Against the backdrop of new post-pandemic business realities, North Highland's recently released 2021 Beacon report surveyed more than 700 top professionals to get a look at their top strategic priorities for the year ahead.
Digital transformation continues to be front of mind for may companies, but accompanying that this year includes priorities like cybersecurity, operational efficiency, and customer experience, according to the study.
Newly promoted President of North Highland, Barbara Ray, likened this year's strategic priorities to piecing together a jigsaw puzzle, and that the areas of focus will include digital capabilities, data, and analytics.
The reasons we're seeing a focus on these specific priorities are manifold, but largely driven by market conditions, according to North Highland. Last year's rapid move to remote work has opened up organizations to a host of new vulnerabilities, which helps explain why cybersecurity was cited as a front-and-center issue for 85 percent of companies included in the survey.
Disrupted business practices and rapidly eroding cash reserves has pushed operational efficiency to the top of the wishlist for 80 percent of those surveyed. A further 80 percent said they were concerned with improving customer experience in anticipation of shifting needs and demands in the wake of COVID-19 recovery.
Technology is expected to continue evolving, but what North Highland's survey highlights is a renewed focus on talent.
"Given the importance of processes, ways of working, and operating models in building the muscle to adapt and transform, we believe that the missing piece in transformation is not technology, but rather people," says Ray.
"People put processes and ways of working into action, forging an essential link across strategic aspirations, action, and outcomes."
She continued, "Two- thirds of organizations cite workforce skills and capability as a top factor hindering their preparedness to tackle strategic priorities, with workforce capacity a factor for 60 percent of organizations."
To ensure workforces evolve at the same pace as technology, HR must be involved as a central part of any organization's transformation planning to help design new work models and processes, devise performance indicators, and keep employees engaged and fulfilled, North Highland writes.
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