Changing Nature of Workforce

AKTUTHEINTACTONE19 JAN 20201 COMMENT

Advances in technology, a more demanding workforce and shifts in priorities are combining to
change the shape of traditional business and create a revolution in the workplace.

The way we work, the shape of our company structures and the expectations of our employees
have all undergone a fundamental shift in the 21st century. With technology as the catalyst, the
momentum of this shift is only going to increase.

Give them flexibility

Employees won’t just be happy doing one job anymore and looking for vertical progression
within that job. Climbing the corporate ladder is a thing of the past. Flexible and flat structures
allow employees to work across multiple areas of the business. This not only improves their own
skills and keeps them engaged but it adds significant value to the company by building a base of
employees who are familiar with different aspects of how the business operates. With this
increased understanding the employee is then able to perform at a much higher level.

Use technology to create a better experience

Tech isn’t something new to Millennials. They have been raised with technology readily
available, especially smart phones which form the hub of the way they communicate, interact
and socialise. That’s why integrating key business tools onto a mobile platform is absolutely
essential for forward thinking businesses. At Quinyx, our mobile app is used by more than
300,000 users each day, who not only use it to see when they are working next but to also see
who they are working with and communicate with them through the app. Their familiarity with
mobile technology and expectations of being able to complete any task with their smart phone
are all met. In making their lives more simple, it then allows them to focus on doing their job.

Put health and wellbeing first

Employers who manage their employees health and wellbeing successfully will reap the benefits
of doing so. This covers everything from nutrition, exercise, mindfulness and even sleep. It also
means creating an environment where employees enjoy spending time. Not only does this
demonstrate a strong duty of care from the employer but it will also improve employee
performance on a purely physical level. For example, an employee who has trouble sleeping
won’t be able to perform at their optimum.

BP are using fitness trackers as part of an incentive programme to help employees reduce
healthcare costs while UK supermarket Tesco’s use smart armbands as a working aid in their
distribution centres.
Just like advances in sport science are helping coaches and athletes improve their performance
through data, companies are now looking at ways they can do the same to optimise their
employees performance to gain advantage over their competition.

Understanding the needs of your staff, and how these needs change over time, helps you create a
business where employees enjoy work. It’s through enjoying work that employees are able to
perform to the
The Changing Nature of Work: Five Global Trends Affecting Strategic
Human Resources” in which he outlined and discussed the five global
trends that are affecting the changing nature of work and how HR
professionals need to approach these trends.

The five trends discussed include technology, outsourcing, changing

worker attitudes and values, demographics and diversity and
globalization.
Technology. With the way technology works today, there is a blurred
line between week and personal life that continues to get blurrier. The
challenge of engaging your employees but not working them around the
clock is difficult; you have to be able to find the right mix. Companies
need to figure out what the differentiator should be. Telecommuting and
flexible hours are only the beginning to navigating the problems with
constant connectivity and the balance of work and life.

Outsourcing. Now organizations use a lot of “free agents” who come

in for a specific project or maybe a couple of projects and provide a
specific expertise while improving their skill sets and then they move on
to other organizations. In the future, companies will be outsourcing more
of their work which they have decided is not critical while the work that
has been defined as critical will not be outsourced. The challenge with
this for HR is being able to develop a strategy around how the work gets
done in an organization and by whom.

Changing worker attitudes and values. People used to keep one

job for their entire lives. Now, according to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, a worker will most likely only be with a company for 3.5
years. HR needs to find a way to engage their workers in a way that they
want to be with the company and be at work but also recognize that they
also have interests outside of the workplace.

Demographics and diversity. People are living a lot longer today,

and are in the work force longer, then they ever have been before. This
means that soon, we will have five generations in the workplace all at
once. HR’s challenge here will be having to change the way that they
think of ways to strategize all kinds of things in the organization. This
will be especially important with training and development.
Globalization. The best way to handle globalization of employees in
an organization is to be looking at your organization’s goals and
objectives and aligning the HR strategy accordingly.
Now you are better equipped to deal with the changing trends of
technology and communication in the workplace and in life. Remember
that balancing the two is key to success.