Surface Ripples

What Do They Want?

One of the most significant consequences of the coronavirus pandemic was that many had the time to reassess their priorities and what they wanted from life.  This has had a major impact on recruitment methods and what is now considered as “standard” in employment conditions.  Daniel Stecher summarised this well in an article in LinkedIn.

Some industries will still require staff to be onsite (e.g. supermarkets, factories, hospitals, police, firefighters – all for good reason.

Prices are rising as factories are still not yet fully functional due to staff shortages and lingering coronavirus infections.  

Salaries aren’t adjusting fast enough in the face of increasing inflation.  Brexit’s impact on the UK continues to make itself felt, throwing up new challenges and dilemmas.

The organisation of the 21^st Century will, more likely than not, see increasingly fast-growing, widely distributed workforces collaborating in department-neutral teams. Remote collaboration is already on the rise.

Employee’s abilities to build personal relationships have been impacted.  Some organisations insist that new staff be at the office to meet face-to-face people and colleagues that they may only see on a screen in future.  In the past, what we could achieve at work was limited only by what we knew.  What we knew was (and still is) limited by who we know.  The future will require us to coordinate at a distance in more ways than one.

Many organisations remain structured in traditional “top-down” hierarchies.  With remote working will come flatter hierarchies and a less rigid approval system.  Those entering the workforce today believe less in hierarchical and more in collaborative “hierarchies” if that expression can be used.  We can expect “leaders” to change more frequently depending on the nature of work or project.  Where formal “signoff” is needed, processes will have to adapt.

Finally, the “new workforce” is looking for different things from their forebears: “meaningful”, “fulfilling” jobs, work that supports the environment and benefits society at large, that pollutes less, that allows working from home as part of the package, rather than as a “privilege”.  

How do we respond to this as leaders?

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.

Labels: Career, Leadership, Productivity, Social, Strategy, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 10:28