Changes in the Demand for Talent
- Technological and digital productivity: automation, big data and advanced analytics, and access to information and ideas
- Shifts in ways of generating business value: simplicity in complexity, agility and innovation, and new customer strategies
Automation. Technology will replace assembly line and office workers even as companies require increasing numbers of programmers and other highly skilled digital talent, along with an enormous upgrade in the skills and capabilities of these workers. Companies will need to develop talent in rapidly emerging areas such as data analytics (including data mining and collection), app development, and user experience design. Executives will need to become far more comfortable leading in a digital world.
Big Data and Advanced Analytics. The past two decades have seen unprecedented gains in the storage, processing, and transmission of data, leading to an explosion in the amount of information available to businesses around the world. The implication for management teams is clear: companies will need to adopt analytics in every aspect of their operations. Leadership teams will need mechanisms for capturing, cleaning, aggregating, and analysing data. They will also need to rely on data, rather than their gut instinct, in decision making.
Access to Information and Ideas. The ability to tap information and ideas from anyone, anywhere, is multiplying exponentially, both for individuals and for businesses. Instead of hiring full-time employees, companies can staff projects with the specific expertise needed.
Shifts in Ways of Generating Business Value
Advances in digital productivity have many benefits, but they also increase complexity and accelerate business cycles. In response, companies need to put a premium on simplicity, agility and innovation, and understanding the needs of customers.
Simplicity in Complexity. Organisations tend to respond to new challenges by adding teams, functions, and departments. As organisations grow, their structure becomes increasingly complicated. Organisations must learn how to manage complexity in entirely new ways if they hope to thrive, understanding how to get results without adding more layers, processes, and silos.
Agility and Innovation. A number of innovative approaches that began in software development are now being adapted by organizations for non-IT products and processes—including agile, scrum, kanban, design thinking, and other creative methodologies. Bringing such approaches to day-to-day work beyond IT requires organisations to become far more fluid than the traditional rigid structures allow.
New Customer Strategies. Boundaries between companies and consumers are fading as people become more aware and demanding. People also want to see socially and environmentally responsible behaviour as well. In response, many companies will need to adopt an entirely new approach to engaging customers, continuously evolving their value propositions to stay ahead of the competition.
Changes in the Supply of Talent
- Shifts in resource distribution: a new demographic mix, skill imbalances, and shifting geopolitical and economic power.
- Changing workforce cultures and values: diversity and inclusion, individualism and entrepreneurship, and well-being and purpose.
A New Demographic Mix. The global population is ageing. At the same time, in some emerging markets, the number of young people is still increasing rapidly. But many of them do not acquire the skills that would make them employable. These demographic shifts will put pressure on companies to devise entirely new ways to attract, retain, and develop talent across locations and age groups.
Skill Imbalances. The skills and capabilities businesses require are rapidly evolving. Companies are trying a variety of unconventional methods to bring in digital talent. For many companies, incubating talent internally is more likely to pay off than depending on the marketplace. Regardless of their current talent situation, companies should systematically analyse future supply and demand for various jobs under different scenarios and then plan accordingly.
Shifting Geopolitical and Economic Power. Talent is more mobile than ever, with workers willing to cross borders and cultures to improve their career prospects. Large organizations can address these pressing talent issues by establishing a presence in digital hot spots or helping new hot spots emerge. They can take full advantage of cloud computing and other technologies to create virtual teams and mechanisms for collaboration across regions.
Changing Workforce Cultures and Values
As the skill shortage increases, new attitudes among talented people are also changing the workplace—in particular, the growing preference for independent work instead of dedicated corporate careers.
Diversity and Inclusion. As values change across the business landscape, diversity and inclusion are increasingly a necessity. The business case has never been stronger, as studies show that diverse teams are much more likely to foster employee engagement. Companies can achieve significant business outcomes from diversity only if they make it a part of their core strategy.
Individualism and Entrepreneurship. Independence is becoming the dominant motivator for a large section of the population, particularly for millennials (born from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s) and Gen-Zers (born in the mid- to late 1990s and after). As organisations begin to rent rather than hire talent, they will have to make do with a lower level of commitment. They will need to create career paths and roles to serve the entrepreneurial aspirations of the highly skilled talent they seek.
Well-Being and Purpose. Millennials and Gen-Zers, who are taking on an ever-increasing role in the workplace, want more from their jobs than just competitive compensation: they are looking for well-being. As a result of these attitudinal shifts, companies will need to begin making job offers that go beyond traditional compensation, offering instead a comprehensive set of flexible work and development opportunities that appeal to the personal aspirations and values of their employees.
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