Harmonics

Future Proofing Your Workforce for the Changing World of Work

It’s time to future proof your workforce.
The World of Work is changing at an ever increasing pace and organisations and their employees are struggling to keep up as we can see here in this Infographic.

If your organisation is facing recruitment challenges and talent shortages, then it’s time to bridge the gap between the skills in supply and the skills in demand by your organisation, now and in the future.

Harmonics Career Management methodologies are being utilised by many of Ireland’s leading organisations to bridge the supply and demand gap, accelerate career development and create a change ready workforce.

In this ever improving economy, we have returned to the race for talent. More and more talented employees are getting calls from recruiters offering new and exciting opportunities. This presents challenges for both Organisations and Employees.

Organisation Challenge

Increasingly we see Organisations counter-offering employees who have handed in their notice having been successful in securing a new position, in an effort to woo their exiting talent to stay.  More often than not, however, it is a case of ‘too little, too late’.

Monetary offers are just a quick fix, will only last so long and are not a long term sustainable talent retention solution.

So what do Employees value in today’s World of Work value? Research shows that employees today recognise that learning opportunities and career development are core motivators:

66% of employees say they value learning opportunities over monetary compensation (Learnkit Workforce Survey – December 2015)

“Employees at all levels expect dynamic, self-directed, continuous learning opportunities from their employers.” (Deloitte Human Capital Trends 2016)

Yet Organisations are struggling to meet this challenge – offering outdated and static approaches to learning and career development which do not meet the needs of Employees or the Organisation in a World of Work which is changing at an unprecedented pace.

Career Development today needs to reflect this new world of work – addressing both Employee needs (Career Development) and the Organisation demands (Future Skills Development)… a career case with a business case.

Employee Challenge

When the LinkedIn message or the call comes from the recruiter it can be quite alluring. Only last month one Executive Coaching client told me she was really enjoying her work, was highly engaged and had never thought about leaving until she agreed to a cup of coffee for “just a chat” with a headhunter. Her head had been turned by the chat, her mind-set had now changed and Lucy (not her real name) was considering leaving.

We made the next Executive Coaching session a career coaching session. Lucy had been busy in her work and had not considered what she wanted in the future. She was almost expecting someone to tap her on the shoulder and offer her the next role internally. This happened in the past and she expected it again. My advice to Lucy was to be prepared and know what she wants before anyone internally or externally invites her for a cup of coffee.

I shared the Harmonics ‘My Career, My Business Model’ with Lucy (see below). It made a lot of sense to her and allowed her to work through a number of revealing exercises to gain more career clarity. The model is predicated by our belief that every employee today should own their career development and run it like a business owner. In every successful business, there are three key functions that require attention; Research & Development, Operations and Sales & Marketing.

1. Research and Development (Creating)
2. Operations (Doing)
3. Sales and Marketing (Communicating)

From Current to Future State

As with all businesses, you may have strength in one particular area, but neglect others. In the model above (Current State) we have highlighted where people place the majority of their time and focus.

Lucy’s focus was on working very hard and spending her time in the centre silo in Operations mode, busily doing stuff. She neglected to spend time in Research and Development mode to investigate internal opportunities she could create for herself. She also assumed her great work ethic would stand up for itself and spent little time in the Sales & Marketing function i.e. communicating and building valuable networks in the Organisation.

The fatal mistake Organisations are making is not offering their ‘at risk’ talent the opportunity to engage in proactive career development programmes. If talent know what they want and have invested internally on a journey of personal career growth, the alluring headhunter offers are much less appealing and easier to resist. In this particular case, following our career coaching intervention, Lucy knew what she wanted and politely declined the external offer.

A Proactive Talent Retention Solution

At Harmonics, we have developed a number of highly successful career development programmes specifically targetting talent retention in Organisations. Career Accelerator for High Potentials; Career Accelerator for Female Talent seeking to target Executive Roles; Career Best Programme which offer Managers open workshops and one to one career coaching; and our 24/7 access online Career Development Portal with remote career coaching which offers thousands of resources for all employees to self-direct their future career development.

 

Here are 4 current and emerging trends in the world of work that are affecting employers and employees. These trends were highlighted by OI Global Partners, a leading human resources consulting firm that helps organisations with executive coaching and individuals manage their careers.  Harmonics is a member of OI Global Partners.

For organisations and individuals who want to move forward, it is imperative they are aware of these trends. Additionally, in order to enhance their competitiveness and ability to succeed, they must make the necessary investments in education and training to keep pace – or better still, to stay ahead – of these trends.

1. Understanding candidates needs

It is no secret that we are working harder and faster these days.  We are so focused on our daily tasks and deliverables that we risk losing sight of our strategic, long-term goals for success and fulfilment.  For example, many organisations are struggling to find the ‘right people’ for the open positions that they need to fill; however, in order to attract and retain the ‘right people,’ they first need to know what the ‘right people’ want from their employer.

2. Opportunities to Learn

Research data indicate that organisations must offer learning opportunities to attract, retain and cultivate engaged and productive employees. In 2015, Learnkit did a study that gathered together feedback employees revealed about their company’s training and onboarding, and showed that onboarding has a shocking impact on their engagement.

Key findings of the study showed that:

• 66% of employees say they value learning opportunities over monetary compensation.
• 63% of employees said they would be more engaged if they had better training.
• According to Learnkit, better training “equates to happier employees, improved culture, better customer experiences, and an overall positive impact on your bottom line.”

3. Employees Must Upskill to Remain Employable

For individuals who are currently employed and who want to advance in their career, research data indicate that they need to invest in themselves to ensure they are enhancing their current skills and learning new skills. For example, recent McKinsey research finds that up to 45 percent of the tasks performed by US workers can be automated by currently existing technologies and about 60 percent of occupations could have 30 percent or more of their activities automated. As a result, professionals should ensure they are diversifying their skills to help ensure their long-term employability.

4. Leadership & Collaborative Skills in Demand

Additionally, professionals should cultivate so-called “soft” skills such as communication, leadership and coaching. Given the rise of startups and the increased emphasis on speed and innovation, professionals must be able to lead and thrive in a less structured and more collaborative work environment.

While subject matter expertise is still important, our clients are telling us that they need more people who can lead and succeed in an ever-evolving and rapidly changing economy. Today, new business opportunities and challenges can emerge very quickly. Therefore, organisations need people who can anticipate and/or respond by engaging the human and financial resources that are necessary to be successful.

The biggest takeaway for individuals and employees is that they have to take responsibility for remaining employable. Every individual (and not only Millennials) must realise the importance of being a lifelong learner if they are to adapt to the new world of work.

For organisations, they must help their workforce prepare for the new world of work through self-directed learning and career planning.