In an irrevocably changed landscape, organisations are having to contend with new and increasingly complex challenges. And as the pace of change accelerates, these forces are evolving more rapidly than ever before.
In our latest report, ‘The Human Edge: Global Future of Work Trends’, ManpowerGroup examines the trends impacting our world of work, and discusses the steps organisational leaders should take to begin addressing them.
Striking a balance between human input and AI
While workforce reductions increased in recent years as businesses strived to replace roles with evolving technologies, we’re beginning to see a reversal take place. Leaders are now looking to rehire employees as they realise the limitations of current automation solutions.
Now this isn’t to say that AI won’t continue to reshape the world of work – some jobs will be rendered obsolete by these new technologies – but the future of work is more likely to reflect a world where roles and teams are redesigned to incorporate the unique strengths of humans and AI-based components.
Which is why job redesign must be a thoughtful, objectives-driven process with collaboration between leaders and the individual employees doing the work. People need to understand how their role is changing, why, and feel empowered to adopt new technologies as needed – while also having their voices heard.
After all, the integration of automation solutions is about creating synergy between humans and AI – understanding what elements of a role and which processes can be automated, and which will require human input. Leaders should be examining workforce data and feedback to understand when technology is right, when it’s wrong, and how they can work with their people to deploy it for maximum effectiveness.
The need for rapid learning
As roles and processes continue to change, employees will inevitably be called upon to develop new skills on a regular basis in keeping with ongoing AI integration; and it’ll be our ability to learn quickly, in-the-flow of work that will truly determine the success or failure of the future working landscape.
However, in order to avoid the issues seen in previous digital transformations – whereby certain demographics and communities were left behind in skill development – business leaders will need to ensure AI-upskilling and best practice is standardised and available to the entire organisation.
As of right now, there’s a definitive and somewhat self-inflicted gap between workforce capability and what leaders are looking for; a gap that will only get bigger if leaders continue to fail in providing the necessary opportunities and resources for their people to grow and develop.
An upskilling renaissance
That said, today’s workforce training tends to overemphasize hard skills that are job-specific and more likely to become redundant over time.
With this approach, we will continue to experience skills gaps until people are taught the skills that will help them succeed in any job – such as problem-solving, self-reflection, empathy, and interpersonal communication; all of which are among the top ten fastest-growing skills that people will need to succeed in 2030.
As of right now, there’s a clear appetite to pursue career development from the majority of the workforce. And as we continue to embrace new technology and ways of working, ample opportunities to utilise and refine these all-important ‘soft’ skills will arise.
Employees will increasingly find themselves in changed roles, working with new processes and engaging with different people – creating the perfect environment to collaborate, learn from one and other and upskill in a very human way. And if business leaders then choose to provide access to regular coaching support to further enhance career development for their people, they can begin to lay the foundations for ongoing individual and organisational success.
The danger of brain drains
However, with so much focus on the acquisition of new skills, it’s important that organisations don’t overlook the importance of experience and knowledge – all of which can easily be lost if more senior colleagues are allowed to leave without proper succession planning and knowledge transfers.
With the world changing so rapidly, business leaders are understandably looking for new ways to remain competitive. But in doing so, they’re seemingly failing to protect and ensure transference of the expertise held by their more senior employees, which can only be acquired through decades of seeing it all.
And with more than half of Gen Z employees saying they’re worried that automation will replace their roles in the next two years, it begs the question of why they aren’t utilising mentorship opportunities with their more experienced colleagues? Perhaps, the infrastructure needed for them to do so just hasn’t been available…
With these trends and many others in mind, understanding your workforce and generating alignment between employees and the strategic direction of the organisation will be crucial.
Talent assessments can help business leaders identify skill gaps in their workforce and inform the redesign of roles and processes. Coaching support can help employees identify ways in which they can develop and refine the skills needed for ongoing success. And career mobility initiatives such as stretch projects and mentorship programmes can create an environment where innovation and professional growth never stop.
Only through understanding the challenges that lay ahead and implementing a portfolio of talent management solutions can leaders create a workforce capable of navigating a highly changed working landscape – one where a comprehensive understanding of the unique strengths of humans and machines will be key.
To find out more about what the future of work holds, read the report here.