How to Think About the Future of Work
In today´s episode of ‘Professional Success Podcast’ your host Sheila Boysen-Rotelli, a Master Certified Career Coach, Recruiter and Talent Development Leader shares some of the highlights of a presentation that she had a chance to give earlier this week. She elaborates on the skills of the “Future of Work”, things we can all think about from our own personal and professional development to build & accentuate as we advance our own careers.
Episode Highlights:
Sheila states that she started the presentation talking about a staggering fact that 85% of jobs that will exist just 10 years from now haven't even been invented yet.
As the speed of change is moving so quickly, it really does come down to this idea of being a lifelong learner and finding meaningful ways not only through traditional education and training but also through non-traditional ways.
Sheila mentions that one of the best ways to prepare for the future of work is to be open to acquiring new technology skills.
In the future of work, we're going to need that human ingenuity to invent, dream-up new products and ways of working, says Sheila.
Professionals with digital skills like coding, web development and digital marketing, are going to and will continue to become even more important than they are now.
Sheila says that at times when people feel uncertain about their future, jobs, business, or industry, it's key to connect with people on an emotional level.
She talks about three buckets in terms of the future of work including how the work is going to be done, who's going to be doing this work, and where & when is the work getting done?
Rather than focusing on replacing workers, forward-thinking employers are going to harness the power of man-machine relationships to improve productivity and creativity among their employees.
Education systems can be leveraged to help create pipelines of workers with needed skill sets based on the Future of Work projections but education systems need to get better at exactly that.
Sheila points out that organizations need to be thinking about workforce planning. Employers need to build an infrastructure that supports the future of work.
She highlights that there's little point in rescaling your employees investing in that huge endeavor if they aren't going to stay.
3 Key Points:
Sheila talks about highlights of her recent presentation during the ‘Midwest Academy of Management and Annual Conference’. There she spoke on the topic which she really is passionate about i.e. - “Future of Work”. She says that we need to develop some new skills that will help us to feel like we constantly have this fresh opportunity to expand on something we’re already good at.
Based on the research that's been coming from researchers, the host highlights eight top skills of the future workforce that have really become illuminated throughout this process of studying this. There will be very few jobs for life, someone that's going to succeed in the world that we see coming out of all these changes, is going to be able to adapt to ever-evolving workplaces, and have that ability to continuously update and refresh their skills.
The reality is that technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, the Internet of Things, even virtually augmented reality and robotics are going to make businesses more resilient to future disruptions. Anyone that can help companies to really exploit and tap into these technologies is going to be in a great position.
Tweetable Quotes:
“How can we best prepare ourselves for this future where that speed of change is accelerating?” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
“There is definitely a list of skills that seem to be rising to the top as we think about what are the skills of the future workforce.” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
“The first skill is Adaptability & Flexibility because one thing is for certain, the way companies operate & work is going to change, the world was already changing rapidly.” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
“We consider ‘Data Literacy’ the fuel of the Fourth Industrial Revolution because Data is a critical asset for every company.” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
“The opportunities to put these digital skills to work are countless.” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
“Employers need to prepare for new jobs and career paths through on-going analysis through advanced training and rescaling of our workforce.” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
“Determining technology aspirations by area, department or division is going to be key.” - Sheila Boysen–Rotelli
Resources Mentioned: