“Job hopping,” or having multiple different employers make appearances
on one’s resume, is par for the course now, and the “gig
economy” is the new standard.
“The gig economy changes the nature of work, because participants
act as both employees and self-employers, scheduling their
work based on their own availability, not a corporate time clock,”
according to the paper. “It changes the nature of a career, because
people can easily work for several companies at a time, not just
one.”
It also changes the very structure of an organization, the paper
says.
“It changes the nature of the organization, pushing companies
to adopt new structures to account for contingent workers and
other non-traditional employees. Some gig economy pioneers like
Uber, Lyft and Airbnb have succeeded by doing away with large,
hierarchical organizational structures altogether.”
As the contingent workforce grows rapidly, employers need to
be prepared. About 66 per cent of leaders believe their use of offbalance
sheet talent will grow significantly over the next three to five
years, according to 2017 Deloitte research. And that same research
found that 94 per cent of the net job growth in the U.S. between
2005 and 2015 came from alternative employment arrangements.
CAREER ARCHETYPES
In a workforce without specific, singular job titles – and one where
repetitive or rote tasks are automated – the focus naturally shifts
more toward competency-based knowledge work.
One element identified by The Intelligence Revolution is that in
the midst of this shift, employment will move beyond the concept
of “skills.”
“Historically, most workers prepare to enter the workforce by
honing the skills required to succeed at a single job. Auditors
learned how to audit; auto mechanics learned how to fix cars. Yet
this skills-based approach is rapidly becoming obsolete, as skills
quickly become out of date. The shelf-life of a learned skill is now
about five years,” the white paper says.
And in this climate of constant disruption, that shelf-life might
be even less – proving skills a less and less reliable way to ensure
employment stability.
“Instead of focusing training and education on technical
skills, Canadians are better served to think in terms of sustainable
capabilities that are portable and transferable between many
occupations – where AI and robots cannot compete in the foreseeable
future – and that will pass the test of disruption. These
include talents such as collaboration, adaptability and conceptual
thinking that will always be a competitive advantage for humans
over machines.”
For this reason, the paper identified eight new workforce
Archetypes that are – relatively speaking – future-proof:
■■ Curator: Designs and delivers customized experiences
■■ Protector: Interacts with humans when human agency is critical
■■ Performer: Masters of the art of entertainment
■■ Builder: Brings something physical or virtual into existence
■■ Scorekeeper: Safeguards rules and standards for humans
and robots
■■ Integrator: Makes connections between humans and systems
■■ Innovator: Connects ideas by thinking creatively
■■ Influencer: Challenges the status quo to achieve results
THE NEW RULES
All of these changes will come with the corresponding need for us
to adjust – to be agile, forward-thinking and proactive. HR professionals,
employers, job-seekers, government and educational
institutions alike will need to make significant alterations to business
as usual.
The way taxes are collected, companies are regulated and
the social safety net is structured are among the pressing issues
for the government to consider, while reevaluating curricula
and assessing the needs of the employment market will fall to
educational institutions.
Businesses, on the other hand, will need an unwavering commitment
to continuous learning and development in order to
future-proof their workforces. Among other recommendations,
the white paper suggests:
■■ Replacing static learning and development programs with
dynamic, continuous learning opportunities.
■■ Making learning available on-demand, 24/7 to all employees
on any digital platform: computer, tablet or smartphone.
■■ Tapping into the wealth of off-site, virtual learning networks
such as massive online open courses (MOOCs).
Organizations should also strive to empower individuals to take
control of their own careers, by taking steps such as:
■■ Helping employees work effectively in an environment of
networked teams and continuous, rapid change.
■■ Delivering a holistic, end-to-end employee experience to a
workforce that will increasingly include full-time, contract,
contingent and crowd-sourced workers.
■■ Developing new platforms and structures to help workers find
work and manage their careers in a more uncertain world.
■■ Shifting talent strategy to identify critical roles, understand the
disruptions that will likely affect those roles, experiment with
the technologies positioned to disrupt them, and build new
capabilities to be ready for the future starting now.
This new world of work is certainly a significant departure
from what we’ve known to this point – and the sheer scale of
change can, at times, seem overwhelming. But if we approach
the challenge proactively – one step at a time – we can lead the
change ourselves. n
Liz Bernier is a communications specialist at the Human Resources
Professionals Association (HRPA).
cover feature
THE PARADIGM SHIFT THAT IS
THE INTELLIGENCE REVOLUTION
IS MARKED BY ONE CRITICAL
FACTOR: THE VERY DEFINITION
OF WHAT WE CALL A “JOB” IS
FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGING.
22 ❚ CONFERENCE ISSUE 2018 ❚ HR PROFESSIONAL