iTWire - Leading change in an uncertain world

Friday, 08 October 2021 10:01

Leading change in an uncertain world

By Stephen Jack

Stephen Jack, Managing Director and Vice President, Workday Australia and New Zealand

Guest Opinion: Today’s chief executives and their boardrooms are the custodians of change. Prior to the pandemic, massive changes were already underway, but in many ways, this was accelerated by the changing world brought on by COVID-19.

Going forward, leaders must continue to navigate a dynamic and uncertain world in order to remain both relevant and to drive success. The ability to change and do so quickly is increasingly defined by and dependent on technology. However, the pace of change is often outrunning organisations' ability to keep up. Those still relying on legacy systems, unable to move away from outdated finance processes and ways of working, will be left behind.

At Workday, we call that reality the Acceleration Gap. Digital transformation is the crucial strategy leaders are embracing to help overcome the three critical challenges created by the Acceleration Gap. Namely, keeping pace with inevitable digital transformation & innovation; navigating the emergence of hybrid working; and finally, driving engagement with a largely distributed, and often remote workforce.

A number of leading organisations from sectors that underscore our nation’s economic progress have already undertaken proactive decisions to embrace the reality of digital transformation, delivering a proven roadmap for businesses to close that gap; and most importantly, to not just survive but thrive.

At this year’s Workday Elevate Event, 13 C-Suite leaders from 11 different organisations across Australia & New Zealand, agreed to share their own candid experiences of navigating this changing world. These leaders passionately represented our chosen theme of “Leading in a Changing World”.

These participants were C-suite leaders from the HR, finance, and IT functions of their organisations. They represented major players in sectors that are fundamental to Australia’s economic progress, including investment management, financial advisory, insurance, health care, higher education, utilities, engineering, and media entertainment. Participants included Aurecon, Challenger, Bupa, Suncorp & Macquarie University to name a few.

All these organisations reinforced the key priority of driving modernisation and change to help ensure future business agility and success. They unanimously

underscored the fact that organisations must be growth-minded and evolve from a reactive to a proactive mindset. In doing so, businesses need the right enterprise tools, which means investing across business platforms, across both HR and financial systems, to create one source of truth.

The message emerging from Workday’s Elevate event was clear. Transforming a business involves a new mindset. It involves doing different things in different ways. The correct balance involves automating and optimising actions while at the same time empowering the organisation’s workforce.

Now, more than ever, businesses need to be agile. They must have the right technology backbone in place to gain the insights needed to make strategic and informed decisions to adapt quickly in the changing world.

The Workday Elevate event can be accessed here, Workday Elevate ANZ 2021, Leading in a Changing World.

GRAND OPENING OF THE ITWIRE SHOP

ENTER THE SHOP NOW!

INTRODUCING ITWIRE TV

SEE WHAT'S ON ITWIRE TV NOW!