However, many of the respondents are also acutely aware of the limitations to their current planning for disruptive change and its implications for the talent landscape. Currently, only 53% of CHRos surveyed are reasonably or highly confident regarding the adequacy of their organization’s future workforce strategy to prepare for these shifts. The main perceived barriers to a more decisive approach include a lack of understanding of the disruptive changes ahead, resource constraints and short-term profitability pressures and lack of alignment between workforce strategies and firms’ innovation strategies.
Across all industries, about two thirds of our respondents report intentions to invest in the reskilling of current employees as part of their change management and future workforce planning efforts, making it by far the highest-ranked such strategy overall. However, companies that report both that they are confident in the adequacy of their workforce strategy and that these issues are perceived as a priority by their top management are nearly 50% more likely to plan to invest in reskilling than companies who do not. This group of companies is also more than twice as likely to be targeting female talent and minority talent and over 50% more likely to be supporting employees’ mobility and job rotation within the firm. They are significantly less likely to plan to hire more short-term workers or to use expatriate talent.
A number of promising approaches appear underutilized across almost all industries. For example, a focus on making better use of the accumulated experience of older employees and building and ageless workforce barely register among proposed workforce strategies. There also seems to be varying openness to collaboration, whether within or across industries. With the latter seemingly much more acceptable. Finally, a key approach, partnerships with public institutions and the education sector, is only reported by 20% of respondents.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION
Recent discussions about the employment impact of disruptive change have often been polarized between those who foresee limitless opportunities in newly emerging job categories and prospects that improve workers’ productivity and liberate them from routine work, and those that foresee massive labour substitution and displacement of jobs. Both are possible. It is out actions today that will determine whether we head towards massive displacement of workers or the emergence of new opportunities.
During previous industrial revolutions, it often took decades to build the training systems and labour market institutions needed to develop major new skill sets on a large scale. Given the upcoming pace and scale of disruption brought about by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, however, this is simply not be an option. Without targeted action today to manage the near-term transition and build a workforce with future proof skills, governments will have to cope with ever-growing unemployment and inequality, and businesses with a shrinking consumer base. Moreover, these efforts are necessary not just to mitigate the risks of the profound shifts underway but also to capitalize on the opportunities presented by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The talent to manage, shape and lead the changes underway will be in short supply unless we take action today to develop it.
For a talent revolution to take place, governments and businesses will need to profoundly change their approach to education, skills and employment, and their approach to working with each other.