Article: The world of disruptions and business challenges

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The world of disruptions and business challenges

Umang Bedi, MD-South Asia of Adobe talks about the world of disruptions and how to challenge them.
The world of disruptions and business challenges

Disruptions are happening everywhere. Some people and organizations see them as a threat, and others see them as unique opportunities. Nowadays, every boardroom is talking about doing things differently and bringing innovation in the processes. There are primarily two types of disruptions which are happening 

One, when a new cool app comes into the market which is small but focuses on a particular thing which disruptsthe entire industry just because it offers simplicity in user experience. There are a few examples of such applications which have been completely disrupting the industry. For e.g. Uber which doesn’t own a single cab but is still a largest taxi hailing service in the world. It succeeds because it makes hailing a cab very easy -- a simple, yet fast experience. Similarly, AirBnB which doesn’t own any property/real estate but has over  1,500,000 listings in over 190 countries and remains to be one of the largest websites in the world to book and rent lodges. These businesses came up with new ways of getting things done and have disrupted the industries.

The other type of disruption is the unbundling of services, for e.g. if one gets the permission to open open a bank then he would have to offer a wide range of services which include things like credit cards, loans, insurance, EMIs and a lot more. All these are aggregated into one place. But there is someone smart out there who is disaggregating those services and is simplifying things. One of the fine examples could be of Policybazaar.com where you can see, compare prices of different policy providers and buy from the one you like on their website or on their app. Similarly, CarDekho.com is a portal where buyers gets a list of all the cars and their prices at one place. 

Large companies tend to think more on solving bigger issues but disruptions mostly happen when a small problem is solved in a simple and an innovative way. Easy access to cabs by Uber, or booking a hotel through OYO Rooms are examples of addressing the smaller problems which creates disruptions for the bigger players.

One way of coping up with these disruptive changes would be to improve the efficiency of processes and cutting down on costs, so that a new company cannot come in and do a better job, at the lower cost and disrupt the industry. “Organizations also tend to over complicate things, and by keeping it simple, the inefficiencies can be reduced and removed from the processes,”says Umang Bedi, MD - South Asia, Adobe. The managers or the decision-makers have to be fearless, they will have to take bold steps and start experimenting small, and it is very important to stop overcomplicating things. Accepting failures and learning from them is necessary. The Indian mindset has put a lot of stigma to failure and the problem is we don’t celebrate failure which is a big barrier as well and people out of fear do not try out new things.

 Technology, on the other hand is playing an important part in attracting more customers and in retaining employees as well. Everybody now has become a slave of technology today and it is high time that it’s used for the benefit of the company. Whether it is a customer or an employee, they all demand information on the devices of their choices, you can’t go and tell people to use android or iOS. Since there are over 50 million personal computers and 1 billion mobile phones in the world, it is important that the information has to be mobile and the experience has to be connected.“Earlier in Adobe, the only connected experience in HR was Leave Application and Payslip but we are past that and are working on more connected experiences,” says Bedi.

He cites that when Adobe shifted from perpetual license to subscription basis model and this change had a major impact on its workforce, during this phase, the company lost many of its important employees including the ones who had been with the organization for 15 years because they didn’t believe in the change. This was bound to happen when a company makes big changes.But the question is are the changes necessary for the company to survive? This is also where HR really helps.It is shocking to know how leaders are incapacitated without them. People managing the HR functions are the core of the business and many do not take this as seriously as they should, they are the ones who keep the organization and people together. “Adobe has also started Employer Response Communication which is a 24/7 call centre for HR professionals who helps employees across the world. The main learning would be is that one should be open to change,” signed off Bedi.

 

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Topics: Assessments, #ChangeManagement

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