Making the Business Case more Human

Leaders of increasingly connected organizations are looking for the business case to become more human. Organizations are transforming to serve a broad purpose, beyond financial profitability. With technology profoundly changing the nature of work, society and humanity, our relationship to work needs to be re-examined. It needs to be established what drives a true sense of purpose within organizations in order to build a stronger business and thrive in the digital era. The human centered organization of the future will foster creativity and innovation. Companies need to be able to consciously help shape this change to create a meaningful work environment and act in a socially responsible way and capitalize on individual differences as an organizational strength. Firms need to positively influence the impact they have not only on their customers, but also on their employees and wider community. 

A meaningful work environment needs to be created

Digital transformation in industry is not simply changing our economy, but also the way we work and live. We are witnessing a change in the relationship between the individual and organizations. Today, there are full-time, temporary, remote employees and robots. The workforce consists of four generations: Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X and Millennials. This is an immense opportunity, but also challenge for organizations needing to cater to a broad spectrum of generations reactions to digital transformation. A recent analysis by EY found that 18% of the current workforce is contingent, with organizations expecting to increase this number to 25% – 30% within the next ten years. So what will organizations be offering employees in the future? The UK Government review into the gig economy identified a link between poor productive growth and the feeling of dissatisfaction amongst the workforce, reinforcing the premise that in order to drive successful growth, employees need to be offered jobs with genuine flexibility and a sense of purpose.

Additionally, in order to maintain a content and strong workforce, employees need to be given the opportunity to achieve a sense of balance and purpose as well as the chance for continuous development. Technology must be leveraged to embed these values in society and humanity, as well as organizations. Research by the EY Beacon Institute shows that a clearly formulated purpose is a driving force for innovation and promotes collaboration between individual employees and teams through a common goal and a positive mindset.

Organizations need to capitalize on individual differences as an organizational strength

It is up to us as individuals, organizations and society how we will reap the benefits the digital era provides to the human and reshape the future. Hierarchical structures are no longer fit for purpose, as we live and work in a more digital connected world. This shift needs to be reflected in organizations by tapping into the entire human ecosystem and not just the own workforce.

A firm’s value creation no longer purely lies in the tangible assets, but in culture, innovation and intellectual property – all of which are human centered. The recently published Embankment Project for Inclusive Capitalism Report states that firms tracking and disclosing human capital deployment data secure higher productivity from their employees, as well as increasing their firm’s financial value. Not only does productivity increase, but the organization tends to perform better overall and record a near triple higher return on invested talent than companies not disclosing human capital deployment.

Technology is changing the way of work at a lighting speed. It has made the human experience richer, providing us with the opportunity to rethink and explore what it means to build human centered organizations. Ultimately, the value of a business relies on its people. Organizations need to act conscientiously, whilst embracing new technologies and fostering individual development, as well as inclusive economic agendas. We are at a crossroads – organizations and leaders need to think about which route to take and how humans will be implicated. The organization of the future is human centered – but can we tear up the old track?

Sources:

In a digital world, how can being more human be key to unlocking more growth?, EY Beacon Institute, Unilever & 100% Human at Work, 2017

Staffing the industry analysts, 2015 Europe Contingent Buyers Survey in Is the gig economy a fleeting fad, or an enduring legacy?, EY, 2016

Bad jobs harm growth and make people miserable says employment tsar Mathew Taylor, Telegraph, 9 May 2017

The State of the Debate on Purpose in Business, EY Beacon Institute, 2016

Embankment Project for Inclusive Capitalism Report

This article is one in a series related to the 10th Global Peter Drucker Forum, with the theme management. the human dimension, taking place on November 29 & 30, 2018 in Vienna, Austria #GPDF18