Depending on the nature of your work and business operations, decentralization may be the path forward for more productivity and lowering expenses simultaneously.
In recent years what was once thought of as hypothetical has become much more commonplace, and that is the increased usage of remote work and virtual offices.
Benefits of The New Decentralized Office
There was a greater demand for decentralized spaces, from offices to schools, meeting rooms to event gatherings, which accelerated a trend that had already begun.
In fact, it’s projected that by 2030, virtual events and remote work will be so widely utilized that the event planning industry sees virtual events to be worth over $650 billion a year.
Another industry seeing a massive spike in the popularity of becoming decentralized is healthcare, especially preventative medicine.
Medical professionals and staff that offer virtual routine care have helped to make treatment more accessible to more people and at a lower cost to provide the care.
There are various reasons for the increase in accessibility and lowering costs.
In general, offering telehealth makes it easier for patients who lack the financial means to lose hours at work and decrease travel time to get quality preventive care by simply having access to telehealth options.
Another reason that telehealth has been good for patient care is lowered costs.
For example, having fewer in-person visits reduces the administrative and maintenance costs associated with in-person treatment so that healthcare providers can keep operational costs lower.
In other words, what was considered a disruptor has quickly become accepted as the new normal and provides benefits for everyone.
And it’s not just in the workplace environment that the concept of decentralized structure has taken hold.
Decentralized finance is another sector that is seeing an increase in usage. Decentralized finance is the reliance on emerging financial technologies that deemphasize central banking and promote secure distributed ledgers like those popularized by cryptocurrencies.
The primary benefit of decentralized finance, or DeFi, is that instead of relying on access to capital and financial services through a centralized bank, DeFi allows individuals to be empowered with peer-to-peer digital exchanges.
An advantage to this financing model is the elimination of fees that banks and financial institutions tack onto lending.
Instead, with DeFi, lenders can hold money in a secure digital wallet, much like an escrow account, and transfer funds instantly.
Providing Education And Training In A Decentralized Operation
With an increase in the use of remote work, education, and even DeFi, it’s incumbent on organizations to provide the proper organizational structure, education, training, and support for staff and team members.
Employers must prioritize providing their staff with the resources and guidance they may need to benefit from the decentralized workplace.
When good training and education, coupled with timely guidance and access to company resources, decentralized work provides better productivity and higher job satisfaction.
The benefits associated with decentralized work environments include the following;
- Greater job satisfaction
- Better employee autonomy
- Enhanced employee creativity
- Higher productivity
- More efficient decision making
- Lower overhead and expenses
- Ease of expansion
As your business and employees mutually benefit from a decentralized work environment, training and support are the most significant factors employers must consider.
Since most new hires are unfamiliar with your workplace culture in a remote environment, having a new-hire packet that explains the key metrics, roles, and organizational structure is a great place to start.
For more experienced employees, providing continuing education programs or offering online, micro-learning, and subsidizing continuing education options are great supplements and additional ways to educate and train your staff.
When you are set about to train your employees, having a system should include clearly outlined goals and KPIs to check off, provide customized training, and provide plenty of incentives toward their achievements.
More importantly, be open to suggestions and feedback. Provide anonymously and bylined ways for your employees to help you understand their challenges and goals better to align all members and departments within your organization.
The world and business are becoming more interconnected even as we become more decentralized. Your operations can benefit from the new normal if you structure your systems to benefit your employee’s needs by providing structure, education, training, and support for them in a decentralized work environment.
