Redeploying talent post-COVID-19 Tosurvive and thrive amid the COVID19 crisis and beyond, organizations have to now focus on redeploying and reskilling talent with better data insights, market awareness, and agile organizational culture Oey SSE 5 AMan the clock, kes up to get ess. Slowly and ry nation, em stakehold- are together grappling with the challenges and Amn ready for some fo and swi bigger pie ing repainted on the canvas navigating new of the busines: m1. es the COVID-19 ‘The pandemic has shaken rought with it. meeting with up countries, ect many thin, client. busines: In some othe of the world, Steven, who visis is being looked at as ked for chain, is the most uncertain disrup- ‘olling through jobs on eratedthe ever, and there are ot LinkedIn on one tab, and transformation journey for threatened ta become redun- browsing throug many However, as itcaught dant on the other tab, because aders off: ‘The L is out of work. Or 1 pocclomatirs |aucust 2029 undergo structures. The global health jobs, there are some that ption i national Labour tion has forethat the pandemic could re- duce global working hours by nearly 7 percent in the second quarter of 2020— equivalent to 195 million full-time jobs. McKinsey’s analysis suggests that, in regions as diverse as Africa, Europe, and the United States, up toa third of the ‘workforce is vulnerable to reduced income, furloughs, oor layoifs as a result of the crisis. Many millions of jobs could be lost perma- nently It has become absolutely critical that talent leaders now invest their time and effort in identifying the ctitical roles, mapping the sidll requirements, and preparing the workforce for the now and the future of work, Talent leaders would have to work along with the other stakeholders like the employees, the government, and other associations. The process starts with building on the broad views of the sectors, functions, and occu- pations at risk. On the other hand, also focusing on the Some jobs have become more important and “essential” than ever, while others are under threat of becoming redundant roles that have become more ent in the role and the de- relevant amid the pandemic. gree of demand shock that ‘the occupation has experi- Identifying vulnerable — enced during the crisis. and emerging jobs Countries in every region InEurope andthe United and at every development States, just two service stage need to ensure that industries (accommoda- similar analysis is un- tion and food services plus —_dertaken so that they can. wholesale and retail) ac- identify the most vulner- count for around 40 per- able groups—and target cent of all vulnerable jobs. _ interventions to safeguard Among occupations, more the employment of those than 99 percent of customer groups. service andsalesrolesareat This assessment.can also risk. McKinsey suggests that consider where the demand todeepen the effectiveness for labor has increased. of sucheffortsand to open _For example, its analysis up new job opportunities, of the Australian labor governments and other key market shows that, dur- institutions can quickly cre ing the crisis, significant atea more granular picture new job opportunities have of where jobs areatriskand been created in the grocery, where there isadditional —_call-center, and informa- demand for labor, tion and communication Each occupation ean be as- technology (ICT) sectors. In sessed according to the level Singapore, also, this week of disease exposure inher- ‘it was reported that more EPC Ere en) Jobs vulnerable to layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US by industry Hip>wage | —— as cater a a aE Sports & ertersinment Restestte ‘aoe reams! jo etn mann oecynce tak ba SL Vaso 14360512428 | pooplematiersJobs willemerge in the info- communications space aver the next three years. The role of sectors like IT/ITeS, FMCG, Pharmaceuticals has become more critical. Fur- ther, the demand for digital skills across sectors will be on the rise as operating in the virtual environment now becomes the reality. From education, to banking ser- vices, to shopping, all these will be done virtually. Hence, the role of graphic designers, digital marketers, and coders will also become important, However, the na- ture of the job could change. ‘This brings us to the next step of redesigning jobs in the phase of the pandemic. Permanent vs gig For some time now, most tal- ent leaders we interviewed would choose permanent em- ployees over gig workers as they would prioritize aspects suchas loyalty long-term commitment, among other aspects. However, the pan- demic is expected to shift the priorities and as managing costs, and achieving more with less becomes essential, the leaders may choose to adapt gig working models. Even work-from-home seemed like a far-fetched dream a few months back, but now most companies today operate remotely. Simi- larly, the employers will soon come to realize the benefits of the gig working model and have leaner organiza- © ppocplomatiers | suaust 2420 Pee a tional structures. This also re-organize how work is comes as good news forthe done, where work is done, multi-skilled talent whocan and by whom the work is now have multiple sources of done. income. ‘After identifying the critical roles required to Ithas become achieve the businessout- = als lutely critical comes, employers need to identify whichonescanbe — that talent leaders outsourced on a contractual now invest their basis and which ones would + require permanent talent in time and effort place. Based on their role re- inidentifying quirement, business and HR “ti leadersean also identiyem. _ t2eCTitical roles, ployees who can wear multi © Mapping the skill ple hats within the company. requirement ‘This model of future of ts, and preparing work, workplace, and work~ force laid out by Deloitte is the workforce for the NOW of work. It is the the now and the new reality. Organizations can use these key pillars and future of work The future of work encompasses changes in work, the workforce, and the workplace 2 cuentwork options Future work options Workforce: 2 Who cando the Work — Se Sanne earned ‘lane eategery Work Citerwemshateest ome ‘ae uoring weet ay Whheeeirgniaien copies fovaesownace Silo iret kee ee eee artical Simeroene cere? @ 2] 8 aerate ea Pyteicsinee «=But as gig working models become the new reality, gov- ernment support is needed to introduce policies to support the interests of the freelancers, including wage protection, health benefits and safety assurance. In In- dia, the Karnataka govern. ment, in fact, has reportedly commenced deliberations for introducing a new labor legislation focused on the gig economy: In Singapore also the government has increased the focus on creat- ing regulations to support gig workers. Even the organizational culture and the current HR policies of the companies would have to become more inclusive for gig workers. But before employers rejig their working models and organizational structures, they must do an internal talent assessment and check their skills-readiness. A sim- ilar exercise should be fol- lowed at the national and in- ternational level to analyze if the workforee is prepared for the roles in demand in the now and the future of work. Even the workforce has to take the ownership of their own learning and de- velopment and see how they can become more job-ready. Reskill your way toa better future In the 2020 Global Human Capital Trends survey by De- loitte, 58 percent of respond- ents said that between half Itis important to ensure that employees e continuously develop and advance a their capabilities, and contribute to = their organizations in new ways a my >| and all of their workforce wisely invest indataanalyt will needtochangetheir ics andleverage the avail. EJ skills and capabilities in the able solutions to strengthen fi] next three years. Yet despite their internal talent mobil- the expectation of organiza- ity. The investment made tions todo more to address today by employers in the skills and capabilities short entire reskilling initiative ages, our survey shows that —_ from assessing to training most organizations do not —_will goa long way have the insights they need to pet started. 59 percent said they need additional in- formation to understand the readiness of their workforce to meet new demands, and 88 percent said that identify. ing workforce development needs and priorities is their greatest barrier to work- force development. ‘To map the skill-require- ments, employers must now “Both employees and em- ployers must move toward amindset of continuous learning, contributing toa whole-of-society readiness to handling unexpected disruptions. It is important to ensure that employees continuously develop and advance their capabilities, and contribute to their organizations in new ways,” said Svend Janssen, Head of sususi 2020] peoples @)w rs = 4 ©Workers whoare able toconstantly hy renew their skills and learn new ones fy are those who will be most able to find fq employment in today’s rapidly shift- Ea ingjob market Asia at Western Union Busi- ability, critical thinking, ness Solutions. innovation, and entrepre- Workers who are able ‘neurship will also be high in to constantly renew their demand. In short, a balance skills and learn new ones between artificial intelli- are those who will be most gence and emotional intel- abletofindemploymentin —_ligence. today’s rapidly shifting job “If anything, this situa- market. tion has underlined the criti- Some of the top skillsand cal need for visibility and Jobs that will be in focus contingency plans in supply include Software & Applica’ chain processes especially tions Programmers, Data for companies whose busi- Analysts, Health Care & nesses have been affected Social Assistance, Digital due to the supply chain skills, and RPA skills. Soft skills like resilience, adapt- © pocelomottors |aucust 2100 disruption,” said Singaram ‘Venkatachalam, Chief Op- erations Officer at Botsyne, ‘These supply chain per- sonnel working behind the scenes to keep businesses running have never been more critical. Further, as automation in the supply chain is becoming a com- ‘mon practice to ensure con- tinuity Venkatachalam said it presents the opportunity for restructuring certain job functions, so they add more value than they could originally “This will take place through re-training and skill enhancement capaci- ties across sectors. The vi- sion for our Botsyne Labs division, where we provide robotics training courses and materials, is to help companies re-train their employees to play a more critical and essential role within an automated work- space,” he added. ‘Times are tough for all and the job market is undergoing a transition whieh no one can any longer ignore. So for all of us, be it the employer or employee, it is time to pull up the socks and respond to the rapidly changing working environment. To ensure business continuity and survive and thrive now has to be equally on redeploying and reskilling talent with better data insights, market awareness and agile organizational culture. o=AY Cereb heh aly productivity post- COVID-19 jor the first time ever, ever lob: working from home. From Google to Facebook to ‘TOS to L any organ. izations are not planning to let their entire workforee com to office till the end of this year This calls for a huge rethink on produetiv ity and performance What exactly és going to be the definition of produc- tivity? How are we going ta measure it? Definitely not the way some organiza. tions are requesting their employees to use their webcams during the offi- cial working hours. When people are ending up spend- ing more time working from home, how can we refine our assessment of employ- ees’ work and the rewards they receive, such that it isa fair and equitable reflection of their contribution to the organization? Maybe it’s now that the Objectives and Key Results (OKR) philosophy can be deployed more effectively to not only measure produc- tivity in the way it should be but also empower remote leaders and build boundary less and fair organizations. Measuring activity to measuring results Senthil Rajagopalan, COO nd President of Profit.co, ing 1100 clients globally shares, “When it comes to productiv: ity and measurement, there are two types of organiza. tions -there is one set of organizations that rigor ously focus on timesheets and measurement of the number of hours, which is clearly measuremm are companies that are much more enlightened and really focus on business outcomes, teamwork, and collabora- tion. What we are finding is that most companies will have to adapt to measuring results rather than activities This is going to be a funda- mental shift post-COVID-19. ‘This will bring in a culture for everyone.” sauousr202 mentorWhile this is common ning life cyclesfrem quar- _ productivity is that they inmany functions suchas __terly toa few weeks. Every- strongly encourage people sales but Senthil believes one has gone from the ‘to have stretch goals. When that now companies that waterfall model ta sprints. organizations celebrate want tosurviveand thrive [think HR practices really _the effort towards goals, will follow this wholeheart- need toreflect the change in this leads to employees edly agility,” adds Senthil. becoming more self-driven. ‘Thus measurement of This means that annual —_In OKRs, there isa very productivity willchange performance goals don’t cut strong element of employee from activity toresults and itanymore, Hence under the empowerment. Right from will have alot of focuson © OKR¢framework, business __the target setting that corporategoalsand teams needtobereviewedona happens with theemployee’s rather than just individuals. weekly basis; similarly buy-in, employees have a lot feedback and review should of freedom and flexibility in Fromannualplansto — beonaweekly basis. And how they set the goals and weekly plans when organizations align ‘how they will go out achiev- The situation calls for the individual goals with ing them. From goal setting M) organizations torefinetheir the corporate goals very -—-to execution to review, all =) assessment of employees’ clearly and provideavery _this instills ownership =| workandthe rewards they transparent scoreboard, and empowers employees = receive, such that itisafair thesense of fairnessand _ strongly. ; © andequitable reflection of equitable reflection of Further, companies have © theircontribution tothe _—their contribution willbe _been transitioning for some = organization. Andone way automatically established ‘time to a boundaryless of doing itismakingthe among employees. organization, with global shift from annual plans to supply chains and devel- weekly plans. More ownership, better opment centers located all Agility demands that busi- Productivity over the globe. COVID-13 ness becomes much lighter One importantaspectof --—=whas only accelerated this ‘Annual plansarenotgoing using OKRs to measure situation and OKR is prov- to eut it. Companies are having much shorter plan- The measure- ment of produc- tivity will change from activity to results and will have & lot of focus a i on. corporate goals and teams rather than just individuals © poopleatirs | ucusr zeaing to be a very apt manage- ment philosophy for this particular time. Especially now when peaple are sepa- rated, the first challenge that arises is communica: tion-how do youensure that key priorities are commu: nicated? A system like OKR where you follow the philos- ophy coupled with cloud. based software brings every- one together on the same page. ‘Also, when the corporate goals are aligned with the individual goals and week nies are open to taking appli- cations from any state given that most of the organiza- tions will be working from home till the year-end. The same trend could happen in universities where now you could learn from any ‘university (not necessar- ily near to you) given learn- ing is also going virtual, The same thing will happen in leadership. OKR is known for nurturing self-driven leaders who are driven by results and not activity. Hence OKR framework can When the corporate goals are aligned with the individual goals and week on week, employees see the corporate scoreboard moving, they can auto- matically see the greater purpose to their work, leading to better engage- ment, better productivity on week, employees see bea good breeding ground the corporate scoreboard for remote leaders in today’s moving, they can automati- organizations, especially cally see the greater purpose those who are good in collab- to their work, leading to oration, communieation in better engagement, better the virtual world, and have productivity the business agility that the Inaddition, OKRscan _ situation demands. help build the new category of “remote leaders” given Productivity measure- organizations want toalign mentpost-COVID19 their business objectives When it comes to how with agility andthe much- _ productivity measurement needed flexibility Senthil looks in the future, while it reveals, “One of the trends is difficult tomake the shift inrecruitment especially in from measuring activity to the USisthatnowcompa results, yet Senthil believes itwill catch on. The second change will be that HR will havea lot of work wrt competency mapping and reskilling and redeploy- ment of resources. Because COVID:18 is causing a lot of demand displacements, organizations would want their people to reskill in order to step up to this demand and change, In particular, when it comes to measuring productiv- ity, in addition to look- ingat results, people are also going to look at what 4s their contribution to the teamwork and to the departmental and corpo: rate goals. Ultimately, we all know that the traditional system. of measuring and compen- ‘sating employees based primarily upon the number of hours worked is due for an overhaul and the coro- navirus pandemic provides ‘an opportunity to consider better, fairer alternatives. One of the biggest shifts required is a psychologi- cal shift of not judging people on the number of hours they are present. With most employees work- ing remotely, organizations will slowly make progress towards judging people on their results and not activ- ity. And while a complete shift is far away, the OKR philosophy at least provides the perfect starting point for accelerating this change. @» 3 Fa S 2| I = 5 8 susust 2020| pooplomeatiors @%