Prioritise workforce optimisation in 2017

If ever there was a time of rapid, disruptive change, we are living in it. The power of the internet is transforming large sections of our society, our commerce, and our way of life. Flexibility in the workplace is now an urgent priority for most businesses.

What is workforce optimisation?

‘Workforce optimisation’ lends itself to many definitions. To some it is merely a euphemism for headcount reduction without mentioning the politically incorrect words.

In 2017, leaders need to think of workforce optimisation in terms of the growing redundant workforce we have. Workforce optimisation does not refer to the number of people our organisations need, but the functions, skills, and processes within which they operate. As organisations harness the power of the digital age, the actual work being done by their people will be different, which is why many IT projects have the new name ‘transformation’.

In 2017, the challenges we face for achieving workforce optimisation are:

1. Inertia

   Workforce practices, often embedded in enterprise bargain agreements, reduce the ability of an organisation to capitalise on the opportunities of the digital age. Public sector organisations find it particularly difficult to maximise these opportunities, because the threat to their survival if they don’t change is very low. When leaders are planning, and preparing for business transformation, engagement with the workforce at a very early stage is a smart move. If employees are engaged throughout the design process, the transformation will have a higher chance of success.

2. Skills

   Many organisations have an ageing workforce of skilled people with decades of experience, but whose skills are becoming redundant. As the business world shifts towards new ways of working, a wide range of new skills are becoming vital. It is a mistake to jettison the experience because of the retraining required. With the right support, your people can develop the new skills required while continuing to use their experience for the organisation’s benefit.

3. Leadership

   Leaders, if you are not actively planning for significant change in how your business operates, innovators and competitors will soon overtake you. It is a rare business in 2017 that is unaffected by the disruption occurring across our society.

Leadership in 2017 requires a clear view about what your organisation will look like in 5 years’ time — a transformational framework within which change initiatives you undertake today will logically sit. As you progress, you might well redefine the nature of your vision for the future by continually reassessing how you are travelling, and how the market you are in is changing. Your workforce needs this direction because it will enable them to see a future for themselves: whether they change with you or move onto something else.

4. Flexibility

   Working from home will steadily increase its place in how we carry out business. Few EBAs apply themselves well to this, because most of them simply require an employee to put in specific hours and do not define an output or value. Working from home in the future will be managed through value and outcomes rather than hours logged on and of course, most organisations need people to come to work to gain the benefit of interaction and collaboration.

A fit-for-purpose organisation in 2017 will have a workforce optimised to change easily and flexibly as the business environment evolves. Such an organisation may be extremely difficult to create, but it is our responsibility as leaders to transform with the digital age.