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Today’s business environment is awash with buzzwords (and doomsday predictions). Colourful reports warn us about digital disruption, disloyal millennials, and the imminent Big Data-driven revolution.
While one can get lost in the jargon and fancy theory, it is perhaps more important to identify the impact on those that actually populate this world – the workers – and plot a proactive path forward.
For starters, says Dion Chang, founder of forecasting agency Flux Trends, we need to acknowledge the “death of legacy companies”, and the rapid rise of small and agile enterprises.
“Companies used to have a lifespan of around 70 or so years, and now it is becoming about 15 years,” explains Chang. “That alone changes everything.”
Most importantly, he argues, it is resulting in a workforce that hops from company to company – or, more accurately, from one “gig” to another.
Instead of looking for companies to work for, workers in the emerging “gig economy” are looking for new projects to work on.
“All of these new ‘economies’ – the gig economy, the share economy, the on-demand economy – are kicking in, and they all feed into each other,” says Chang.
“Interestingly, even the big and established corporates such as GE are experimenting with their own gig economies internally.”
Indeed, GE is very publicly abandoning its traditional Global 2000 mindset, and behaving more like an ambitious Silicon Valley start-up.
By adopting a new approach called FastWorks, for example, GE is essentially embedding lean start-up practices into its operations.
Notably, this involves moving away from strict approval processes to instead allow employees to make seamless changes to their projects, as well as change strategies and direction very quickly and autonomously.
Are you a chameleon?
In its2016 Technology Vision Report, consulting firm Accenture coined the term “liquid workforce” to capture the core shift that is taking place in the global business environment.
According to the report, companies worldwide are investing in new tools, platforms and technologies in order to stay relevant.
“But to achieve their ambitious goals, leaders are refocusing on an often overlooked factor: the workforce,” the report notes.
“They are looking at technology as not just a disrupter, but also an enabler to transform their people, projects, and entire organisations into a highly adaptable and change-ready enterprise. In short, business leaders are realising their new liquid workforce can become their new competitive advantage.”
In a liquid workforce, employees are given more autonomy and operate within a flat structure. And from this group of employees, a new star performer is emerging: the chameleon worker.
Heidi Duvenage, head of Sage Talent Solutions, says that employers are starting to identify and look for this type of worker who is, above all, quick to adapt and change.
“Chameleon workers are able to embrace new technology and move effortlessly from one project to another,” she explains.
“Their skills are essential at a time when digital transformation demands that businesses become more agile. Chameleons also have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. They constantly seek to develop their skills and require an environment where their skills are valued. They look for employers who provide them with new challenges and learning opportunities, whether through online learning platforms or on-the-job training.”
‘Orchestrating talent’
So what does this all mean for local companies, many of which are still struggling to move over to digitised systems and processes?
“The first step is to move away from rigid, hierarchical business structures,” advises Duvenage.
“Chameleons thrive in environments where they are empowered to bring about change and innovation. They also need freedom from 9-to-5 office hours. Though they often work more than eight hours a day, they don’t believe in being shackled to a desk. They prefer keeping meetings to a minimum and believe in maximum efficiency.”
In addition, she says that companies need to start moving away from people management and rather embrace the concept of “orchestrating talent” to optimise their output.
“Millennials are becoming the largest sector of the workforce and businesses need to change to be able to engage with them differently.”
According to Accenture, millennials became the largest generation in the workforce in 2015. Perhaps even more importantly, this generation is expected to account for 76% of the global labour pool by 2025.
Critically, millennials are spearheading what Chang refers to as the “megatrend of individualism”.
Instead of seeking big salaries and flashy titles, millennials rather look for personal growth and meaning. They are also on the lookout for jobs that challenge them.
“Young people are joining [certain companies] because it’s an individual knowledge journey, and when they stop learning, they leave,” he adds.
“They look for values-driven cultures. So if you [as an employer] want to attract this type of talent and the hybrid skills they bring with them, you simply can’t be a bottom-line obsessed company.”
This article originally appeared in the 4 August edition of finweek. Buy and download the magazine here.
