Business Insights from 2022: What to Take and What to Scrap

The year 2022 saw organizations grappling with rapid transformation across every sector. On top of that, there were humongous global shifts and challenges to be dealt with, like climate change and shifting political and economic power. In clear and unambiguous terms, the world is changing fast, and organizations must adapt accordingly. Therefore, this article will look at some of the most noticeable business insights from 2022.

Business Insights: Sustainable Operations

One of the biggest takeaways from 2022 is a genuine attempt made by organizations to either reduce or eliminate the environmental costs of businesses. While decarbonizing the supply chain is a suitable place to start, forward-thinking businesses are going beyond and trying to improve sustainability across all their business operations. And since sustainability has become synonymous with resilience, companies are trying to adapt and evolve to survive in the long run. In this age of conscious consumption, businesses that ignore sustainability are unlikely to survive.

Business Insights: Balance Between Human and Robot Workers

The year 2022 also saw the rise of AI and automation. Machines have now taken over several tasks previously handled by human intelligence. This left many employers with vital questions like how to strike a balance between human and machine intelligence. What kind of roles should be handed over to the machines? Which roles are better suited for humans? Since automation will affect every aspect of the industry, business leaders must keep their staff and infrastructure ready for the changing nature of work.

Business Insights: Changing Employee Experience

Our work culture has evolved in the past few years. While each year witnesses growth among the younger workforce, the pandemic has also resulted in more remote and gig workers entering the workforce. While the pandemic made organizations hire remote employees, a common business trend in 2022 was a shift among organizations toward hiring people on a contractual basis.

Matthew Mottola and Matthew Coatney also took up this phenomenon in their book, “The Human Cloud,” arguing that traditional full-time employment will soon become obsolete.

Business Insights: Agile Organizations

In the past, most organizations were very rigid and hierarchical in their structures. However, 2022 saw leaders accepting the need for a flatter and more agile business structure. Such agility would allow businesses to respond to change and reorganize their teams accordingly in a quick manner. This can also be seen as a result of the changing nature of work culture, especially the rise among freelance and remote workers. Therefore, 2022 could be seen as the beginning of the age of flatter business structures that comprise flexible communities instead of the top-down pyramid structure.

Business Insights: Authenticity

In 2022, consumers looked for meaningful connections with their brands. And this need for connection gave rise to authenticity as an essential business trend. Authenticity can help create human relationships. As consumers, we like businesses and their leaders to project human qualities like compassion, empathy, humility, honesty, reliability, fear, and vulnerability. Brands must care about issues and go beyond profit-oriented motives. Hence, authenticity can help create a better image of the brand, especially among tech-savvy consumers.

Business Insights: Purpose-driven Business

Close to authenticity, this trend was about ensuring that organizations rose above creating profits for their shareholders and worked towards achieving a specific, meaningful purpose. The purpose of an organization must define its existence. It is not about the business, what it does, or for whom. Its purpose must be different than its mission and vision. A stronger purpose was usually backed by a promise of transformation or working for something better. It can be for a better world, a better way to function, or anything significant to the organization.

Business Insights: New Funding Sources

There has been a significant change in how companies generate finance. New platforms and mechanisms have emerged to connect businesses with donors and investors, like crowdfunding, tokenization, initial coin offerings (ICOs), or special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs). Most of these methods are driven by a decentralized finance movement where services like borrowing and trading happen within a peer-to-peer network through a public decentralized blockchain network.

Business Insights: Data-driven Business Decisions

While data analytics have been around even before the pandemic, digital transformations induced due to the pandemic have given rise to further innovations in data analytics. While digital platforms have made the necessary changes in their analytics, newer models have been created that can automate data extraction, monitoring, testing, and analysis. These data analytics tools are also available for competitors. Hence, from marketing to human resource management to business accounting, 2022 saw businesses monitoring and using data to make critical business decisions.

Business Insights: Outsourcing

One of the most noticeable trends in 2022 was the rise in outsourcing. Many businesses started relying on virtual assistant services for most of their operations. The flexibility offered by virtual assistants enhanced efficiency and improved the cash flow. Virtual assistant companies like Virtudesk offer these services, allowing businesses to hire VA full-time or part-time and even for a single project. These are cost-efficient since businesses do not need to invest in office space and equipment.

Business Insights: Digital Transformations

The pandemic forced countries to shut down their borders, making us work from home and transfer traditional businesses online. Most companies had to adopt online tools to communicate with their teams and manage projects to accommodate such changes. This phenomenon paved the way for the rise of entrepreneurship but also incentivized developers to create similar tools. These tools were in great demand during 2022. With each passing day, companies are becoming increasingly reliant on them. These tools can run most businesses remotely, from project management to automation to communication.

Business Insights: New Roles

Adopting digital tools and accelerating development gave rise to the demand for skilled AI and tools specialists. While automation may have reduced task completion time, it has created a demand for experts who could set up, manage, and troubleshoot those tools. However, skill gaps have been created due to the fast-paced nature of these changes. Fortunately, businesses are no longer restricted to nearby talents. They can easily find specialists through virtual assistant services. Many companies have maximized the availability of such services by hiring virtual assistant companies that train those specialists.

These were some of the most important business trends in 2022. The future of business will be determined by shedding and adopting technology that can accommodate requirements for survival and growth. While legacy systems must be shed, new concepts and technologies should be welcomed. This not only pertains to operational needs but also involves human capital. Businesses are more likely to adopt personalized approaches to foster better client relationships. And this can be possible through technology equipped with omnichannel capabilities. Companies must also focus on empowerment by giving their employees more flexibility and focusing on their happiness. We may look forward to a person-centric phase of capitalism with ‘I’ at the forefront.