With the onset of the pandemic, the definition of the workplace has taken a tectonic shift -- perhaps, forever. The coronavirus has accelerated our journey to an inevitable future, agnostic of distance and time. The attributes used to define a great workplace have been turned on its head. Today, COVID has thrown new variables into the mix that play a central role in determining an employer of choice. To understand this new normal better, we need to analyze the new wave of differentiators. Let’s look at the workplace through Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and study the impact of COVID in the space of employer branding.

Things are no longer the same as they were earlier. Different parts of life have gone through critical shifts during pandemic, working culture is not an exception. Various aspects of work are evolving and even shifting entirely. People being at the centre of this whole process, the concept of 'working flexibly' is rooting in this transforming work culture. The flexible work culture, which is now what we call a 'Hybrid working model' can't be considered as a whole new concept. Various developed countries are already dealing with such models. Industries in India are also well-aware about it; however, they were not much adaptable towards the same until the pandemic got the ball rolling.

Short Description Leadership structures have long evolved from a simple ‘command and execute’ form where a strict top-bottom approach of decision making was enough to remain productive as businesses. While this sufficed in a world less prone to disruptions, today business leaders face a different challenge. Many are faced with a new business world; one that is marred with digitalization, automation, and in recent times a pandemic induced shift in nature of work. For these, business leaders require the right skills to anticipate threats and lead their teams towards newer avenues of growth. The rise of hybrid work and a business need to remain productive in face of on-going business disruption has put the onus on CEOs and business leaders to maintain strong performance while ensuring they manage uncertainty and keep employees safe and engaged.

According to research, resilience is built by attitudes, behaviours and social supports that can be adopted and cultivated by anyone. Factors that lead to resilience include optimism; the ability to stay balanced and manage strong or difficult emotions; a sense of safety and a strong social support system. The good news is that because there is a concrete set of behaviours and skills associated with resilience, you can learn to be more resilient. It has been repeatedly noted that the most resilient individuals and teams aren’t the ones that don’t fail, but rather the ones that fail, learn and thrive because of it.

Businesses have been exposed to various challenges during the global pandemic, and their response to this disruption has impacted their resilience as well as their chances to overcome this crisis. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are changing their business models in order to adapt to this changing environment. Service-based industries have been hit particularly hard. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely disrupted global consumption, forcing people to unlearn old habits and adopt new ones. Companies seeking to emerge from the crisis in a stronger position must develop a systematic understanding of changing habits. For many firms, that will require a new process for detecting and assessing shifts before they become obvious to all. The first step is to map the potential ramifications of behavioral trends to identify specific products or business opportunities that will most likely grow or contract as a result.

COVID has shown us transformational changes can be done overnight. The manufacturing sector has suffered to a great extent due to global pandemic. This pandemic is forcing the manufacturing industries to look forward to a long term and sustainable business plan, which ensures sustainability in three different aspects i.e. Social, Economic, and Environment. This demands a never before need of higher value to the customer in lesser resources.

Corporate culture is a critical factor in enhancing the attainment of organizational goals and objectives. Organizational commitment is defined as the degree to which an employee identifies with the organization and wants to continue actively participating in it this, in turn, defines organizational behaviour. The stronger an employee’s commitment to the organization, the less likely the person is to quit. A strong commitment is also correlated with organizational citizenship, job satisfaction, and job performance and employee retention.

The country has huge untapped potential to become a global manufacturing hub, but economic growth has been primarily driven by the services sector growth for decades. In contrast, growth in manufacturing has been abysmal despite the availability of cheap labour and other resources. While the rapid growth of the services sector has served the nation well right from the 1990s, the pandemic has shown why the nation needs to shift its focus on boosting the crucial manufacturing sector.

The pandemic has sped up the shift from global to more local economies—a trend already underway thanks to international trade tensions and other factors. As part of this transformation, industries are looking to bring supply chains closer to home and are creating major “reshoring” opportunities. That means manufacturers and the industries they serve are building new factories or reviving old ones that went dormant during years of expanding globalization. These new factories are likely to be smaller and more automated, with technology that enables them to change product lines more quickly as demand shifts. This, in turn, means opportunities for other manufacturers—those that make automation components, as well as “integrators” who put together automated systems. And with new demand for personal technology products and remote connectivity, manufacturers that serve the sector with components for technology hardware, data-centers and cellular connectivity have benefited from increased investment.

Brief Description: Technology is vital to startups, levelling the playing field and making more things than ever before accessible to new businesses. However, technology can also feel daunting, especially if you're launching a startup - it's tempting to stick to the tools and techniques you know. Innovation is often thought of as embracing the latest, coolest, most disruptive technologies. Almost by definition, hungry new startups – particularly in the tech space – are businesses that are making use of technology in some way, shape or form. In popular perception, startups are typically synonymous with innovation. Getting the balance right between familiar technology and wanting to labelled as innovative is a big challenge for any startup.