Workforce Trends
Today's workforce is going through its greatest transformation since the Industrial Revolution. How many of these changes are you experiencing in your organization and personal workspace?
- Baby Boomers are transitioning out of the workforce, and their replacements from Generation X and the Millennials bring markedly different expectations and attitudes.
- Technological innovation and adaptation cycles are getting shorter - this can have a dizzying effect when strategies are not in sync.
- The office, the store and the factory floor look much different today from a generation ago.
- Distributed workforces are becoming the norm for every organization from local start-ups to global corporations. Whole teams of direct employees, contractors, partners and influencers work independently, miles or continents apart, linked only by the invisible bonds of the internet and an increasingly mobile mindset.
People + Digital + Sustainability = Workforce Success
Over the last few months since attending key conferences including Sustainable Brands in San Diego and The Social Shake-Up in Atlanta, a core team using #WorkforceSuccess15 has been collaborating with a number of experts and thought leaders to understand the complex intersection of human motivation, digital communication and sustainability.
One of those experts, Daina Middleton from Twitter, explained "The Participation Way" and how important it is to "nurture ongoing relationships with stakeholders and tap into their motivation to engage as a human instead of persuading them to think differently about a company, product or service."
Enabled by the right digital tools, such as intranets with social, workflow, forms, and enterprise search capabilities, and supported by a collaborative culture, there is an underlying belief that each of us has the ability to influence our own happiness and success as employees or non-employees within and for organizations that engage and value us as participants in pursuit of profitable growth and sustainability.
The Participation Way
Shortly after Shake-Up Atlanta, Daina talked on camera at Twitter HQ to provide more perspective. In this 1-minute clip Daina shares the key elements of "The Participation Way." The reference here is customers and marketers or non-marketers, but the essence is just as applicable to workers and managers. Daina talks about discovery, empowerment and connection, which includes the importance of common interests and passion.
In the context of building a successful workforce, "The Participation Way" makes a lot of sense for the #WorkforceSuccess15 initiative, a collaboration between Elcom Technology, Creatorbase and CSRHub. You can find reference to this in a new eBook "3 Drivers of Change in the Modern Workforce" published recently by Elcom Technology.
Essentially, "The Participation Way" formula (D+E+C = P2) is highly relevant for organizations and their mobile and social workforce today and in the future. After all, every workforce is made up of a collection of people with unique needs and talents, who also happen to use social media, mobile devices and the web to communicate, learn, participate, and connect around shared goals to attract, serve and retain customers.
3 Drivers of Workforce Success
As mentioned earlier, a core team has been exploring the topic of workforce success with input from a number of experts and thought leaders since early summer 2015. In simple terms, your ability as an organization leader to build workforce engagement and success lies at the intersection of three concepts:
- Understanding the people who make up this new workforce
- Managing digital communications within and outside the organization
- Adopting sustainability strategies at all levels
Workflow automation, data insights for personalization, machine learning, artificial intelligence, rich media and cross channel distribution of content will all play critical roles in your digital transformation. And so will your workforce participants with their unique needs and talents. Successful organizations will be those that find a balance between people and technology while sharing common values such as sustainability.
Finding that balance is a challenge that HR, communications, marketing, sustainability, and technology leaders juggle every day.
Brian Solis recently said in a May 2015 article, "Automation is nothing new nor is it bad. However, with digital intelligence and capabilities comes the need for people to learn the skills and capabilities that keep the human workforce performing the jobs that machines cannot do today."
New #WorkforceSuccess15 eBook
People, digital and sustainability are key drivers of change in our modern workforce. Take a moment to download and review "3 Drivers of Change in the Modern Workforce," a new eBook co-created by Elcom Technology, CSRHub and Creatorbase which includes rich, timely research and ideas from many experts and trusted sources.
The eBook includes eight recommendations to build your successful workforce. It's an easy scroll through the eBook and the content will help you better understand the workforce of the future and how to improve your success as a workforce leader and participant.
Please use #WorkforceSuccess15 on Twitter to tune into the conversation, see what others are saying, share your ideas and ask questions. We're participating to learn from you and share.
Elcom Bio:
Entrepreneur John Anstey founded Elcom Technology with the vision of developing a modular Enterprise Web Content Management platform for Intranets, Websites, Portals, Online Learning, Social, and Mobile solutions. elcomCMS is used by medium and large enterprise organizations when the timeline, risk, and costs are critical. Elcom is a Microsoft Gold Partner with many successful implementations around the world including: Hyundai, Kia, Target (Australia), Austrade, Lego Club, Volkswagen, Orica, The Fred Hollows Foundation, Emerson Power, Kaiser Permanente, Louisville Water Company, to name a few. elcomCMS is the strategic choice of digital leaders delivering measurable value to internal and external stakeholders, adding power to the sales & marketing function and bringing efficient management of information to all operational functions.