How to find talent so your company evolves and thrives with the future of work

Human at work will reap collective benefits.
Image from 100% Human at Work
Clare Kelly
by Clare Kelly
17 February 2020

The incredible team at 100% Human at Work believe businesses must start thinking of people as human beings and not as resources. 

It’s time to move away from maximising profits and profitability, and focus on how we can help people achieve their highest potential and purpose – which will naturally impact the bottom line positively.

The world of work is transforming at a faster rate than ever before and this is the subject of intense debate around the likely impacts on jobs, workers, wages, and society – affecting everything from gender parity to social mobility and global inequality.

Read Holly Branson's blog: How work is evolving: six key trends for 2020

To address the world of work’s unprecedented changes the 100% Human at Work team created a toolkit to help businesses navigate that change and think about two key questions:

  • How do we find and engage with the people and talent we need for future success and who can change with us in a way that serves humanity and the world?

  • How does this connect to the future of education and what is the role business can play in collaborating to shape the future of skills?

Hands close together on a blue background holding onto a log. Title on page be brave and be 100% human.
Image from 100% Human at Work

The toolkit looks specifically at how businesses can reimagine paths to employment and seven key questions your company should be asking:

1. What capabilities will I need?

Working out what capabilities your business needs first involves working out what the future of work will mean for your organisation. Which tasks might be automated? And which roles may need to adapt as a result? 

2. What capabilities do I have?

Work out what capabilities your current workforce has – then plug the gap. Think about: 

  • Do I have an accurate, up to date view of my employees’ capabilities? 

  • How do I assess and measure capabilities accurately? 

  • Have I got the right tools and processes in place?

100% Human at work diagram
Image from 100% Human at Work

3. Can I look internally?

One way to fill the gap is to look for talent within your organisation. Encouraging a growth mindset within the workplace will be necessary to keep plugging the skills gap.

4. Are we a 100% human organisation?

100% human organisations shape themselves around the values of respect, equality, growth, belonging and purpose. These values should be core to all decision-making – including how you bring people into an organisation. Recruitment alone is not the way to achieve a diverse and inclusive organisation, but it must be part of the recruitment mix.

5. Do I need to look externally?

If you’ve identified a skills gap, reimagined the roles of the future, or have a vacancy to recruit for now, look at the traditional model of recruitment and how it is radically changing.

  • How can your recruitment process evolve to understand and identify the skills, and the people, that will help your business to grow in the future?

  • Can you create new pathways to entry-level roles that are more likely to help people develop the skills you need to do the jobs of the future?

  • What tools should you consider using to move beyond the flawed CV/resume then interview approach?

  • When it comes to finding new people, can you flex your approach and consider freelancers, contractors, or the gig economy?

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Image from 100% Human at Work

6. Am I looking after people in an ethical way?

The combination of evolving technologies and the changing world of work are likely to fundamentally change recruitment. Unfortunately, there are potential negative impacts and consequences to this that need to be considered. AI, predictive analytics and other breakthroughs have the power to speed up the process, ease the recruiter’s workload and put more information in our hands than we’ve ever had before.

7. How can we work together to ignite and achieve change?

The future of work trends that are coming our way can’t be ignored. Some of the solutions will start with us, but we will also need to work collectively to ignite and achieve change. A key role business can play in changing the status quo and ensuring no one is left behind is to clearly communicate the skills they need, and then work with others to support people, including the next generation, to develop them. By being bold about who is recruited and how, and by engaging meaningfully with the wider community, businesses can also signal to the wider system what needs to change.

To learn more about the future of work, you can download the full toolkit here. Find out more about the 100% Human At Work network and their efforts to create a better future of work with support from Virgin Unite and The B Team here.