Is Your Workforce Future Ready? - American Society of Employers - Mary E. Corrado

Is Your Workforce Future Ready?

Over the past few years, the workforce and workplace have dramatically changed. In order to be successful, organizations must be future ready and have strategies in place to help their talent – both tenured and new – thrive.

According to PWC, there are four forces organizations need to consider that shape workforces:

Specialization – The expertise we obtain and build to succeed.  How can we anticipate the roles we’ll need and what roles will be displaced?

Humanity – The good we do for our people – and the world. Does our organization’s purpose resonate with our people?

Rivalry – The reasons employees choose us over our competitors. Are we winning? How can we win as our requirements change?

Scarcity – The talent shortages and skills deficits that could harm our performance. Where are we short on talent now?  What skills will we need in the future?

When looking at these four forces, all which focus on talent management, organizations can then begin to build a workforce strategy that is future ready.  PWC recommends asking yourself these three questions as you develop your workforce strategy:

  1. What’s our starting point?  Look at each of the forces above and document where you think you are currently.
  2. Do the forces help or hinder our strategy? Identify your strong and weak points and how they affect your workforce strategy or might do so in the future.
  3. How does our business strategy translate to our workforce strategy? What is the unique value your organization offers that differentiates itself from others.  How does your talent support that?

As you begin to design a future-ready workforce strategy, consider the following five strategies recommended by PWC:

  1. Always put employees first – As shown above, your organization’s success all boils down to one thing – talent. Provide employees with the ability to consistently share meaningful feedback.  Respond to that feedback.
  2. Invest in talent – As you identify strengths and weaknesses in your talent, build a plan to help them develop in areas where needed.  Identify future skills gaps and begin upskilling current talent. Help your employees feel valued by investing in their career growth and education.
  3. Ensure diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) – An effective DEI strategy requires meaningful actions. Take proactive measures to make all employees feel that they belong. According to PWC, “If you make your workforce more diverse and inclusive—across all elements of the human experience and identity—you help society while helping address two of the four forces: the challenges of specialization and scarcity.”
  4. Show employees how their work matters – Studies have shown that when employees see how their work contributes to the organization, they are more engaged, stay longer, and are more productive. Make sure that all employees realize their value to the organization and that their contributions make a difference.
  5. Reward constructive pushback – Listening to constructive pushback can save you from costly mistakes.  Listen to those in the trenches. Encourage thoughtful feedback.  After considering their feedback, reward and recognize them for speaking up. If no one ever spoke up, growth would be halted and innovation often missed.

To be future ready, we must focus on talent. As ASE states in our mission, your people are your greatest asset: “ASE's mission is to support employers by providing a broad range of information, services, and training that enables them to successfully manage their most important asset: their people.”

How are you preparing your workforce to be future ready? Email me at [email protected].

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