The world of work as we know it is changing. Part-time and flexible working is on the rise, and by 2027, the majority of the U.S. workforce will be freelancers. And as the younger generations fill the workplace, it’s likely that the traditional business structure and employment relationship will be unrecognizable in 10 or even five years’ time. We can’t even begin to forecast the skills we may need in the future — we’re struggling to retool our workforce for the ones we need now. So how does an organization plan for this? What needs to change for a business to stay relevant?
I write this looking out from an eight-year-old company, firmly in the growth phase, having worked for many other companies in this position. For this type of business, flexibility and forward thinking is key in ensuring we adapt to the wants and needs of the next generations.
For organizations that are at maturity and are bureaucratic in their many-leveled ivory towers, this is easier said than done. They can see the need to change is here, but they can’t move the cogs and levers fast enough to adapt. The board may not even be aware of the true nature of the task at hand because those who are looking out are not able to gain access to the top to share the insight.
1. Get your skills in a row.
To make your business agile, you need to identify the skill sets you want to keep in-house and those you’ll outsource. Use a flexible workforce model such as Atkinson's or Chris Handy’s shamrock to identify what skill sets you want to incubate, accelerate and partner on. If you decide to develop a certain skill set in-house, agree with your department heads on how you will nurture this until it becomes its own department. Decide early on the services you want to partner on, and find a third party you can work with to create an end-to-end offering for both theirs and your customers
2. Be flexible about working.
With more and more people opting out of the traditional 9-to-5, your talent pool will shrink the longer you ignore the flexible working trend. Freelancers have long used their flexibility to work anywhere in the world, but we’re seeing more permanent employees opting for remote working combined with travel plans. A little can go a long way. Start with the option for employees to work the occasional day from home, or flex their hours around their personal commitments.
3. Make your peace with contractors.
The "employee for life" is no longer the ideal. The median employee tenure is 4.2 years in the U.S., and contracting is becoming commonplace. Don’t be put off by this. Day rates can be expensive, but not as much as you think once you factor in the benefits, holiday and pension you pay your permanent people. Contractors are also more flexible, so they can help you pivot your business, inject expertise into your current talent and bring new perspectives on ways of working. Make sure you treat them as well as you treat your permanent people while being clear about the line. For example, invite them to team meetings and informal socials, but agree not to include them in overnight events and benefits.
4. Invest in video communication.
This may seem small in comparison to some of the points, but if your organization is considering remote working, your video conferencing software should be on point. Whatever you use, it needs to be paired with the appropriate technology, including laptops with decent cameras.
5. Encourage continuous development.
As an organization, you have a responsibility to drive the business forward, but you need to encourage employees to remain in control of their own futures. While this can be backed with investment from the organization — at Beyond, we typically set aside £1000 (roughly $1,300 USD) per employee per year for training. This is a journey your employees will have to take on themselves. You can support this through advocacy, champions, role modeling and giving space for people to look ahead. Using the principle set behind the learning organization will be beneficial here.
It’s survival of the fittest.
The key theme across all of this is adaptability. Futurologists are working overtime to predict the next decade, but we’re unsure how far ahead we can see, given the acceleration of change over the last century. This means that planning ahead will only help so much. People need to be ready to pivot at short notice; adaptability in structure, process and people is required to survive. This comes through building your frameworks using principles over rules and ensuring you are always listening to feedback. Only organizations that can adapt quickly enough to the changes ahead will be here in 10 years' time to continue this discussion.
