The Future Workforce

The escalation of the Coronavirus has flipped the world on its head in a unique and unparalleled manner, altering the way we live our daily lives from many different angles and forcing us to pivot and adapt to a fresh set of challenges. On 26th May we partnered with panel speakers from an array of industries, setting out to openly address the multitude of questions posed by the current pandemic, discussing how both individuals and organisations are facing up to this ever-changing landscape.

Our panel speakers:

Danielle Whitford - Founder of Pioneera

Laura Petruccelli - APAC Director of HR at Contino                                                 

Matt Hughes - Founder & Resilience Coach at Ripen                                     

Franciso Morales - Head of Talent at Canva                                                             

Michael Ewald - Head of Engineering & Automation Contino

The initial framework of the webinar was centred around two main strands, discussing the impact on employees from an individual perspective and at an overarching organisational level. However, from the very outset of the conversation we quickly found that these two vantage points intertwined and initiated several sub-themes which we could explore and expand upon further.

Laura launched the discussion by affirming the view that we are still at an infant stage in the cycle of change and that we are still being forced to consider how we define performance and what good looks like. Laura also highlighted how there is a real blurring of boundaries as to when people are starting and finishing their days due to the absence of face to face interactions and being able to physically see when people are working or not. This, in turn creates the need for a change in the way we collaborate, with extra sensitivity and a consciousness to what and how you are communicating with one another. Francisco concurred with this notion, stressing the importance of flexibility, with significant value in constantly monitoring what is working or not.

Times like these require constant reflection, but should this only be in the interim? Perhaps we should also take this time to regroup, innovate and reset, as argued in the discussion by Matt? In the eyes of Danielle, organisations have been attempting to create flexible workforces for years but have now been left with the inevitability of needing to thrust themselves into this change and embrace it. As also highlighted by Michael, for some time there have been unwritten rules about flexible working, often with stigmas and scepticism attached to them. Supported by data, this period of remote working has answered the question of whether people can be trusted to achieve business outcomes on a sustained basis.       

However, as Danielle discussed, one size does not fit all, and it is imperative that we realign to the needs of every person. Not leaving the house has both mental and physical implications and we need to put boundaries in place to deal with people as individuals. Who sets these boundaries though? The general feeling amongst the group was that it is a two-way street and that frameworks should be put in place, but individuals also have a solo responsibility to take an active role in how they work. Thus, organisational strategy should be intertwined with the freedom for individuals to empower themselves and follow some processes in line with personal needs.

So, what will these operational models look like? Matt demonstrated the importance of validating people’s concerns, putting actions in place and then creating a narrative as to how businesses will journey out of the crisis. Once again, communication needs to be clear, and as Danielle also expressed, these business models should also align to the overall strategy of the business, with people at the heart of it all. As discussed by Michael, organisations had not forecasted for such changes to operating models, so it is important to create models for further potential instances in the future, with Technology centric to this. However, what should also not be forgotten is that Technology is an enabler for people and that people are at the core. Ultimately, just as much as we should be monitoring performance metrics, we should also be monitoring the welfare of our people.

Human Resources will therefore play a critical role in ensuring that the wellbeing of our people is being looked after and of paramount concern. Francisco discussed how Canva have labelled their HR team as their ‘Happiness Team’; a group of individuals who are championing ways of keeping the culture alive and maintaining the feeling of togetherness despite physical separation. How can we replicate that feeling of community and collaboration? We as people may be more connected than we ever been, but also more alone than we have ever been.

Many organisations have Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs), but as Matt argued, there are often stigmas and negative connotations to such a rigid and formal title, so maybe adopting the Canva approach and making this all a little more light-hearted is the way forward? This cheery approach to looking after employees also creates an inclusive culture whereby people all feel a part of something, whilst also having enough agility to cater for the needs of the individual. Canva’s creation of social clubs works very well according to Francisco in that it builds a community within the business.

Canva have also used a similar approach to the challenge of on-boarding within the current climate, maintaining a high touch approach with virtual mentors and socials; a heightened extension of several on-boarding processes that were already in place, but with Technology playing a more critical role than ever. This is an example of how technology can alleviate these pain points and answer the question of how you build relationships with people you have not met yet when first joining a business.   

And what skills will be highly desired when businesses are undertaking hiring processes moving forwards? Danielle demonstrates how recruitment was previously fixated with Technical skills, yet the Coronavirus has accelerated the need for ‘soft skills’, a term that she is not comfortable with but feels is critical to the future of our businesses. Danielle feels that we can build technical competencies internally and couple these skills with the right mindset and attitude to bounce back from the crisis.

And it is this act of ‘bouncing back’ that is central to Matt’s theories around Resilience, as, by definition, Resilience is the act of something returning to its original state despite being faced with a challenging set of circumstances. Resilience, as Matt discusses, was already a hot topic in light of the bushfire crisis and it is an essential part of someone’s toolkit in dealing with threatening times such as these. We all have different pressure points and levels of resilience, some of which come inherently and some from environmental factors, but it is clear to see that possessing strong resilience is critical at the moment, both from an individual and an organisational perspective. But are we simply comfortable with ‘bouncing back’ or would it not be better to ‘bounce forward’ and use this time effectively to enhance both our individual and collective outputs for the future?

All of this ultimately comes down to mindset and the time we have all had at our disposal has allowed for plenty of self-reflection. By combining self-awareness, self-regulation, and mental agility we can think creatively in terms of our problem solving. Much has been made of the focus on controlling what we as individuals can influence, and from that we can take purposeful and proactive action. As Michael Jordan recently declared in ‘The Last Dance’ Netflix series, “why worry about the shot that I haven’t made yet?”

As Laura demonstrates, we have the opportunity now to shape the future, shifting our mindset and opening significant possibilities for the future of work. Before Coronavirus we had concerns about how we would keep up with the notion of technological transformation, the growth of Artificial Intelligence and the possibility of humans being overridden by technology, yet this period has shown how the two can advance in parallel, with our people just as central to growth.

It will be interesting to see how we carry this momentum forward but what is abundantly clear is that we are still at a very early stage in facing up to the multitude of challenges presented by the Coronavirus. By adopting the right mindsets, both individually and as a collective, and supporting this resilience with Technology we can drive towards a stronger workforce in the future. By putting our people at the centre of everything we do and focusing on building positive working cultures, with agile leadership, we can not only bounce back, but bounce forward; stronger than ever as a result of the many key learnings from this period.

Thank you to everyone who participated, and we will also be following up with some more content, focusing on individual themes from the discussion in more depth.