president of advanced technologies at AT&T, Gilbert wants to make AI technologies widely available throughout the corporation, especially to those who might not have a computer science background and may not even know how to program. Call it the “democratization of AI.” To accomplish that goal, AT&T is building a user-friendly platform with point-and-click tools that will enable employees — up to one-quarter of the company’s workforce — to build their own AI applications.

 

AT&T and a host of other companies are trying to address a crucial issue in business: the severe shortage of AI talent. According to some estimates, only about 10,000 programmers in the world have the necessary expertise to develop advanced AI algorithms. But that’s barely a drop in the bucket for what companies will need in their future workforces. Tools like AT&T’s platform will help spread AI technologies well beyond just a limited number of “haves” and reach the “have nots” that may lack the technical knowledge and experience.

 

This democratization of AI will happen in two ways. First, it will enable employees across a large organization like AT&T to develop their own AI applications to make them better at their jobs. But it will also allow smaller firms to deploy some of the same AI capabilities that have heretofore been limited to large corporations. Think of how spreadsheets like Lotus 1-2-3 and Excel helped democratize data analysis, enabling even mom-and-pop shops to perform invaluable “what-if” analyses.

Via The Learning Factor