Managers are looking to build teams, enhance professional training & develop new leaders
Managers are looking to build teams, enhance professional training and develop new leaders in the coming year.
Are you ready to be an employee in today’s workplace? CEOs are currently concerned about responding to changes in today’s work environment – more millennial workers, digital technology and rapid changes in the economy and business, according to the “Global Human Capital Trends 2016” report from Deloitte, which surveyed and interviewed more than 7,000 business and human resources leaders from 100 countries, asking them to assess how important specific talent challenges were to their organizations.
As senior leaders respond to the changing work environment, you will see them placing a focus on how to addresses employees’ demands for rapid career growth, a compelling and flexible workplace and a sense of mission and purpose at work. The following list contains just five of the top 10 concerns outlined in Deloitte’s 2016 report.
1. Get ready “to team.” Yes, team has become a verb. Teaming is the top priority among executives, according to Deloitte. But you won’t see more of the same old teams. Deloitte predicts that teams will need to function like those on a movie project where people from different disciplines and departments are brought together to work on a specific project. Once the work is completed, the employees will move on to a new endeavour.
What this means for you is that your interpersonal skills need to be honed. Your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams and diverse personalities will influence your success. Increased team-based projects also require adaptability and quickly coming up to speed on new initiatives. As more companies begin to initiate this type of team model, you can anticipate personal career growth. Benefits from this type of team work might include increased exposure to new areas of the company, which will enhance your network and skills and provide a broader reach for your personal brand and reputation.
2. Get ready to lead. Executives realize that they aren’t producing leaders fast enough. Deloitte’s report found that 56 percent of senior leaders are concerned about developing better leaders faster. The new organizational design will demand more leadership roles. Unfortunately, 21 percent of companies still have no leadership programs at all.
The good news for you is that you can expect to see increased opportunities for leadership and earlier in your career. This will require that you either take part in company-provided leadership programs or seek training outside of your company, so that you have the skills necessary. Companies look for employees who demonstrate leadership potential. It is up to you to understand the eligibility criteria within your organization and self-advocate.
3. Get ready to engage. There is a strong correlation between employee engagement and performance. To improve engagement, executives realize that they need to focus on both defining a positive company culture and finding ways to engage their employees. Engagement is one of their top priorities. The challenge is to develop systems and solutions that address varied employee needs.
You can expect to see changes that address multi generational workers and a more flexible, employee-centric work environment. If a job or career change is in your future, assess a future employer by asking questions in order to understand culture and engagement. According to Deloitte, asking about culture means questioning “the way things work around here.” Understanding engagement involves knowing “how people feel about the way things work around here.”
4. Get ready to learn. You can’t have a modern workplace, which incorporates these priorities, without dedicating resources to develop employees. To keep up with the demand for training, companies have begun implementing training solutions, such as massive open online courses and other on-demand resources, to better meet employee needs. Deloitte reports that executives see a strong correlation between employee development initiatives and employee engagement. As such, companies increased investment in training by 10 percent last year.
Be actively involved in your professional development and seek out formal and informal training to enhance your performance. Know what training is available and whether it will have short-term or long-term benefits. And when you find training resources you like, share them with your team.
5. Get ready for your next gig. Understanding how to better utilize contingent and part-time workers ranked as one of the top priorities for executives. Increasing profits is a constant challenge for leaders and companies. One of the most expensive costs of doing business is labour, so it makes sense that companies will continue to evaluate overhead and look for creative ways to increase productivity and profitability by growing this segment of the workforce.