From Old-Fashioned To Futuristic: Are You Building A Future-Ready Organisation ?
Sasanka Dias
I Help Founders Build Purpose Driven Personal Brands For The Gig Economy | Speaker | Communications Consultant | Author of "One-Of-A-Kind Personal Brand"
Will your organisation survive or sustain with yesterday’s skills or even today’s skills ?
It’s a revolution of skills that is about to take place and this revolution would change industries, mindsets of people, thinking patterns, etc. which is needed by the workforce of the future. As a skills-based organization, are you ready for this revolution is the question. The innovation and creativity which should come into play when you are making an attempt to create engaging experiences should be at a different level.
Clearly defined skills and capabilities would enable to you to attract the right talent. Talent assessments are a crucial factor in talent acquisition and executive search. Therefore, it’s essential that we constantly review the strategies we adopt because, as time progresses, we need to do away with old-fashioned methods that we have been using over the years. The modern generation especially, Gen Z, would not be attracted to executive leadership positions through old-school methods.
How do we create engaging experiences via talent assessments ?
An interesting example of innovation is being used by McKinsey & Company for talent assessments; i.e. gamification. They have gamified the talent assessments and they are not using the word “assessment”. This approach enables an engagement of a higher level. There are several advantages they mention this approach has brought in to their process. One of the main advantages is the experience it creates. Their intention is to make the assessment experience engaging and enjoyable for them.
Young executives are a different breed and they think in unorthodox ways. Yes, they look and sound unusual, awkward at times; however, they are sharp and smart. That’s the reason why organisations are focusing on and should focus on Gen Z. There is an urgency to and a pressing need to enhance and update skills to meet the future demand arises from the crucial factors reshaping the globa labour and economic landscape. Technological progress influences the shift inthe dynamics of business and it requires a great deal of commitment to come up with novel ideas and concepts to design Learning & Development programmes to suit the future of work.
World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index highlights that companies and countries which that fail to prioritize human capital development risk would fall behind in global competitiveness. The ability to up-skill and re-skill the workforce is close tied tot he economic competitiveness and resilience.
Top companies in the world such as Amazon and Walmart have invested in up-skilling and re-skilling their workforce; Amazon kicked off their Up-skilling 2025 initiative in 2019 with a $ 700 million investment to up-skill 100,000 employees and Walmart launched their education benefit programme, Live Better U (LBU) to re-skill the workforce. The initiative aims to expedite the transition of Walmart and Sam’s Club associates into approximately 100,000 high-demand jobs expected to be filled over the next three years.
The skills of the future require your cognitive ability and they will test your cognitive capacity day in, day out. Problem solving , drive to achieve more, adaptability, curiosity and self-leadership are skills you need to develop for the future of work. These are the skills you should look for in candidates.
However, there is one important skills that you should look for in candidates which is the most demanding skills person needs; at the same time, you should design programmes to help them develop this skill.
What’s this most important skill ?
It’s Digital Aptitude.
领英推荐
What’s digital aptitude ?
Digital aptitude is about a person's natural ability or skill in understanding, adapting to, and effectively utilizing digital technologies. It encompasses a range of competencies, including:
There will be an increasing demand for digital aptitude. Digital aptitude differs from one context to another; for example, if it’s an individual, it’s about a person’s overall digital competency and if it’s a company, how does the company use its capacity to leverage digital technologies for strategic advantage and if it’s for education, it refers to a student’s ability to use digital technologies for learning.
No industry, company size or job level is immune to this hyper-advancing world. Empowering your workforce with continuous learning and expertise is recommended at all times to maintain competitiveness and foster growth.
The value of up-skilling and re-skilling a workforce comes into effect when an economic shock is encountered.
Therefore, continuous analysis, thinking and action to up-skill and re-skill your workforce is not an option, it’s a necessity.
For a one-of-a-kind business, you need to become a one-of-a-kind thinker.
Talent is not a word that you can keep aside.
Happy to help.
Wish You Success !
Sasanka Dias