With the turning of the season and as we move into the last quarter of 2019, it’s important for business leaders to realign strategies to advance their organizations' goals in the coming years. Workplace strategy and employee experience continue to be a growing focus for many leaders as organizations prepare for significant changes related to the future of work and an evolving workforce.
Several workforce shifts occurring today have talent, policy and work environment impacts that could reverberate through the next decade. In anticipation of these forces, organizations are emphasizing the need for HR and talent leaders to work closely with their partners in technology and real estate to shape workplace strategy and design.
Here’s a look at three signals business leaders should study to reshape their workplaces for the present and not-too-distant future:
The War For Talent
Data from the American Action Forum (via Yahoo) reveals America’s skills gap could come with high costs in the decade ahead. By 2029, employers in nearly every state could face significant shortages of workers with associate’s degrees or some college (nearly 800,000 workers) and of workers with bachelor’s degrees. These shortages could translate to nearly $1.2 trillion in costs to the U.S. economy.
In order to avoid picking up a significant portion of that $1.2 trillion tab, organizations can leverage the physical and virtual work environment to create valuable human experiences that attract and retain their critical workforce. The most effective contributors to an enhanced user experience I've seen relate to high-touch, personalized engagement and involve user-driven insights.
Increasingly, I see companies invest in understanding their workforce needs -- on a macro and micro scale -- through experience studies, day-in-the-life journeys and workplace pilots (some of which my company offers, but that companies can also conduct independently). These are spaces where employees can offer input on future designs and evaluate potential workplace changes before the company makes significant investments. There are numerous ways organizations can begin to gather this feedback, from starting an idea wall in their current space to conducting annual surveys for insights on the workplace experience, creating sustainability and wellness programs and driving ongoing cultural transformations to encourage the desired behaviors in the workplace.
Automation And Retraining
According to IDC, worldwide spending on artificial intelligence systems will grow to $35.8 billion in 2019, and robots are impacting almost every industry and business sector. Just a few recent examples include Deloitte's CognitiveTax launch, which allows AI to analyze tax datasets; robots in health facilities designed to aid nurses; and HSBC Bank’s humanoid robot named Pepper that helps customers understand products and notifies bank staff about customers' needs.
These new technologies are transforming many companies into technology businesses in some form and could also amplify our skills gap. Robots and AI are both replacing some transactional roles and creating a need for other roles: According to a Brookings Institution report (via CNBC), 25% of jobs are at high risk of automation. But this could also create new job opportunities. This reality should encourage businesses to focus on retraining programs. Just a couple months back, Amazon shared plans to invest $700 million into upskilling training.
While not every business requires an upskilling program with the value and reach of Amazon’s, businesses would be wise to create scaled versions of it. This could help them navigate the skills gap and create new opportunities for their workforces. Organizations should also consider the need for enhancements in their work environments. The introduction of robots and AI could necessitate new policies, technology-friendly environments and a dedicated workforce to maintain, program and advance these technologies.
Learn From Academia
Academic institutions can offer the business world ideas for incorporating learning environments into future workspaces. As someone whose firm designs these spaces, I've noticed there is a major gap between how we use space to fuel learning as opposed to how we use it to perform work today, but organizations that recognize the inconsistency between the student and employee experience can act to close that gap as we move into the coming years.
Here are just three aspects of modern learning environments that workplaces may want to consider:
• Power Of Choice: Today’s thriving learning spaces offer students space, tools and resources, and then let them create. In successful learning environments, space does not dictate activity, but rather empowers students to connect, research, prototype, unwind, build and learn as necessary. In business, these spaces are frequently referred to as innovation hangars or garages (akin to Silicon Valley startups with movable furniture and hackable spaces).
• Platforms For Collaboration: Successful education spaces are generally designed to promote diversity and inclusivity and knock down interdisciplinary silos. Workplaces should also be focused on this to accelerate innovation and discovery. You can implement design solutions such as creating intentional and impromptu meeting areas; ensuring the appropriate ratio of focus, collaboration and connection areas; and offering ample support amenities for physical and digital collaborations, screen projections and writable surfaces. In addition to amenities for internal use, such spaces should also include considerations to encourage partnerships and collaborations with external agencies.
• Focusing On Experience: Across society, experience is currency when it comes to recruiting and retaining students, customers or employees. Knowing this, the business world should study how leading academic institutions create spaces that are attuned to student wellness and passions. Look at how institutions incorporate creative and multidimensional spaces in buildings.
In learning from the academic sector, the intent is not to replicate student spaces, but to recognize the reliance on technology, flexibility and adaptability, personal freedom and idea-sharing as organizations build their own customized solutions.
While there is no singular road map for how companies should pivot their workplaces for success, these three signals provide a starting point. I believe the critical path for Workplace 2025 demands that companies include HR and talent leaders in strategic decisions, listen to their employees and begin to create environments responsive to future needs, skills and technologies.
