The traditional workplace with its old approaches that includes bureaucracy, appraisal-focused, output-based, machine-paranoia and little or no investment on technology is dying. From its ashes are emerging workplaces that are digital, more global, diverse, automation-savvy and social-media proficiency.
The 2017 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends released in April in Nigeria and across the globe has some radical new rules in workplace engagement for Human Resources (HR). The report based its findings from surveying more than 10,000 respondents from 140 countries including Nigeria.
“Organisations face a radically shifting context for the workforce, the workplace, and the world of work. These shifts have changed the rules for nearly every organisational people practice, from learning to management to the definition of work itself,” Deloitte stated.
The new rules, the report stated, are a reflection of the shifts in mind-set and behaviour that are necessary for leadership, organisation, motivation, management, and engagement of the 21st century workforce.
The new rules which also constitute the latest trends in HR go beyond “reskilling” efforts or plans for new and better career. They however require that organisations take a closer look at leadership, structures, diversity, technology, and the overall employee experience in “new and exciting ways”.
Joseph Olofinsola, Partner, Consulting for Deloitte Nigeria noted that today’s workplace grapples with the huge gap between the business area and technology adoption. To change, organisations need leaders that are social in their thinking. The old paradigm will not help them make progress.
“We need to redesign and reorganize the leadership of organisations for the future. We are moving away from ‘who do you work for?’ to ‘who do you work with?’” Olofinsola said.
From the report’s findings, while the digital revolution appears unstoppable and is disrupting traditional brick-and-mortar industries at the speed of light, business productivity is yet to keep pace with technological progress. Productivity growth remains low. In Nigeria, for instance, only 43% of organisations are preparing for the future or workforce and workplace.
These are critical issues that the ten trends in the 2017 try to address. Aside from leadership which ranks first, the respondents said they considered career as the second most important trend. The reason for them is that the concept of career is being shaken to its core, driving companies toward “always-on” learning experiences that allow employees to build skills quickly, easily, and on their own terms. New learning models both challenge the idea of a static career and reflect the declining half-life of skills critical to the 21st century organisation.
Away from career, the report sought to establish that talent acquisition now represents the third most important challenge that companies face. 81% of people that responded to the survey said it was very important. The report pointed out the new breed of cognitive technologies radically transforming recruitment which is at the early stage of the digital revolution.
The fourth trend focused on changing culture and engagement patterns as leading organisations broaden their focus to include employee journeys, studying the needs of their workforce, and using net promoter scores to understand the employee experience.
Olofinsola said it is becoming clear that the appraisal system will not achieve organisations objectives; hence many are beginning to replace it.
“Employee engagement is becoming holistic,” Olofinsola said.
HR technologies however have not quite caught up, new approaches to performance management are working, and they are increasing productivity and changing corporate culture.
Also organisations are clamouring for more agile, diverse, and younger leaders, as well as new leadership models that capture the ‘digital way’ to run businesses.
Capturing the digital way however must be driven by a digitized HR.
“This means going beyond digitizing HR platforms to developing digital workplaces and digital workforces, and to deploying technology that changes how people work and the way they relate to each other at work,” Deloitte said.
Sadly, HR executives are not keeping up with these trends. The number of HR teams that believed their capabilities was good and excellent fell from 39% in 2016 to 36% in 2017.
Other trends include effectively employing data through analytics, ensuring workplace diversity, equity and inclusion, and considering the role of the future workforce, especially robotics in the workplace.
