How to survive the great reset: 3 unspoken truths on where the future of workplace is going
PwC’s latest report said the job market is confused.
Half of the companies are slowing down or not hiring at all, while nearly two-thirds are into improving retention, increasing flexibility, and encouraging people to go back.
CEOs are confused in these economic changing times, however, in the long haul, the important part of outperformance is to take good care of your employees. Companies can survive this economic transition by rethinking employee retention, engagement, and hiring.
So, what are the unspoken truths on where the future of work is heading right now?
Let’s discover them, see how you as a company leader can implement them, and how you can help your company survive this great reset.
Workplaces aren’t just working hubs — they’re also learning hubs.
Josh Bersin explained that the most critical factors to consider are career growth and relevance in the workplace. These are apparent indicators to attract & retain employees and help them find meaning at work.
Another report from LinkedIn says 94% of employees would have stayed longer if the company invested in their professional growth through learning opportunities.
Because workplaces aren’t just working hubs, they’re also learning hubs.
As an L&D leader, how can you make sure learning is always around the corner for your employees?
One of the biggest strategies that high-performing organizations adapted is building a learning environment. Learning environments can be built inside your company in different ways:
- provide them a self-directed learning experience through a learning experience platform
- match up a senior and a junior team member for coaching and mentoring sessions
- lead a self-organized learning circle to foster the concept of learning together
- access to free courses, training, and resources for career and self-growth
- and so much more!
Right now, self-directed learning is the most popular way to establish learning habits in the workplace.
Corporate managers can easily build this through LMS (learning management platforms) or LXPs (learning experience platforms) where competency-based courses are highlighted.
In addition, employees will have the autonomy to decide what they want to learn through the library of content they have on the platform.
Tech skills aren’t really in-demand, power skills are.
According to IBM, they’ve seen changes from 2016 to 2018 in terms of in-demand skills. It looks like tech skills are not enough to get a job well done. There’s more to it.
Companies aren’t just looking for tech skills but more behavioral skills.
They are looking for critical thinkers, problem solvers, and someone who has strong leadership skills and can work efficiently with cross-functional teams. Not just someone who’s an expert in coding.
Josh Bersin coined the term power skills because these soft skills aren’t soft and it takes years to learn through mentorship, coaching, and experience.
Due to this change, L&D teams should think more about how they can train their employees with power skills and not just tech skills alone.
It won’t be just about how to be an expert in coding, but more about how you can communicate the product to your non-tech users effectively.
This training can be done by coaching, mentoring, or job shadowing projects — where junior employees will learn by doing.
T-shaped, Key-shaped employees are the future.
Have you heard about T-shaped or key-shaped skills before?
If not yet, maybe you’ve heard about the term generalist.
In Range, David Epstein argued how generalists can be more of the world’s top performers than specialists — someone who specializes in one thing rather than in multi-things.
Generalists are also called T-shaped or key-shaped people who have a wide range of skillset. It’s similar to the term modern polymath and describes Elon Musk as its best.
So what is the generalist’s role in the future of the workplace?
Companies are starting to value generalists more than specialists, these people who combined their specialization and then upskill and retrain themselves to gain other skills. Talent assessments would be rigorous in the future as it needs to comply with a different skillset, factors, and key metrics.
In summary, generalists or people who are lifelong learners can win the game and outperform the best in their work.
Because change would be even faster in the next decades. Learning and working would go hand in hand for professional growth alongside balancing work and life.
