If there’s one thing for certain in the tech space, it’s this: 

Things will continue to constantly change. 

• 305 million startups are created globally each year — so competition is always changing. 
• 91.6% of Fortune 1000 companies are increasing their investments in Big Data and AI — so tech stacks are always changing. 
• 72% of companies have implemented a return to office — so workplace culture is always changing. 

How will your organization build workplace resilience against these constant changes and challenging situations in 2024? 

This is a question we asked top leaders and experts in the tech space. Here’s what they have to say when it comes to resilience at work. 💪

10 Workplace Resilience Quotes from SaaS Leaders

1. G2’s CEO says to nurture innate resilience 

Everyone is born with a certain level of resilience that can be built upon. Godard Abel, Co-Founder and CEO at G2, believes that the key to building a strong workplace is to nurture this innate resilience that employees possess. How can leaders do this? 

Godard shares that his team aims to achieve this by “(i) connecting employees to the importance of our work in helping our G2 users and customers overcome tougher economic times, and (ii) encouraging our employees to become more conscious leaders who can live in the present moment, accept the challenges at hand, and release their energy to keep climbing towards their professional PEAKs with us. When our employees understand the ‘why,’ they can tap into the infinite resilience with which every human is born.”

“In 2024, the key to workplace resilience lies in recognizing and nurturing the innate resilience every employee and human inherently possesses.”

— Godard Abel, Co-Founder and CEO at G2

2. Degreed’s CTO says to build the right skills

2023 was a wake-up call for organizations, and many have been challenged to pivot, problem-solve, and adapt. Janice Burns, Chief Transformation Officer at Degreed, believes this year’s successful companies will be the ones that build the right skills to handle this new environment. 

“When the next ChatGPT hits the market, these organizations will already have a skilled workforce ready to take advantage at a moment’s notice. When a role is automated, there will be another lined up based on an individual’s skills, learning, and interests. Whatever the future holds, the leaders who have a workforce who are continuously skill-building will feel a lot more confident than the ones who don’t know what skills their workforce has, who has it, or how to move people to where they’re needed most.”

“Amid this new environment, the workplaces that can build the right skills and deploy people to where their skills are most needed will be the truly resilient organizations we all aspire to work for.”

— Janice Burns, Chief Transformation Officer at Degreed

3. Evolia’s COO says to lean into flexibility 

Flexibility has become a very valued benefit in the workplace. When you give your employees flexibility, you’re showing you trust them — and in turn, their output will probably improve. One Atlassian study shows that a high percentage of companies offering flexibility have high innovation, a positive culture, and less burnout compared to less flexible companies. 

Max Trudel, Chief Operations Officer at Evolia, shares, “The companies that keep an open communication with their workers and offer them the flexibility they need in advantages, schedules, time, will most likely receive a similar treatment from said workers. And in such uncertain times, flexibility will most likely be key to businesses struggling with either frontline workers, recruitment, or engagement.”

“Workplace resilience will rely greatly on flexibility and collaboration.”

— From Max Trudel, Chief Operations Officer at Evolia

4. Seismic’s CBO says to focus on transparency

Workplace transparency has been on the rise. Employees don’t want fake positivity or limited communication. They want meaningful insight into how the company is performing. According to Slack’s Future of Work study, 80% of workers want to know more about how decisions are made at their company. And 87% want their future company to be transparent. 

Toby Carrington, Chief Business Officer at Seismic, shares, “Resilient workplaces are ones where employees have a trustful relationship with leadership, and open communication is a key to that.” 

“In uncertain times, communication is key. Focusing on as much transparency as possible is important.”

— Toby Carrington, Chief Business Officer at Seismic

5. Arbinger Institute’s CMO says to understand your team

How much time do you spend genuinely listening to your employees? How often do you think about their opportunities for growth? 

According to a recent study by The Arbinger Institute, executives are out of touch with their employees, and “there are significant disparities between what executives perceive as wins and challenges for their organizations when compared to the opinions of their employees.” 

Lisa Sharapata, CMO at The Arbinger Institute, believes that “it’s important to take the time to understand everyone on your team’s goals, challenges, and ideas. When we recognize the humanity in others and genuinely listen, acknowledge obstacles, and share ideas, we can create a culture where people want to perform their best and thrive in the long run.”

“One of the most important things a leader can do to create resilience is to help their employees feel seen and heard.”

— Lisa Sharapata, Chief Marketing Officer at The Arbinger Institute

6. GoLinks CEO says to invest in tools that work for everyone

If you’ve worked in an in-person workplace and a remote workplace, then you know the culture of these environments can be drastically different. And if you’re working in a hybrid environment, then you’re experiencing both of these cultures at once. 

According to a recent Workplace Trends report, in hybrid work environments: 

• 41% of employees find communication gaps challenging
• 32% find work-life balance challenging 
• 30% find company culture alignment challenging

Jorge Zamora, CEO and Founder of the GoLinks Productivity Suite, explains how it’s important for hybrid companies to overcome challenges like these with the right tools. “Having two different types of work cultures can feel incredibly disconnected. And many tools just focus on remote or just in-person. To build workplace resilience, IT leaders need to consider what tools will work for both cultures to foster success for all groups, not just one.” 

“As companies trend towards a hybrid environment, they need to mindfully invest in tools that will support the productivity and collaboration of both their in-person employees and remote employees.”

— Jorge Zamora, CEO and Founder of GoLinks, GoSearch, GoProfiles

7. Asana’s Head of IT says to maintain a service-oriented mindset

When you think of a “service-oriented mindset” at work, you probably think about taking care of customers — but what about taking care of your team members? 

Johan Dowdy, Chief Technology Officer at Asana, looks at workplace resilience through the lens of IT. “IT is a service organization,” he shares, “and our service to business is to always think about how we can increase employee engagement. In spite of the fact that ‘technology has changed dramatically over the last 30 years’, the underlying truth of all IT organizations remains the same — we’re here to empower the business.” 

“We need to make sure we’re constantly innovating, constantly keeping productivity, and maintaining a service-oriented mindset.”

— Johan Dowdy, Global Head of IT & IT Security at Asana

8. Semrush’s CSO says to prioritize employee engagement 

Employee engagement can impact everything within your organization. In fact, according to Gallup’s employee engagement research, highly-engaged workplaces have: 

• 41% less product defects
• 10% higher customer loyalty
• 18% higher productivity
• 23% higher profitability 

Channing Ferrer, Chief Sales Officer at Semrush, explains how “we are seeing more back-to-office work, more challenging roles, larger workloads, and less over-hiring.” With these changes, improved employee engagement is crucial. 

“We need to keep our employees engaged, either through back-to-the-office efforts, or active remote engagement. Our workforce will be asked to do a lot. They need to understand the “why” and their purpose as it relates to the company strategy. These intrinsic motivators will play a critical role in driving workforce engagement and workforce productivity.”

“We are shifting back to the pre-pandemic era of workforce productivity expectations. Thus, we need to ensure we are getting the most out of our teams. The most important thing for 2024 will be employee engagement.”

— Channing Ferrer, Chief Sales Officer at Semrush

9. Gainsight’s CEO says to be a human-first organization 

Nick Mehta, CEO at Gainsight reminds us of an important fact: at the end of the day, we’re all human beings first. 

We all have bad mental health days and experience physical health problems. We all have to manage stress in our jobs. “Whether we are a candidate for a job, an employee, an alumni, a sales prospect, a churned customer, or a competitor – we are human beings to start. I’ve even heard rumors that CEOs and investors are also humans!” 

With this human-first mindset, Nick shares that “People drop their guard and can be more vulnerable. And we realize we all have challenges in this process – that we’re not alone. To me, this feeling of human camaraderie is what defines resilience. It’s not about bravado or speeches – it’s about being real. As someone who has gone through some very hard times personally over the last year, I can say that my only antidote has been being open about my heart, as painful as it can be sometimes.”

“To me, the key to fostering a culture of resilience is remembering we are all human beings first.”

— Nick Mehta, CEO at Gainsight

10. Wallabi’s CEO says to lead with clarity 

When company goals are blurry, employees can quickly get carried away with the wrong initiatives. And a distracted workforce is not what you want during change and uncertainty. 

Pedro Arellano shares how it’s crucial to lead with clarity — and as someone who’s led product teams at tech companies like Google and Salesforce, he’s seen the results of this first-hand. 

“Prioritize rigorously, and be willing to suspend initiatives that aren’t absolutely critical at the moment. Clarity and alignment allow teams to focus on the things they can control and not be distracted by the things they can’t. Be authentic in your communications. Rise above corporate speak and avoid disingenuous spin. Employees appreciate leaders who show them respect by talking to them as the adults they are.”

“Leading with clarity and authenticity is essential to foster workforce resilience during times of uncertainty.”

— Pedro Arellano, Co-founder & CEO at Wallabi

11. ZoomInfo’s CMO says to work on retention

How often is your leadership team thinking about retention?

According to Bryan Law, Chief Marketing Officer at ZoomInfo, “A recent BCG study found that 90% of tech professionals will be open to a new role this year, suggesting that attracting and retaining top employees will be critical.” This same BCG study found that the top factors that can impact satisfaction are:

• Work-life balance
• Flexible hours
• Job security
• Feeling appreciated
• Feeling listened to

Bryan emphasizes how “it’s important to face these challenges head on as a leadership team.”

“A recent BCG study found that 90% of tech professionals will be open to a new role this year, suggesting that attracting and retaining top employees will be critical.”

— Bryan Law, CMO at ZoomInfo

Start building resilience in the workplace 

Why is resilience important in the workplace? It makes us unmovable amidst all the changes and helps us come out the other side stronger than before.

Interested in implementing new tools to promote resilience in 2024? Here at GoLinks, we’re all about giving employees the right tools to work faster and smarter. 

The GoLinks productivity suite combines three enterprise essentials: go links for instant resource access; internal search for powerful information retrieval; and a people platform for stronger peer connections.