Initially dubbed a megatrend, new work concepts – sometimes referred to as Work 2.0 or simply New Work – are now part of everyday life in many industries and companies. But what do they mean for zeb? To what extent do modern tools and approaches influence our professional routine and work processes? And what are the values that guide us in this internal development process?
The term “new work concepts” – in Germany often shortened to “New Work” – refers to various aspects of everyday working life and corporate culture. Many have turned into buzzwords that just about everyone will have heard before: flexibility, individuality, diversity, modernity and transformation. However, these concepts are not just about modernizing the workplace or processes. They describe a cultural change within a company that goes beyond that. For us, “New Work” has become the new normal:
The need for innovative transformation is great. Companies’ high demand reflects the rapidly transforming and evolving society to which they must adapt in order to remain competitive. These transformative processes require people who can handle the technologies that drive modern work processes. For us as a management consultancy, this means keeping our finger on the pulse and being a role model in order to practice what we preach in our consulting services. We also have to regularly address the question of how we can create an attractive working environment for job candidates that takes into account today’s social desires for individuality or flexibility.
Flexibility for consultants – is that even possible?
Possible, yes – but it is not always easy to put into practice. In addition to the consultants’ work-life balance, client centricity must not be neglected. As a service provider, we focus on our clients’ wishes and needs. This means that it is not always possible for our consultants to avoid traveling. Each client has their own expectations, so some projects require more travel, others less or none at all. For the sake of the environment, too, we determine when attendance at client premises is necessary for workshops and other meetings and when shorter discussions can be held remotely. Our clients’ daily work has changed in a similar way, too.
Nevertheless, we try to take our employees’ personal wishes and circumstances into account as much as possible when staffing projects.
While these new work modes have their advantages, they also hold risks: For example, with hybrid work there is a certain risk that cross-project and cross-team communication within the company might suffer. Company-wide networks play an important role in counteracting the formation of communication silos. Against this backdrop, we provide various opportunities for virtual and personal networking across departments. You can find more information about our women@zeb, proutz and WorkingParents networks here.
We use our articles and chats on the Intranet to keep each other up to date with the latest news. Virtual meeting formats and face-to-face events, such as team and company-wide events, are another way of making knowledge accessible to everyone. Our biggest event – the zeb.Uni – is the best example of how we inform each other about trends and current topics.
Then contact our Talent Attraction team here. We look forward to talking to you.
