Is your organisation ready for the future of work?
In today’s rapidly changing landscape of technology, the continuous digitalization of business operations, and evolving employee expectations, one thing remains clear: businesses must proactively adapt to keep pace with change. Regardless of the uncertainties that lie ahead, it is imperative for organizations to be well-prepared for the future. Developing a robust workforce strategy is key to preparing for the challenges and opportunities that await.
- Constructing a Workforce for the Future
Are you ready to equip your organization for the future of work? Below, we delve into essential areas of focus to ensure your workforce is primed to tackle future challenges and seize opportunities.
- Cultivate a Flexible and Agile Workforce
While predicting the future with absolute certainty may be challenging, one thing is certain: change will manifest in various forms. Emerging technologies may offer opportunities to revolutionize core business processes, labor market dynamics could necessitate alterations in recruitment practices, and sudden shifts in customer expectations or supply chain disruptions may demand rapid adjustments to workforce size.
Organizations that cultivate agile workforces are better equipped to navigate the uncertainties of the future. Workplace agility fosters greater flexibility and enhances project predictability. These advantages, in turn, can yield improved business outcomes, including heightened customer satisfaction and enhanced quality control.
Although agility in the workplace isn’t a novel concept, it has become an imperative due to the rapid changes in today’s markets. You can take several steps to infuse greater flexibility and agility into your workforce, such as:
- Embracing Contingent Workers
The utilization of alternative workers, including contingent, temporary, and gig workers, is rapidly transitioning from an exception to a standard practice. Some experts even predict that by 2027, half of the U.S. workforce will comprise alternative workers. In Europe, the growth of freelancers is outpacing traditional employment in several countries, including the Netherlands, France, and the U.K.
This surge in alternative worker usage aligns with practicality. For example, retailers can leverage contingent workers to manage seasonal sales fluctuations, while the manufacturing industry benefits significantly from maintaining a contingent workforce, allowing businesses to scale their workforce up or down to meet current demand.
- Cross-Training Employees
Cross-training employees involves equipping your workforce to handle multiple roles within the company. Various strategies, such as in-house training, mentorships, and apprenticeships, can be employed for cross-training. It also serves as an effective way to address the impending retirement of experienced employees, enabling them to share their knowledge and expertise with others.
Cross-training yields numerous advantages, including:
– Enhanced productivity
– Enhanced workforce flexibility and agility
– Increased employee engagement
– Improved job satisfaction
– Elevated retention rates
– Identification and development of internal leaders
Once employees are cross-trained, your organization can seamlessly shift them between roles as needed, facilitating rapid adaptation to workplace changes or challenges.
- Embrace HR Technology
Rapid advancements in HR technology are simplifying workforce management and aiding employers in preparing for the future of work. For instance, Payroll and Employee Relations Management (ERM) software offer real-time tracking and analysis of workforce data. This capability empowers employers to identify workplace issues or gaps and proactively address them, preventing costly disruptions like high turnover, increased overtime, or production stoppages.
Furthermore, the right HR technology, such as a Human Resources Management System (HRMS), enhances your company’s ability to accurately forecast future workforce requirements. This encompasses forecasting sales needs, identifying emerging market trends, and pinpointing specific skill gaps within the organization. These insights enable employers to prepare their workforce by ensuring they have the requisite tools, training, and resources.
HR technology also streamlines recruitment and workforce management processes, improving overall efficiency and outcomes. This is particularly valuable in today’s challenging talent acquisition landscape, where skilled talent is increasingly scarce, and employee retention is a top priority.
- Acquire Skills for the Future
The workplace today demands skills vastly different from those required just a few years ago, owing to the emergence of new technologies, digitalization of business operations, and the proliferation of automation. Primoris Systems Source right’s 2022 Global In-Demand Skills Report highlights the following as today’s most sought-after skills:
– Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML)
– Cloud Computing
– Big Data
– Business Intelligence and Data Visualization (BI/DV)
– User Interface and User Experience (UI/UX)
– Mobile App Development
– Cybersecurity
– Customer Service
– Sales and Business Development (BD)
– Financial Management/Budgeting and Accounting
While not all these skills may be directly relevant to your organization, understanding your company’s precise skill needs for both the present and the future is crucial. It is equally vital to identify any gaps between your existing workforce’s skill set and those needed for the future. Conducting a comprehensive skills assessment can help pinpoint talent gaps and enable strategic planning, whether through recruitment or upskilling existing employees.
In case you opt for recruitment, considerations such as your employer brand’s strength and its ability to attract the talent you need become paramount. Unfortunately, ongoing labor shortages and skills gaps are already hindering employers’ adoption of new technologies, with 64% of IT executives citing the labor shortage as the primary obstacle in a recent Gartner survey.
Collaborating with a dedicated HR solution partner like Primoris Systems can offer substantial benefits, connecting you with pre-vetted talent possessing the requisite skill sets.
- Invest in Employee Training and Career Development
While formulating a robust recruitment strategy to acquire sought-after skills is vital, it may not suffice to meet your company’s current and future requirements. Equally essential is the investment in in-house training for your existing workforce.
The encouraging news is that today’s employees are enthusiastic about learning. PwC’s Workforce of the Future 2030 report reveals that 74% of workers are willing to acquire new skills or undergo retraining to remain employable in the future. According to Jon Williams, partner and joint global leader of people and organization at PwC:
“Machine learning and AI will help us do a much better job of workforce planning in the future, but we can’t sit back and wait for the future of work to happen. Those organizations and workers that understand potential futures, and what each might mean for them, and plan ahead will be best prepared to succeed.”
Emerging technology holds the potential to significantly enhance business efficiency, and fortunately, your employees are eager to embrace these new tools. It is your responsibility as an employer to craft workforce strategies that seamlessly integrate these components, future-proofing your workforce for sustained business success.
Unfortunately, employers worldwide are grappling with a substantial upskilling challenge and the potential of a workforce crisis characterized by a labor shortage and skills mismatch. Taking proactive steps now to equip your employees for the future of work is imperative.
Boston Consulting Group outlines six steps your organization can take to meet this challenge and future-proof its workforce:
1. Develop a strategic workforce plan.
2. Launch targeted upskilling programs.
3. Embrace learning contracts.
4. Adopt cutting-edge learning technologies.
5. Foster a culture of continuous learning.
6. Extend upskilling initiatives to the broader society.
Should you seek innovative ways to harness and deploy talent within your organization, positioning yourself to embrace tomorrow’s tests and opportunities, the support of a specialized partner such as Primoris Systems could prove invaluable.
