People will rise to the occasion. Give employees the education, resources and empowerment they need to succeed — and they will usually exceed your expectations.
When it comes to designing the future of work, one size fits none. Discovering success isn’t about a hybrid model or offering remote work options. Individuals and organizations are looking for more freedom. The freedom to choose the work model that makes the most sense. The freedom to choose their own values. And the freedom to pursue what matters most. We reached out to successful leaders and thought leaders across all industries to glean their insights and predictions about how to create a future that works.
As a part of our interview series called “How Employers and Employees are Reworking Work Together,” we had the pleasure to interview Michael Abboud.
Michael Abboud is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of TetherView, a cybersecurity and IT solutions firm that provides leading virtual desktop and email security technology to help businesses stand up and manage their remote workforce. In his role of CEO of TetherView, Michael works closely with business leaders to help them create highly secure and compliant digital workspaces that allow their employees to work easily (and securely) from any device, location, or internet connection in the world. Michael is a cloud security expert and is affiliated with the New Jersey Tech Council, YPO, Columbia University Center for Technology Management and the BDO Alliance.
Thank you for making time to visit with us about the topic of our time. Our readers would like to get to know you a bit better. Let’s zoom out. What do you predict will be the same about work, the workforce and the workplace 10–15 years from now? What do you predict will be different?
Let’s me start with what I think will be the same. There will always be a need for employees within organizations to collaborate with each other. While the pandemic hit, a lot of collaboration moved to asynchronous conversations via software tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams that allow employees across time zones to participate and interact with each other on their own time. From an IT perspective, this just means more software to manage, which I think is a trend that is here to stay. To effectively manage and engage a remote workforce, you need more tools. And from a cybersecurity perspective, introducing more tools into your environment can mean introducing more risk.
In terms of what I think will be different, I think we are just scratching the surface in the expanded search for talent. Companies had historically anchored their talent pool to the geographic locations of their corporate headquarters. Now we are seeing companies look for talent all over the world. This requires organizations to be nimble and have the infrastructure in place to let their employees work from any device, location, or internet connection in the world. Companies that do this effectively will be able to attract and retain key talent. Companies that are less flexible will likely struggle to attract the talent they need.
What advice would you offer to employers who want to future-proof their organizations?
I’m a cybersecurity guy, so please allow me to step up on my soap box for a moment. Stop the sprawl in your IT infrastructure! The abrupt shift to remote work has accelerated a lot of trends and undoubtedly reshaped how a lot of employers engage with their employees. That said, when it comes to cybersecurity, I think the shift to remote work is often used as a scapegoat for problems that were in place long before the pandemic hit.
It’s true, protecting the integrity of a corporate network is hard enough when all of the company’s employees are working side-by-side in an office on company-issued devices. And yes, the recent shift to remote work means there are more opportunities for employees to store corporate data on their personal devices. If employees do not properly manage security controls on their own device, this “authorized” endpoint can be compromised and provide access to the corporate network.
But employees were storing company data on their personal devices before the pandemic. It was a problem then, and it’s a problem now. The shift to remote work just served to put a giant spotlight on it.
I believe the IT challenges of managing and supporting a remote workforce highlight a much bigger and fundamental issue with how most companies structure their IT environment — everything is fragmented. Information technology maintenance, threat monitoring and cloud services cannot effectively work together to stop cyberattacks if they operate independently of one another. IT sprawl means there are multiple entry points for hackers and more potential areas of vulnerability. If you want to future-proof your organization…stop the sprawl!
What do you predict will be the biggest gaps between what employers are willing to offer and what employees expect as we move forward? And what strategies would you offer about how to reconcile those gaps?
Right now, the power has certainly shifted to employees. If an employee is exceeding their goals and says, you know what, I actually want to do my work on a beach in Tulum. Your company better be in a position to support that. Because if you don’t, that employee will find another company that is more flexible. At a minimum, employers must be able to set up their employees with the tools they need to work remotely. And I don’t think companies should shy away from offering flexible schedules.
In terms of where there might be a disconnect between employees and employers, it’s probably not what you expect. People are different. Some like the flexibility of fully remote work. Others prefer the structure and camaraderie of going into an office every day. Then you have the people who are somewhere in between those two preferences. So I think companies that go fully remote with no physical office presence will actually be less effective at building strong and diverse teams. The pandemic highlighted a major flaw with how corporate America manages its workforce. We don’t manage to the individual. Going forward, I think smaller companies can really differentiate themselves by creating a working environment that caters to the different preferences and needs of individuals. As a business leader, you shouldn’t overcorrect and assume everyone wants to work remotely. What employees really want, above all else, is to feel like their voice, needs and preferences matter to the organization they are a part of. Communication, and making sure you have the right channels to collect feedback from your employees, is the best strategy to make sure your employees feel like their voice is heard.
We simultaneously joined a global experiment together last year called “Working From Home.” How will this experience influence the future of work?
Companies need to be flexible. As I said in a previous response, companies had historically anchored their talent pool to the geographic locations of their corporate headquarters. Now we are seeing companies look for talent all over the world. This requires organizations to be nimble and have the infrastructure in place to let their employees work from any device, location, or internet connection in the world. Companies that do this effectively will be able to attract and retain key talent. Companies that are less flexible will likely struggle to attract the talent they need.
We’ve all read the headlines about how the pandemic reshaped the workforce. What societal changes do you foresee as necessary to support a future of work that works for everyone?
The good thing about remote work is that companies are able to source talent from all over the world. With this expanded pool of people comes more diverse perspectives, which leads to better ideas and innovation. At the societal level, I think there is too much “group think” and confirmation bias. People consume information in an echo chamber, which makes it’s very hard to have a conversation with (and learn from) someone who has a different point of view. If we’re going to encourage diverse thinking and diverse groups in our workforce, we should take the same approach for public policy and discourse.
What is your greatest source of optimism about the future of work?
While the pandemic has brought so much hardship and suffering, it also highlighted the best of what we have to offer. Faced with a brand-new disease, our best and brightest minds from around the world collaborated to come up with a vaccine in record time. I’m optimistic about the future of work because I ultimately believe that most people want to rise to the occasion and work together to solve problems — and when given the proper structure, education and resources to do so, they will.
Our collective mental health and wellbeing are now considered collateral as we consider the future of work. What innovative strategies do you see employers offering to help improve and optimize their employee’s mental health and wellbeing?
You may notice a pattern here. Again, it’s all about the individual. Mental health means different things to different people. Don’t assume what works to help one person cope will work for someone else. Sometimes when a person is stressed or overwhelmed, they just want to get away and recharge. Other people like the distraction of work to get their mind of whatever is troubling them. It’s all about the individual.
It seems like there’s a new headline every day. ‘The Great Resignation’. ‘The Great Reconfiguration’. And now the ‘Great Reevaluation’. What are the most important messages leaders need to hear from these headlines? How do company cultures need to evolve?
Sorry if I’m getting repetitive here. People are different. Some like the flexibility of fully remote work. Others prefer the structure and camaraderie of going into an office every day. Then you have the people who are somewhere in between those two preferences. So I think companies that go fully remote with no physical office presence will actually be less effective at building strong and diverse teams. The pandemic highlighted a major flaw with how corporate America manages its workforce. We don’t manage to the individual. Going forward, I think smaller companies can really differentiate themselves by creating a working environment that caters to the different preferences and needs of individuals. As a business leader, you shouldn’t overcorrect and assume everyone wants to work remotely. What employees really want, above all else, is to feel like their voice, needs and preferences matter to the organization they are a part of. Communication, and making sure you have the right channels to collect feedback from your employees, is the best strategy to make sure your employees feel like their voice is heard.
Let’s get more specific. What are your “Top 5 Trends To Track In the Future of Work?” (Please share a story or example for each.)
- BYOD. “Bring your own device” means companies will have to adapt to their employees doing more work on personal devices.
- It’s all about the Cloud. Cloud environments will help IT departments consolidate their IT footprint and enhance the security of their network.
- Manage the individual. Don’t assume what works for one employee works for all.
- Stop the sprawl! Companies need to reign in their IT infrastructure to reduce vulnerabilities.
- People will rise to the occasion. Give employees the education, resources and empowerment they need to succeed — and they will usually exceed your expectations.
I keep quotes on my desk and on scraps of paper to stay inspired. What’s your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? And how has this quote shaped your perspective?
“everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” — Albert Einstein
Our readers often like to continue the conversation with our featured interviewees. How can they best connect with you and stay current on what you’re discovering?
Thank you for sharing your insights and predictions. We appreciate the gift of your time and wish you continued success and good health.