The Future of Work

This past week I spoke to a group of senior managers during a company retreat for a very highly respected multi-national corporation. The talk was around how to stimulate new ways to grow the business organically.

I know what your thinking… Boring; another talk about metrics, lead generation and online marketing.

Actually it was quite the opposite.

We did of course discuss how markets are changing, competition is changing, and customer-buying habits are evolving. But most relevant to the discussion was the fact that

[Tweet “Employees are changing.”]

Employees today want to be more involved in the business; in it’s direction and the decisions made that can influence their roles and responsibilities. They desire greater autonomy in what they do, less direction and more variety in the role they play.

During the talk I made some bold predictions that I think are relevant to share… You could have heard a pin drop with some of these points…

The future of work is less specialty skills and more about cross-functional roles; it’s less about individual authority and responsibility and more about productive collaboration and individual autonomy; it’s less about working in departments and more about working as a team.

In the future of work there will be fewer bosses; greater flexibility in work hours; less concern about a dress code; and more concern about having an equal voice.

The future of work… is here. Today.

Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the statistics on the number of millennials joining the workforce (they are now the dominant generation across North America) and then consider someone who you know well that is in their late teens or early twenties. They will be working next to you within the next 12 to 36 months, influencing what you do, how you think and communicate.

You see growing a business of any size is less about doing stuff, and more about engaging and involving the very employees who support your customers either directly, or indirectly in your mission. After all it’s your employees who are the horsepower behind the business.

Are you ready? The future of work is here.

© Shawn Casemore 2016. All rights reserved.