As factors such as automation, Al and the gig economy continue to increasingly a affect organizations, HR, now more than ever, needs to be innovative and sustainable in order to help organizations navigate through such disturbances effectively.
According to a report titled Thriving in an Age of Disruption, compiled by Mercer (a leading HR consulting firm) to succeed organizations are reinventing themselves by becoming agile; they are also making an active effort to create a positive impact on society.
The report draws a blueprint for building successful organizations and suggests that they should leverage the power of digital technology to gain an advantage over their competitors.
The report outlines four ways to improve workforces, which can help companies succeed:
Craft a future-focused people strategy: Organizations must focus on their employees and create a ‘people strategy’ because people create value in today’s organizations. Consequently, the workforce should be regarded as an asset worthy of investment rather than a business cost.
Curate a compelling employee value proposition: Employees seek jobs that enable them to manage work and life in a way that is personalized, flexible and adaptive to their interests and goals. Therefore, organizations must develop clear and appealing employee value propositions.
Create a thriving work environment: Make work challenging and full of purpose; empower employees to make decisions by providing them with opportunities. Remember to focus on providing them with information, training and projects that require them to collaborate with other colleagues and senior management.
Cultivate a ‘lab’ mindset: Promote a mindset that allows people to make mistakes, all the while ensuring that they view them as opportunities for learning and growth. Companies should encourage experimentation, balanced risk taking and a culture of continuous learning via a rich knowledge-based environment.
Ultimately, as the world of work moves from ideation to automation, talent needs to move from surviving to thriving.
By Fauzia Kerai Khan. The writer is Chief Executive, i&b Consulting, Training, e-learning. fauzia@iandbconsulting.com