Digitalization changes the working methods and requirements for experts

Hi all! This is a compensate task that I write for the lecture on Monday 3rd of April. The lecture had been about digitalization, so I think that it's the thing which I'm going to study this time. Sounds pretty interesting subject in my opinion.

Working at Google

I decided to watch Jonna Toikka's speech at WANTED! Tulevaisuuden työntekijä (engl. Future employee) #2016 -seminar. Toikka is an executive vice president at Google Finland and she's responsible for partnerships, in other words for marketing agencies, with which Google makes a lot of cooperation. Toikka thinks that Google as a company is at the heart of digitalization, and that's why she wanted to tell what does Google require its employees and  how have the working methods improved and what are they like today.

According to Toikka, Google is quite a demanding employer, but on the other hand it also gives to employees quite a lot. At the core of Google's work there is innovation. Innovation is important because the world is changing all the time, and also the pace of change is accelerating all the time.

The world is largely about managing change and being in standby mode for the change. At Google these things are especially present all the time. Adapting to change is really important, and it's true for every company, and also for all of us as individuals and job seekers.

Key elements of innovation culture

From Toikka's view, Google is actually an innovation business. She listed 6 points that are the key elements of innovation culture at Google, and also such things, all of which are related to how does digitalization change the requirements for experts and how it will change the way of working:

• The experts in the field. HR strategy at Google is pretty simple; to hire the best talent in the industry and let them fulfill their dreams. Google wants to ensure that its employees are type of "Googley". Also other companies increasingly want to employ right kind of personality types. At Google it means: fits to the culture, is curious, original, team player, doesn't be afraid to question things. One of the principles of the work at Google is, that while it is demanding, it has to be fun. Google pays a lot of attention, for example, to working environments. Not only because it would be fun, but because of the great potential for cooperation and innovation, and discovery of new ideas.

• Ideas can arise anywhere. Brainstorming is every single human's duty and responsibility at Google. Employees have the opportunity to innovate and it's also required. Google has an international open to all idea list, where everyone can vote. Google encourages to risk-taking and ownership. The fundamental at Google is that "Don't wait obtaining permits, but make progress rightly and apologize afterwards if something went wrong". Google follows innovation also in employee satisfaction surveys to follow if Google is an innovative company enough and if the employees think so too.

• Openness. To share as much information as possible. In principle, all shared information is confidential, unless otherwise stated. It is believed at Google that when a lot is shared, there will also be a lot more new ideas.

• Rely on data. Data is the only thing that can solve things, not the opinion in the corner room. Data is non-political, and the only one which can explain why the second option is better than another. 

• Quickness. It is better to be always fast than slow. Google's strategy is to launch frequently and quickly. It means that you have to put up with uncertainty and imperfection. On the other hand it leads to the fact that at Google they innovate and iterate constantly and listen to the users all the time.

• Managing chaos. The mayhem is really ok. When you have a lot of projects, a chaos is inevitable. Ideas must be allowed to fly in the organization up to a point. Quickness and constant brainstorming really will inevitably lead to a certain way of chaos. It is about how can we manage the chaos. Not everything can be processed in advance, after going through culture, which for example, Google has now.

These points sum up very well what does digitalization mean in today's businesses. One thing unites all the six parts of innovation culture. It acts as a binding ingredient, without it, the cake does not rise nor innovation culture work as expected. It is collaboration between the people and teams. Companies agree that the importance of collaboration is growing all the time. It dues to the fact that it usually means better business. It helps in faster and better decision-making, and it's also a generally recognized thing.

Social interaction generates better ideas

Google has done a lot of work to identify what are the factors that lead to successful cooperation. In practice, when we talk about innovation, and innovation and disruption are the aim, it obviously means that you need a lot of creative ideas. What Google found as a catalyst for change, is social interaction. In order to provide a lot of creative ideas, we need to have a lot of social interaction, because without it, the ideas just don't occur. 

So, how can we create the environment for a better social interaction? According to Jonna Toikka it's worth thinking of three trends:

1. People make more and more collaboration outside the offices. Collaboration will take place at home, in taxis, cafes, restaurants, airports, airplanes, and the number of places will only grow.
2. People collaborate in a number of different devices. Laptops, mobile phones, tablets, watches what is it to 5 years from now? Number of devices is currently 3-5 per person and the number will only grow. People have recognized the need to produce and share information and material to each other by any device at any time. It is worth noting in how work habits are changing.
3. People like the apps they use on their free time more than ones that they use at work. Companies nowadays take this into account  more and more by creating more and more social networks inside the company. Companies try to get more sociability, because productivity needs sociability and it is actually a prerequisite these days.

Readiness to change is one of those big things that are expected from all of us as employees. One can not know what is happening in your organization 2-5 years from now, at least not exactly, because it is not known exactly what the world looks like at the time. "How do you know how to see the continuous change in a positive light?" is one of the most essential questions to the employee nowadays.

Collaboration: The most important thing. You should think about what kind of a partner you are and how do you actually collaborate, because collaboration has a very essential role. 

One of the main requirements for both companies and employees is attitude. The attitude that even the impossible is achievable, or "seemingly impossible" is achievable. There are many examples of how we think and what we believe. It really greatly affects to the final results. But what is possible, is also achievable. In the end, it's just about that you have to have the courage to take a risk and jump!