Wake-up Call or Company Wake? It's Time to Choose

Organizations are battling the challenges of the 21st century workplace. Day-to-day manual tasks are now done by machines or computers. Very small companies can operate on a global scale through websites on the Internet. Employees work from virtual offices at home in their pajamas.

Organizations must wake up to the realities of the new workplace. Those who refuse to embrace change will find it difficult to do business, attract top talent and retain market share and profitability. To thrive in the 21st century and beyond, management needs to acknowledge and adopt the realities of a new workplace.

Step 1
Develop managers who care. Employees in the 21st century want leaders who value and care about them. Managers should meet with new employees the first week on the job and discuss their background and help them set goals for the next six months. They should get to know their families, hobbies, hopes and dreams. Managers should spend time expressing admiration and sincere appreciation for an employee's talents and skills.

Step 2
Forget the old formalities. Establish a workplace with a casual dress code and informal interaction. Managers and employees should use first names from the start. Abandon formal meetings governed by Roberts Rules of Order. Consider replacing traditional position titles like manager and supervisor, and opt for team leaders or just team members with rotating leadership. Productivity doesn't have a dress code. T-shirts and jeans aren't just for Google and Microsoft. Allow people to be comfortable and place more emphasis on producing a quality product than how employees are dressed.

Step 3
Examine the physical structure of your workplace and operations systems. Some companies are still stuck in the past with offices that separate employees in mazes of cubicles. They operate with outdated manual processes. Study your competitors or the leaders in your industry to learn how they are structured. Survey your customers to determine their needs and preferences. Restructure your work hours to accommodate a global marketplace. Organization that are only available certain times of the day will miss out on global customers eager to buy their products and services. Abandon the old hierarchy that equips upper management with laptops and cellphones. Equip all employees with technology that will make them accessible and productive.

Step 4
Allow employees to combine business and personal time. Since so much of life is available on line, there is no need to separate the day into "work" and "life." Instead of restricting the use of cell phones, Internet usage and texting, equip employees with technology and encourage them to take care of things while they are working. Use technology as time management tools. Help employees set up a Facebook account so they can keep track of their kids after school or family members during the workday. Instead of restricting social networking, use it to your advantage.

Step 5
Adopt new policies today. Create informal work areas where employees can gather for impromptu meetings. Establish rest periods during the day for employees who want to take a short nap, watch TV or surf the Internet. Invest in an XBox or Wii and encourage employees to play games on their meal breaks to relax and relieve stress. Put up a ping pong table and a basketball hoop. The new generation workforce is tech savvy and results oriented. Management needs to awaken to the realities of how they work and the environment that makes them productive in order to prosper.