ONE THING IS CERTAIN... THE FUTURE IS GETTING HARDER TO PREDICT! JUST THINK OF BREXIT OR TRUMP!!

So, it’s crucial that organisations look into the future to recognise the shifts the world of work is facing and consider the relevant steps that should be taken now. Successful organisations will be those who spot the ripple on the horizon, before it’s a tsunami (or election result) in their face.

THE SHIFTS

We’ve seen huge shifts at work from an Agricultural age in the 18th century, to an Industrial age in the 19th, and then the Information age of the 20th. Now we are moving into what some call the Conceptual age. This is a world of work characterised by creating new ideas and thinking to drive innovation, through engaging and connecting with others, in ways that we haven’t before. Some organisations are already doing this, for example:

Apple are working with 40 companies to improve the iPad.
Spotify partnered with Starbucks and Sony to take advantage of different customer bases.
GE launched Ecomagination; an idea share between businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and students - aimed at enhancing productivity of resource use.
Lego introduced crowdsourcing and mindstorms to get closer to their customer.

THE FORCES

For some time, we’ve been hearing about and experiencing living in a ‘VUCA’ world. A world which is increasingly Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. These shifts have been driven by many forces, here are some we feel are most relevant:

THE IMPACT

Below are some of the key areas we believe will have the biggest impact on organisations:

1. LEADERSHIP
There are no two ways about it, leadership has got to become more transparent and authentic, there’s nowhere to hide anymore. Our leaders will need the skills to engage others through collaboration and democracy; to inspire and motivate behind a common and compelling purpose; and to encourage different thinking and initiative without fear of blame.

2. HIGH PERFORMING VIRTUAL TEAMS
Increasingly teams are spread across multiple locations and are becoming more diverse. This adds more complexity and leaders will need new ways of keeping the team connected, embracing diversity and making use of collaboration and dialogue tools.

3. RELATIONSHIPS & NETWORKING
There’s a sea of knowledge and talent out there – the challenge is how to harness this.
Knowledge and capability sharing will drive innovation in the future, with resource and assets being combined in unusual and creative ways. This is important both internally within organisations, and externally across a wider range of potential stakeholders.

4. FLEXIBILITY
Flexibility will be needed to develop agility and responsiveness, as well as to engage a workforce that doesn’t expect to work in traditional ways. A key part of this is creating more flexibility in working practices such as home working, part-time, job-sharing, flexi hours and phased exits. (Mayer, Yahoo’s CEO, who banned all home working, got it wrong!)

With a shift towards working independently on a self-employed basis, organisations will need to be more creative in how they get the right people and talent for their roles. We expect to see a greater mix of staff on the books, off the books and working in partnerships... and we’re not talking about encouraging zero hours contract here by the way!

I'D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS.

If you would like to talk more about this more, and how we might be able to support you prepare for the future of work, please do get in touch.

Contact us:
Call: +44 (0)7881 915657
Email: claire@downtoearth-development.co.uk

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