What is the Future of Work?

Since the turn of the decade, people teams across the land have been in reactive mode. There have been periods of huge change and transition. We’ve had to react quickly to changing circumstances. From home-working and leading teams remotely, to managing the impact of AI, and the recruitment challenge.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a crystal ball to foresee problems and predict the hurdles that will be sent to disrupt us. Unfortunately, we can’t give you the gift of foresight, but there are other tips we can share to help you plan for the future of work.

The first of these is reflection.

The world of work in 1920s Britain

In 1920’s post-war Britain, the country was going through a period of reconstruction, rebuild and recovery. It was a time of economic challenge with an unstable pound and workers protesting for better working conditions. Manufacturing in textiles, coal mining, steel production and ship building were significant sources of employment, and the number of women in work was on the rise. But unemployment was increasing too. People were concerned about the potential of machinery to replace human jobs, while new opportunities began to emerge in sectors such as rail, automotive and telecoms.

The world of work in 2023

The similarities between 1923 and our world in 2023 are uncanny. While the social and economic challenges may appear different, the UK is in a period of post-pandemic recovery, people are still fearful of technological advances, and job opportunities are arising in new sectors.

Some of the key factors affecting our workforce in 2023 are very similar to 100 years ago.

1. The way we work has changed. Remote, flexible and hybrid models of working are commonplace and a big pull factor in attracting and retaining talent.

2. Digital transformation has led us to embrace new technologies, AI and automation to improve processes, create efficiencies and make organisations more competitive.

3. There’s a shift towards green jobs with a growing emphasis on sustainability, renewable energy and environmental conservation.

4. Physical and mental health and wellbeing is being prioritised by employers.

What should we expect from the workplace of 2024?

As we head into a new year, speculative trends suggest we’ll see a rise in job vacancies in sectors such as:

• Technology and AI

• Space exploration

• Renewable energy and environmental sustainability

• Healthcare and biotechnology

• Cybersecurity

• Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR)

• Genetic engineering and personalised medicine

• Education and training

• Entertainment and creative industries

• Nanotechnology

• Personal services in ageing societies

According to the World Economic Forum - Future of Jobs report 2023, the largest job losses are expected in task-based roles that can be automated, e.g. administration, traditional security, factories and commerce. In fact, employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years.

What can employers do to prepare for the workplace of tomorrow?

Upskill your team

Setting aside training budget to develop your team should be a priority. If the emerging job sectors listed above prove to be correct, some of your current employees may need to upskill to move on in their careers. Personal development around attitude and behaviours may also be important.

Embrace AI

We’ve been using AI in a variety of guises for years. Think self-service tills, medical screening, airport safety checks, and manufacturing robotics. Automation has simplified tasks and improved productivity across a range of sectors, saving valuable time and resources. In HR, AI technology is available to support communication, content creation, recruitment, learning and data analysis. Being open to its possibilities and applications is a must.

Recruitment

According to the CIPD’s latest Labour Market Outlook, 41% of organisations have hard-to-fill vacancies. If you find yourself in a similar scenario, here are some recruitment strategies that have helped our clients achieve success:

• Developing an employer brand

• Hosting a ‘Passion Pitch’ day

• Social media advertising

• Virtual day in the life experience

• Commitment to diversity

• Passive recruitment

• Engaging with unsuccessful candidates

If you would like to learn more about any of these strategies, please get in touch.

Reward and retention

With finding and recruiting the right people an ongoing and expensive struggle, your organisation may not have the budget to look externally for new recruits. It’s vital that people managers have strong talent management skills to retain people, skills and experience within your organisation and reduce the need to recruit. Recognising and rewarding employees is key to achieving this. These are some employee benefits you might consider to attract, reward and retain top talent:

• Competitive pay and benefits

• Career progression and development plans

• Focus on wellbeing

• Recognition for good work and performance

• Embrace flexible working

• Listening to the employee voice

• A robust and meaningful approach to equality, diversity and inclusion

• Matching the why and your purpose – for the business and colleagues

• Mentoring and coaching programmes

• Flexible learning opportunities, e.g. podcasts, e-learning, webinars, in-person/online workshops

Develop leadership skills

Consider carrying out a training needs assessment to identify leadership skills gaps. Training for managers should be consistent, bite-sized and specific to their needs. Small chunks of development will give leaders time to take on board the information and practise their new skills. Developing strong leadership behaviours and a good level of emotional intelligence will be key to managing, motivating and retaining talent.

At P3, we believe the key traits a leader requires are:

• Adaptability and flexibility

• Emotional intelligence

• Strategic thinking

• Agile decision making

• Cultural competence

• Remote leadership

• Resilience

Focusing on developing skills in these areas will put your organisation in the best possible place to tackle any future challenges. Look out for our free Lunch & Learn webinars on some of these subjects in 2024.

Choose to become fit for the future

For organisations to move forward with confidence, leaders must prepare for the future of work. We have a choice in how we react to change: stick your head in the sand or embrace the challenge. Perhaps we were forced to adapt to flexible working, but over the last four years, we have embraced it wholeheartedly and proved we can work anywhere in the world. Everyone is capable of change. Whether you’re willing or not is your decision.

Further reading

Take a look at our posts on Solving the Recruitment Challenge, AI in Communication and Upskilling your Workforce.

How we can help you

If you’d like to discuss any of the issues raised in this blog, get in touch with us today on 0161 941 2426. We’re here to help.