Are We Future Ready?

Future of the workplace:

During a full day seminar last Saturday at Pune, a wide range of discussions and workshops revolved around the “Future of the Workplace”. Reproduced below are some learning’s and insights from the workshop. It is required for us as HR professionals to be proactive in managing these changes at the workplace.

The current demographics of the workforce is dynamic and 4 generations co-exist. It is projected that over the next decade the workplace would undergo a massive change.

While the routine activities may continue as it is there is a possibility that the workplace definition may undergo a drastic change. Virtual teams, borderless offices, 24X7 accesses are some of the aspects that most organisations would move to. Outsourcing and contracting may gain popularity.

The concept of a long term job would be replaced by “Project / Task / Activity” based hiring.

The “Appointment letter” would give way for a “Commitment Letter” – this would bind the employee to complete a project – beyond which the employee may opt out and “hunt” for new projects.

Team "Gym - Stay Fit" presenting thier views

Given the entry of Cloud Computing – employees would no longer have desktops / laptops – they would move around with tablets with access secured by login / password via cloud and they can access their workspace anywhere, anytime. This revolution would also make away with the need for having dedicated workstations / workplaces. The concept of virtual office would gain prominence.

While these changes would mean social interactions would reduce, there is a need for HR to scale up and provide active engagement. Payroll, Benefits, Grievances would continue to be the sore areas for employees. Training and Development for the Virtual workforce to keep them motivated and focussed will be required. Thinking beyond the obvious would become the norm :).

Through various small group activities the participants also engaged in identifying areas that would need focus. The small groups also embarked on designing the future workplace – using a simple philosophy of juxtaposing the desired area to workplace to make it   interesting and fun.

Its time for us as HR Professionals to think beyond the obvious and come out with innovative interventions. While we eagerly await the new wave… we need to Stay FUTURE Ready!

Thanks to MTHR & Vishwakarma Institute of Management along with Omnivera Learning for organising the workshop.