For the past eighteen months, we’ve heard one refrain more than most: “The Future of Work is flexibility.” While the underlying and foundational elements of the so-called “next normal” are indeed rooted in flexibility, we’re overlooking so much when limiting the Future of Work movement to a rise in agile and flexible talent, agile and flexible processes, and an agile and flexible business culture.

Let’s forget for a moment that the very concept of “remote work” has dominated nearly every business discussion over the past year-and-a-half; while Future of Work Exchange research finds that nearly 41% of workers are now operating in a remote or hybrid model (compared with 23% during pre-pandemic times), these conversations don’t change the fact that, moving forward, this will become (if it isn’t already) a standard way of working.

The deeper discussions around and within the Future of Work revolve around innovation, not just flexibility or agility. Flexibility itself is just one strategy to apply to how work gets done; innovation, on the other hand, is how work is optimized. The Future of Work revolves around the many slivers of innovation that help businesses: 1) tap into the skills they need in an on-demand fashion, 2) harness the power of new and emerging technology platforms, 3) transform the very way they think about business leadership and business development, and, 4) reimagine the very ways the workforce contributes to and addresses how work is done.

As such, the following outlets of innovation are truly what will drive the Future of Work into 2022 and beyond:

• The “talent experience” is ushering in a new era of the modern-day worker and its ultimate impact on business. The main reason that we’re still facing “The Great Resignation”? It’s not just compensation (although that will always a focus for the workforce). Workers now demand several attributes for their next gig, including a positive workplace, an inclusive culture, clear career paths, chances to reskill and/or upskill, and potential leadership opportunities. This “Age of the Worker” is founded on employee engagement, the talent experience (which encompasses both FTEs and non-employees), personal alignment with a potential company’s brand, and the proper work-life balance.
• The complete transformation of business leadership. The most unheralded aspect of the Future of Work has always been how business executives have been slowly reimagining the ways they manage their people, processes, and technology. The “process” and “technology” pieces are in a consistent state of flux; enterprise executives are continuing to pontificate the relationship between the two and how next-generation automation (particularly artificial intelligence, bots, RPA, etc.) can reboot the tactical and transaction-based facets of the greater businesses. The greatest evolution, however, has been happening over the past year-plus: integrating empathy and wellbeing into core leadership values and strategies. Empathy, as stated here on FOWX previously, is the only way forward for today’s business leaders.
• Reimagining the expansive role of the total workforce. Flexibility is often rooted within the “extended workforce,” which is another phrase for defining the growing impact of agile talent and contingent labor. However, it’s the power driven by the total workforce and the management structures behind this that will spark the next great work optimization strategies. Businesses require total talent intelligence that will give hiring managers and other executives the necessary viewpoints into 1) current skills across the organization, 2) how these skills are linked to critical projects and initiatives, 3) how the organization leverages predictive workforce analytics to forecasting future skills gaps, and, 4) how other business units (particularly product development, sales, IT, etc.) should comprise the makeup of skills within their unique teams.
• Business imperatives reflecting the fluidity of societal, economic, and labor market trends. Make no mistake: the contemporary enterprise must be laser-focused on driving better and desirable business outcomes. However, the line between “business” and “human” continues to blur, its ramifications cascading into the very fabric of organizational operations. Business leaders must be in tune with the societal focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion by baking it into talent engagement, talent management, and workforce planning. Economic factors should be included in workforce and financial forecasting. And, labor market trends should be a guiding light towards how businesses should engage new candidates and how they reimagine traditional means of workforce management. The Future of Work dictates that businesses take into account both internal and external forces in how they ultimately get work done.

Make no mistake about it: the Future of Work and flexibility will be forever linked, especially as we crawl our way out of the most uncertain period of both our personal and professional lives. However, when we get to the very core of the Future of Work movement, innovation must be its nexus for businesses to truly optimize how work is done.

Tagged in: Christopher Dwyer, Complex Categories, Contingent Workforce, Future of Work Exchange, Innovation, Talent