To meet and benefit from the challenges and opportunities of the times, we are witnessing an increase in organizations adopting new perspectives and technologies to improve work, workforces and workplaces. This future of work is getting a lot of attention. In fact, it is getting so much attention that it has become a catch all phrase for any and all advancements in technology that even slightly touch ways of working.

For this HR practitioner, however, the future of work is about how work is performed to drive value creation for the company and the individual contributor. This includes how work is designed, performed, by who, and how performance is valued (ie quantified and measured), evaluated and managed.

By this definition, if companies are to be market leaders and run sustainable businesses in this VUCA environment, the onus is on Human Resource professionals the world over to rise to these challenges and opportunities, to seize the moment, to lead their organizations through these necessary transformations.

To produce successful transformations, and see that the company is a success, there are three areas that Human Resource professionals must face and own.

1. Diversity

Diversity has gone from a compliance requirement to a competitive advantage, and rightly so. New, fresh, diverse perspectives do not come with the same biases, assumptions and limitations to problem solving and ideation as those who came before, as those who have been inside our organizations from the beginning.

Companies need to diversify and customize their employee value proposition to the individual because, while all employees are created equal, not all employees have the same needs, wants, goals, or motivations. Today, Employee value proportions are shaped much more by decisions workers are making about what they want for themselves than any other time in history because there are more options to choose from now than ever before. Diversification and customization in the employee value proposition includes where and when to work, how and with whom to work, as well as what benefits meet their desired quality of life, not only needs.

Companies also need to diversify their sources and employment types for Talent, including where you source diverse Talent from (eg colleges, workforce organizations, communities, etc) to get them into your funnel, and the way you engage them to interact with your organization (eg w2 vs contractor vs vendor, full time vs part time, etc) such that it meets their expectations.

To be clear, companies need to, first, have established fair and equal pay and benefits, equitable access to opportunities, and a safe and inclusive workplace for all, regardless of diversity, source or employment type. Only then can companies leverage diversity for performance.

1. Differentiation

New work arrangements and new work tech are redefining how work is designed (strategies, tasks, tools/tech, etc), performed (remote/hybrid/on site), and managed (Human Capital Management, Performance Management, Talent Management). With technology having made it possible to do the work you want, with whom you want, from where you want, people are choosing to do just that.

Employers, then, are left to vie for Talent by creating work environments that resemble the ‘gig economy’. That is, work is structured like a project or product launch, where individuals have the choice (1) to engage or not, (2) to perform work they want to do (3) with the team they want, (4) and receive more consistent, targeted, and meaningful feedback. These differentiated work arrangements have been made possible by new work tech that supports and augments worker behaviors with intuitive work systems; rapid feedback mechanisms; to-the-moment data and analytics; and continuous, iterative and on-demand learning opportunities.

These differentiated work arrangements allow for workers and teams to work with greater speed, agility and flexibility than ever before; enabling them to work on many more opportunities of their choosing, during the span of their tenure, than ever before.

1. Data

New technologies (ie WorkTech, HRIS, Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, etc) are leading to advancements in the types and amounts of people and Human Resource data that companies are able to collect and analyze.

Individually, these technologies provide a competitive advantage for forward thinking companies. Together, they provide an Intelligence Architecture that equips Human Resource leaders with the ability to truly own Human Capital Management, Performance Management, and Talent Management where it lives and works.

Not a moment too soon either, as all stakeholders want more, better data to make more informed decisions. From investors and executives who want to better value human capital to improve the return on their investments, to managers who want to better identify skill gaps and motivations to understand how best to manage and motivate Talent, to employees who wants greater control over their own data to be able to understand, measure, evaluate, and manage their own performance, development and career growth.

As a Human Resource professional, remember, you do what you do to build a future of work – a world of work – that invests in Talent to realize the greatest performance and returns for all stakeholders – customers, shareholders, and employees.

If you need help making sense of, or positioning your company for, the Future of Work, then reach out to us at HumInt Labs.

Hason Greene
Founder
HumInt Labs