I’m lucky… why? Well, I get the chance to be involved with a load of different companies and experience a whole variety of challenges and opportunities.
What’s interesting is that over the last 15 years of doing a role focused on helping business and people make the most of their partnership, I’ve seen a real shift in need, especially over the last 3 years.
Businesses are feeling the full force of the changing world. Advances in technology and exponential rates of digitalisation means business model and strategy innovation is at an all-time high. I’d love to know how much is being spent on consultants, accountants and strategists to help businesses reshape to future proof themselves.
What I see on the people side is much less dramatic… and that’s a worry. I would put a wager on the fact that the level of thought and resource going into the people side of things is increasing, but still way behind the business side.
With a predicted people tsunami of change already being felt, how many business are really set up for success?
In many cases, businesses are saying they’re looking at the people side of things, but when you scratch below the surface all they’re really doing is “tweaking” an already existing and out of date appraoch based around old models of work that no longer bear any real resemblance to what the future holds.
You just have to look at the mass of people stats out there and it shows how dramatically the world is already changing from a people perspective. Examples include…
- Trust is the no1 determining factor about how people feel about work.
- 98% of people say authentic vision and values are key to who they look to be employed by.
- 72% of people say work flexibility to help manage the “work / life blend” is key.
- 60% of global CEOs are expecting that up to half of their workforce will need retraining or replacing in the next 5 years.
- 9 million people will need to retrain over the next 5 years due to job changes.
- 92% of talent professionals say that soft skills (not experience or technical skills) are the key to success and key to hiring people
- Since April 2021, in the US, 15 million people have left their place of work voluntarily, and organisations don’t know why they left.
The torrent of stats shows just how significant the world of work is and will continue to change, yet the majority of businesses are lagging behind where they need to be. So what? Well, never has the saying “your people are your most valuable asset” been more true. They are key to enabling change in your business strategy, they are key to implementing strategies, they are key to sustaining the effort and momentum and they are key to adapting future changes in philosophy and direction. In short the level of thought that needs to go into your people plan must be ignored at your peril.
Some advice would be to you consider 4 key areas in your People Plan:
- Purpose – in the past purpose has been a “passive” and “transactional” concept, a buzz phrase banded around willy-nilly, but it’s a critical way to create connection, engagement and motivation. If you don’t have a Purpose that is genuinely uniting your people, business success is limited from the get go.
- Performance Culture – a concept often misunderstood but through aligned values that lead to consistent and constructive behaviours, it can decide how your place of work feels… something that in many respects can seem intangible, but wow makes a difference if you get it right… whatever right is for your world.
- Organisation & People Process – How the modern business needs to be structured to fit agile environments and respond to dynamic changes is critical. Behind the organisational structure needs to be the processes to make it slick yet flexible not rigid, and ensure you maintain the hearts of your people not just their minds.
- People Capabilities – the numbers of people required to partially or fully retrain by 2030 will blow your mind. Most training enables people to be effective today, but with the pace of change being so ferocious, what you can do today to get ready for tomorrow. Retraining takes time and wouldn’t it be better to be ready at the point of need rather than starting when the point of need arrives.
If you want to know any more about the types of ideas discussed and shared in the is piece… contact People Hub… the People specialists