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From Y2K to the Great Pause: How to Face Another Transformation Head On

July 21, 2020
 
iCIMS Staff
2 min read

It’s New Year’s Eve in 1999. Glued to their television screens, the world watches the ball drop in Times Square and holds their collective breath as they wait for the world to end. Of course it did not, but the Y2K freak out that proceeded it for all of 1999 created a forced digital transformation.

What was a date issue in legacy systems had the potential to break everything and businesses went scrambling to fix it before midnight on Jan. 1, 2000. Y2K dramatically shifted the already evolving role of  IT leaders, from the back office to center stage as both  the center of the problem and the solution. And they weren’t the only ones. Human resources also woke up to two major realizations: they had to figure out how to find talent for these uncharted IT roles and they had to be more tech-savvy about what runs their part of the business.

Today, a pandemic-induced workforce transformation has uncovered the need for organizational agility. For years we’ve talked about “the future of work” – now, we’re living it. Overnight we realized that we could run businesses remotely, while doctors are taking most visits through telemedicine, and students are learning with teachers through Google classroom.

In speaking to numerous iCIMS customers over the last few weeks, they all have sped up projects that had previously been put on the backburner from now needed virtual hiring tools to integrations that will better support remote teams. But once again, it wasn’t just about the tech. They stressed that the crisis was the catalyst that has brought their teams closer together as they practice more empathy, flexibility, and patience with one another. A recruitment transformation discussion doesn’t center around technology – it rests on the shoulders of an agile, diverse workforce.

The recruitment transformation at your organization doesn’t have to feel forced. Successful transformations are the result of strong internal partnerships. What we saw in 2000 is the same as 2020 – when IT and HR join forces, things change for the better.

As an HR leader, IT can be your biggest ally in making the new future of work a reality.

Ready to build a better partnership with IT? Learn how in this step-by-step guide. 

 

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