Planning for the future of work

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a ton of ramifications across how companies prepare their workforce and respond in times of crisis. But COVID-19 isn’t the first and it won’t be the last major disruption that organizations face, whether it's another pandemic, political change, economic uncertainties or extreme weather, these all have workforce and supply chain implications. And so organizations need to be prepared.

But when the future is so dynamic and unpredictable, how do organizations plan and embed a successful, future-proofed workforce strategy? Here are some thoughts based on my conversations with clients before and during the pandemic:

Plan for a variety of future state scenarios - even some that seem unlikely 

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was working with clients to evaluate the implications to their workforce strategy. I remember one meeting with a C-suite leadership team where the CFO laughed out loud when I suggested one possible scenario -- they may not return to the office at all in 2020. Hindsight shows that anything is possible and by scenario planning organizations are ready to shore up their workforce and technology and support their infrastructure and how they work remotely during times of disruption. Planning for all possibilities, whether it is a health, environmental, political or weather related crisis, however unlikely they seem, will ensure an organization is ready to deal with the unexpected quickly so they are as prepared as possible and the disruption is minimized.

Think about the longer term 

To deliver a successful workforce strategy, having a longer term view is really important. One of the biggest challenges I see is changing leaders’ mindsets from looking just two to five years or more into the future. But when people talk about the future, they need to remember that it isn’t a fixed destination, but something that is dynamic and constantly changing. Set out your vision and guiding principles for what you want to be, and within that framework empower teams to make decisions.

It’s about people, but needs to be owned by the business 

At the beginning of any workforce strategy, really understanding what the business is trying to achieve, the capabilities it needs to deliver, and translating that into workforce needs is key. Often, because this is very much people-focused, workforce strategy planning defaults to HR. But it's critically important that it is owned from the top down, and that business leaders understand the implications of the decisions they're making around talent. 

Mind the skills gap  

There are certain skills that all organizations can invest in that will pay dividends. One is digital skills and the ability to use technology that enables people to automate and do work differently. A second area is 'power skills' -- things like adaptability, resilience and critical thinking. But how do you build adaptability? You need to think about giving people new opportunities, stretch roles, things that take them outside their comfort zone, to be able to get them ready to operate in an ever changing environment.

It all comes down to data 

Having accurate and immediate people data will enable an organization to better understand the end-to-end view of a workforce. Not just how many full time employees they have, but data around how many contingent workers they rely on, what skills their employees have, where are they located, how these skills are being deployed. All this comes into workforce strategy. Starting off with a pilot that looks at a smaller subset of the workforce, often one where there's a problem, can be a great starting point.

CEOs today do not have the luxury of doing nothing. They have to invest in line with the degree of change that businesses are experiencing, with the need to digitalise, upskill their people and invest in good data. There is no option to stand still. The option of doing nothing is not going to be a successful strategy.

Hear more from me and my colleague, Bhushan Sethi, (Joint Global Leader, People and Organization), on PwC’s workforce strategy capability in this short three minute video from our YouTube Workforce of the Future playlist.

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