Here are a few key insights from survey respondents from media companies:
Access to digital tools. 91% shared that they have the tools they need to measure performance of digital products and new service lines.
Digital innovation and agility go hand in hand. 93% said that their strategy for growth by digital innovation is constantly evolving. In the media industry, investments in understanding audiences and tailoring content to specific segments is an example of where innovation has taken hold. Broader digital efforts that encompass other areas of the business haven't always seen the same level of investment.
Growth through upskilling continues. 86% answered that employees in their companies are encouraged to grow through upskilling rather than by promotion.
Digital revenue streams are here to stay. 59% expect digital revenue to make up over half of their revenue three years from now, which was the biggest number of all industries surveyed. We expect this number to grow in light of the global pandemic.
They can make moves when necessary. 82% said they’re ready to reallocate people when new opportunities arise or their skills are needed elsewhere.
Investing in the first impression is a priority. 81% shared that customer-facing employees have the power to make decisions that make the customer experience better.
The Barriers to Organizational Agility
Even though media companies are at the top of the leader category and are making great strides toward active planning, it’s not always easy on the path to organizational agility. In fact, while 38% of media respondents say they agree with the statement, “my organization is able to react with agility and speed to market shifts,” (compared to 18% of organizations overall), that means that 62% of media organizations can’t or don’t react with speed and agility.
The most common challenges cited in the media industry are inflexible legacy technologies, lack of relevant employee skills, and difficulty aligning the right internal stakeholders.
They also face hurdles when trying to update processes to respond to the changing needs of the business: Lack of motivation to move away from legacy processes, lack of insightful data and market intelligence, and failure to engage the wider organization.
You’ll notice a theme: Inflexible legacy technologies and processes. Although most media organizations excel at giving consumers a smooth and well designed digital experience, many are apparently still weighed down by back office technology. The survey did not break down media companies by age or type, but our guess is that some of the older, more established brands haven’t invested yet in the technology needed to run the business with the efficiency and agility that’s needed in our quickly changing world.
Upskilling and Constant Evolution Unlock Doors to Agility
It’s possible media companies had the largest percentage of leaders in our survey due to two key areas: their focus on upskilling and a willingness to constantly evolve their strategy for digital innovation. As mentioned above, 86% say that upskilling is a key strategy for employee growth. And 66% have plans to upskill more than half of their workforce in the next five years to keep pace with the changing world of work. This could very well be a reflection of the “Hollywood model” of work, where highly skilled (and, always upskilling) freelancers come together in complicated but relatively short-term projects. We should note that some experts on the future of work say that this project/freelance-based model will likely be adopted by more and more companies.
The second key for media companies to make progress toward organizational agility is a willingness to constantly evolve their strategy for growth through digital innovation. Higher than any other industry surveyed, 93% said this strategy is constantly innovating, which likely explains why they have such a large percent of leaders.
So, to take away a few lessons from an industry that’s blazing trails: Focus on empowering employees to build new skills, and be willing to change on the fly to make progress towards true organizational agility.
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