From smart cities to smart workforces, the technology advances are creating a fundamental mind-shift in businesses structure and alignment of operations with the “modern” social culture. With incorporating greater flexibility into the structure in 2014 will enable the transformation to the future workplace in the next decade.
According to PWC research, Millennials at work: Reshaping the workplace, they want the freedom to have a flexible work schedule.
The millennial generation, born between 1980 and 2000 now entering employment in vast numbers, will shape the world of work for years to come. Attracting the best of these millennial workers is critical to the future of your business. Their career aspirations, attitudes about work, and knowledge of new technologies will define the culture of the 21st century workplace.
This leads to leadership being immersed into the latest trends and what drives their motivation — the PWC research provides in-depth findings on managing millennials:
“This generation has a sense of entitlement. They look for higher starting salaries, flexible work schedules and company provided iPhones… they want constant praise and promotion almost the minute they join”. It’s not unusual to hear millennials described as “smart but lacking in motivation” but this may well be shorthand for “they do things differently from me”.
The business structure remained quite rigid for so many years that it will pose great challenges for the other generations to change gears and understand how to adjust to the new workforce. Cisco is already ahead of the curve with identifying the radical transformation and documented their findings in the White Paper, Transitioning to Workforce 2020.
Annmarie Neal, VP of Talent Management and Development, Cisco, states:
“One core attribute of leadership in the future will be to bring smart people together to think in more fluid, dynamic ways, and to solve problems that have never been solved before. Leaders will need to architect creative cultures that can constantly produce new ideas and new skills.”
As the next decade approaches, social media will play a bigger role in communication strategies and is paving the way to “Leading by Nurturing a Collaborative Culture” as highlighted on page 30 in the Cisco White Paper. For the businesses that have not turned the corner on incorporating “social” tools into their daily operations should take the opportunity sooner than later to not only be able to retain top talent but also attract the workforce that is needed to fill the capabilities skill gap that findings predict — take the leap and get started now!
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