O
On Topic | Catalyst
“One thing we don’t do well enough is manage
those talent communities,” admits Bakhshi. “In
an age where personalisation is almost expected,
companies have the challenge of how they can
create a personalised approach that can scale.”
This is only likely to become more important as
new generations, used to customising everything
about their lives, enter the workplace.
Jo Taylor, managing director of Let’s Talk
Talent, sought to address this in her former post
as director of talent and resourcing at TalkTalk.
“One of my big pieces of strategy was talent
communities and pools, whether that was people
who were ‘silver medallists’ when they were going
for a role but weren’t quite right, or people I was
keeping warm for the future,” she says.
“We used to do lunches to get feedback from
contractors, and I’ve seen some companies create
community groups within their organisation so
they can spread the learning from specific interest
groups. It should be part of any talent or HR
director’s agenda.”
Office architecture
“Companies
have the
challenge of
how they can
create a
personalised
approach that
can scale”
A fragmented workforce has clear implications for
office design and space. “Workplaces will continue
to become very flexible; corporates will embrace
freelancers a lot more and the lines of separation
will become blurred, because employees now turn
over a lot faster,” predicts Parkin.
“Some employees are only in an organisation
for two years, especially those under the age of 35,
and that’s now acceptable, so employers have to
create environments that people want to be in.”
This could also increase the value of regular
contractors and freelancers to organisations, as
they can help to plug the gaps created by higher
levels of staff turnover. In some cases, freelancers
may well end up working for a business over a
longer timeframe than in-house staff. According
to MBO Partners’ annual Client of Choice research
study, the average independent professional has
nine years’ experience working independently,
works for four to six clients at a time and has been
working with these for an average of 3.2 years.
There’s also likely to be a rise in the number
of collaborative hubs where freelancers and
contractors can gather, as well as firms which
decide they no longer require offices at all. In
2017, US company Automattic, which operates
Wordpress, announced that it was to run entirely
virtually after its CEO realised how few employees
were coming into the office. It’s possible to envisage
a future where a technology firm could have a
number of satellite ‘hubs’ where virtual workers
or freelancers could meet up to collaborate, but
with the majority of work undertaken elsewhere.
The rate at which organisations move towards
a more deconstructed workforce will inevitably
be influenced by their sector and size. For smaller
players with fewer staff, it will be easier to create
flexible models, and may represent a means of
attracting and retaining talent.
Globally, cultural habits will have an impact; the
command-and-control management model still
thrives in Japan, for instance, meaning it currently
lags behind in its adoption of flexible working.
In the long term, however, the move towards
a less centralised workforce will only increase,
particularly with 5G connectivity. Companies
must adapt to remain competitive, believes Tarek.
“We need to reimagine workplace engagement
and liberate the boundaries to ensure we are
encouraging the most productive minds,” he says.
CASE STUDY
EMBRACING THE DECONSTRUCTED WORKFORCE AT
ALEXANDER MANN SOLUTIONS
Alexander Mann Solutions prides itself
on its flexible- and remote-working
policies, with more than 70% of staff
around the globe working non-
traditional hours.
“We have embedded flexible working
into our business for many reasons,”
says chief people officer Sandy Lucas.
“It enables us to increase the diversity of
talent we attract and retain, and it helps
future-proof our organisation.”
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Practices such as remote and part-time
working and job sharing are open to
all. Staff are given the tools to work
flexibly and the company’s collaborative
technology and virtual learning system
support this structure. Managers are
equipped to make it work in their teams.
“Flexible working can deliver significant
benefits,” says Lucas. “However, we
understand that some options
simply won’t work for certain roles or
businesses – the implementation
must be commercially viable for a
business. This philosophy flows
through everything we do.
“Truly embracing flexible working,
with the requisite acceptance and
adoption, requires a change in
processes, practices, capabilities and
behaviours. Years of experience and
research have given us deep insights
into levers that enable this.”