Part of the Transform to Perform series
Multiple forces are shaping these developments, including the need access hard to find skills (such as digital and predictive data analytics), as well as the opportunity to leverage technology (for example, AI and Business Process Automation).
The growth in the flexibility of where and how work gets done, including accessing alternative sources of talent via platforms and alliances has also created an opportunity to rethink the design of work.
At the same time, employees expect more personalised experiences that support their development, inspire performance and build connection to a wider purpose. This is prominent in our high performing employee experience framework, in which one of the pillars is “total rewards”. For employees, the hallmark of a high performing truly differentiated total rewards experience is built from a foundation of pay and benefits but importantly also includes opportunities to grow their skills and career and achieve their full potential. Delivering this level of employee experience (EX) requires designing jobs, work or careers not just for the optimal and efficient delivery, but for the experience they create.
We know COVID-19 accelerated many of these changes, both for organisations and employees. It also presents both a need and an opportunity to re-think the design of work. There are two key elements that underpin success:
Several elements need to come together to provide the “career architecture” in an organisation, including the strategy, tools, processes and technology that enable talent development. Underpinning this is typically the infrastructure for organising work, with a focus on jobs, knowledge and skills. Once this infrastructure is in place, career levels, bands and paths can be described that illustrate the opportunities for talent across the organisation.
A recent development has been the concept of “work redesign” or “reinventing jobs”. This is a method for breaking down jobs into their component parts, assessing the opportunity for tasks to be completed in different ways (such as automation, different talent pools), and then recombining the tasks into new configurations of work. This approach can allow for premium tasks to be optimally undertaken by key talent and/or to largely automate more repetitive work. It can offer efficiency and cost savings for the organisation, as well as to design work for a better EX.
Having the right infrastructure provides the foundation for delivering a differentiated work and career experience. For example, it allows the organisation to articulate and communicate its career philosophy to employees. It also typically includes using technology that easily and intuitively allows employees to access information and explore learning and career opportunities. For the employee, the system can show the various career pathways for their personal context (such as their existing career level and job family), along with expected skills and competencies.
The same information can be used by employees and managers to have meaningful conversations and implement focused skill development or experiences to support career growth. In that way, employees can see their potential career steps, identify career pathways for future roles, understand how they can upskill and achieve recognition for skill development.
An additional application is matching skills to work. Smart technology can match available skills to skill gaps, work or projects, allowing resourcing manages to quickly fill a need.
In summary, with economic, social and technological forces of change impacting organisations, there is an opportunity to redesign work and careers to shape both the optimal supply of skills and a high performing EX.
