Reinventing employee engagement

Thanks to technology advances, the future of work will be more remote, hybrid and digital. While many job postings have returned to pre-pandemic levels, labor shortages may see over 85 million positions go unfilled by 2030, costing organizations as much as $8.5 trillion. Faced with hiring constraints, executives must give their workforce strategies a next-gen upgrade.

After two years of remote and at-home work, workers’ priorities, career goals and working rhythms have fundamentally shifted. How can technology leaders grow their business, build winning cultures, and attract and retain top performers in a competitive and demanding hiring environment? The answer lies in rebooting your business strategy, operations and governance, and prioritizing workforce concerns.

Reimagining the Workforce

To reexamine what the future of work looks like for your company, focus on four key strategic areas:

• Vision: Establish a more future-focused and flexible plan for how your organization will operate in an unpredictable business environment and challenge your company to adopt strategies that better align with its business.
• Productivity: Reconsider your approach to workforce management and engagement and contemplate how to best leverage technology and connectivity to optimize employee empowerment, support and productivity.
• Culture: Embrace greater diversity and inclusion, seek out unique perspectives and encourage non-traditional voices to drive added engagement and innovation.
• Oversight: Build strong, resilient and accountable cultures, and adapt to growing workforce issue complexity and the demands of regulatory compliance and oversight.

Thinking along three axis — working models, workplaces and workforces — is key to effecting lasting change. Ask these questions:

• What is our strategy given evolving employee expectations and changing priorities?
• Which trends will define our field and how can we adapt our workplace to be in tune with them?
• How are HR and hiring practices staying current with hires that expect customized education, training, mentorship and benefits?

Also consider items such as:

• Which work will be performed by humans, machines or both in coming years?
• How will automation, artificial intelligence and digital transformation technologies change the work that you do?
• What skills, resources and capabilities will drive business growth and do your workforce capabilities map to them?
• What flexible plans can you put in place for managing remote, hybrid and onsite workforces, as you look at productivity from health/safety to employee engagement?
• Do you have the tech and operating infrastructure needed to collaborate, remain productive and rapidly adapt to shifts in your environment?

Planning for Tomorrow

Mapping the future of work is a complex task that requires companies to consider how the employee/employer relationship is changing:

• Younger generations are more motivated by corporate mission, individual recognition and opportunities to do good in their industry rather than financial perks.
• Improving work-life balance, enhancing employee experiences and providing leadership, learning and development opportunities are key areas.
• Companies that offer flexible working environments, personalized benefits and customized incentives enjoy an advantage over rivals.
• Future workforces will be more diverse, making it critical to apply the lens of different perspectives to corporate strategy.
• To maintain teamwork among remote and hybrid groups, invest in cultural development, mental health support systems and better ways to collaborate.

Embracing the New Work World

Employees’ priorities have profoundly shifted since pre-COVID. Before, a good salary and benefits were important to attract and hold top talent. Now, it’s critical to redesign your approach to workforce management to stay competitive.

Stress, anxiety and burnout are impacting employees. Cultural attitudes have shifted as workers rethink their priorities and reconsider their careers. To attract key talent, business leaders must apply forward-thinking approaches to workplace planning.

Scott Steinberg is the creator of the POP FUTURE™ training, visit FuturistsSpeakers.com.