How can we make the future workplace better for our people?
The new world of work is coming, ready or not. Organizations recognize the need for change. Leadership has identified the skills required to adapt. Now it’s time to think about how to attract, develop and retain those skills – people!
It is becoming increasingly valuable to attract the best talent. Leadership will do a better job attracting this talent, if they have a reputation for taking care of their people.
Do you think enough of us are thinking like this?
Let’s put the robots aside for a moment and think about ways to make the future workplace better for our people.
Where to start?
Build a clear narrative. A lot of us are anxious about the future, wondering how automation, robotics and artificial intelligence will affect our jobs – an anxiety that lessens confidence and the willingness to innovate. How your employees feel affects the business today. So, start a mature conversation about the future.
Take time to connect and get to know your people. What motivates them? What do they like about your organization and their role? What do they like about your management style? What can you do to make sure they stay engaged?
It’s also important that people feel they have the tools at their disposal and the encouragement from their employer to further educate and train themselves. What about enabling people to learn by centralizing the learning experience, making it both accessible and engaging? Have you considered incentivizing your employees to learn the necessary skills required for the future workplace?
It’s a very important time for us to educate and develop our workforce. Particularly, when it comes to retaining valuable people, while at the same time encouraging and attracting new talent into the business.
Companies who strive to develop these relationships will be in a better position to attract the right people and improve their customer orientation, employee satisfaction and decision making. This will result in a virtuous cycle of increasing returns.
Attracting and retaining quality professionals with the right skills for the future workplace should be a key area of focus for all businesses. Especially, to ensure ongoing productivity and profitability in the new world of work.