Future - Ready Workforce: A Strategic Perspective

Author(s) : Amitabh Jha, Rishi Raj
ISSN : 0974 - 497
Year : May 2019 | Volume : 13 | Issue : 2/4

Abstract: Today's business landscape is characterized by the acronym VUCAD² which stands for Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous and Digitally Disruptive. As a result, a really high proportion of organizations are fumbling. According to a study by growth strategy firm, Innosight- the average tenure of companies on the S&P 500 is forecast to shrink to 14 years by 2026 while it was 20 years in 1990 and 33 years in 1965.

Study of organizations which have undergone and going through downward slide reveals that workforce in these organizations typically exhibits either of the two approaches - 'Passive Approach' or 'Progeria Approach'.

Passive Approach is the situation in which the workforce fails to come out of their inertia and reinvent themselves amidst the fast-changing business environment and technological transformation. Progeria Approach, on the other hand, is the situation in which workforce or organizations with hyper-quick clock speed move too fast disregarding the organizational processes and thus collapse. This is a corporate parallel of a rare genetic condition in humans called Progeria, in which the patient suffers from an overactive biological clock thus inducing dramatic, rapid ageing and deterioration of the individual. On the same lines, workforces in organizations suffering from Progeria Approach get too overcharged and involve in products/technologies pre-maturely or too ahead of their time, thus leading to the collapse of a different kind.

While it is true that organizations must have the required speed to be nimble, agile and responsive, it is equally essential from organization's strategic perspective to create a delicate balance between 'focus' & 'alignment'. Here, we refer to 'focus' as clarity of the task, project, product & technologies to be worked upon by the organization. This 'focus' needs to be common and must be communicated to the entire workforce on a priority basis. The 'alignment' refers to creating an ecosystem where employees are encouraged to question, discuss, debate and innovate. However, there is much understanding which goes into achieving the right focus and alignment in a workforce. A survey of some prominent Indian organizations reveals that adoption of Industry 4.0 is a classic example of the situation where the industries are being blinded by the speed and quantum of change it is bringing about. Due to this, the 'focus' and 'alignment' are not clear.

This paper shall deep dive into the theme of ‘Future Ready Workforce' in a rapidly changing business landscape Innovation which happens to be the buzz word today is a cusp of three elements – Desirability, Feasibility and Viability. The paper will explore how an organization can stimulate this process while keeping an eye on grooming workforce for unseen, unprecedented tomorrow. This paper will also talk about how organizations can focus & align their rate of learning and rate of adoption of new technology at a faster pace by using the Design Thinking paradigm & explore new ways to engage employees, encourage entrepreneurial mindset and innovative leadership style.

Jim Collins in his book 'How the Mighty Fall' writes – 'If a company as powerful and well positioned as Bank of America in the late 1970s can fall so far, so hard, so quickly, then any company can fall. If companies like Motorola and Circuit City- icons that had once served as paragons of excellence- can succumb to the downward forces of gravity, then no one is immune. If companies like Zenith and A&P, once the unquestioned champions in their fields, can plummet from great to irrelevant, then we should be wary about our own success. Every institution is vulnerable, no matter how great. No matter how much you have achieved, no matter how far you have gone, no matter how much you have garnered, you are vulnerable to decline. There is no law of nature that the most powerful will inevitably remain at the top. Anyone can fall, and most eventually do.'


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