Even organizations whose products and services have nothing to do with the digital world are realizing the benefits of becoming digitally savvy. Soon digitization will become necessary for survival. The rate of change is overwhelming for many, but all must adjust to the reality of this digital disruption.
Talent development becomes a challenge in this situation. What type of talent do we need to succeed? Not all talent within the organization will approach digitization in the same way. And different groups of talent will be at different levels as far as their appetite for digitization is concerned. Thus building the digital culture within the organization becomes a major change initiative.
Organizations are becoming agile, flat, global, project-based, and entrepreneurial. Cycle times for decisions are shrinking. Information overload is resulting in fatigue at different levels. Agility in processes and decision making are becoming hallmarks of successful companies. Decisions are sometimes made on the fly—over phone calls, over a cup of coffee, while on a flight. Organization levels are shrinking. Flat organizations and organizations based on projects are becoming the norm. Future organizations might be organized around projects, as opposed to functions. People will come together to execute specific projects and then join new project teams once the objective is fulfilled. Everyone is expected to take ownership and keep things moving in the entrepreneurial spirit. Risk taking is not only encouraged, but also becoming an essential part of decision making.
All these factors require that data be analyzed and presented in manner that enables quick digestion. Big data and analytics provide these capabilities today. Customizing analytics to organizational needs becomes a challenge. The availability of specific and curated skill information about the talent within the organization becomes a key enabler for forming project teams. Artificial intelligence and machine learning enable such quick decision making, eliminating human interventions in routine matters. In short, organizations are going to depend more and more on machines than on human beings for many things in the future.
Added to this technological complexity is the fact that talent is becoming more diverse and connected. Diversity of all types is becoming a requirement for organizations to be progressive. Diversity in thought is particularly encouraged. Whom employees connect with is not within the organization’s control. Thus, how they acquire their skills has also become less influenced by what the organization has to offer. Organizations are moving away from single learning management systems toward platforms that allow access to multiple learning resources.
From a skills perspective, innovation and learning ability are becoming key requirements. Innovation is not limited to products anymore: It cuts across processes, organization design, reviews, performance management, and rewards. Hence this has become a requirement across all functions within the organization. While the debate on whether innovation is a trait or a skill that can be developed is still raging, the need for it is only burgeoning. In a tongue-in-cheek manner, we can certainly say that learning new skills is necessary to a company’s success. How organizations can create a platform that propels employees to learn and adapt is becoming a key success factor in reskilling the existing workforce and preparing them for the digital future.
The digital revolution is upon us, and we should embrace it with enthusiasm. Talent managers have their work cut out for them to accelerate this organizational change through relevant talent strategies.
For a deeper dive into how digitization and other trends are changing the global workforce, attend the ATD 2017 India Summit in Mumbai on January 17, 2017, or Bangalore on January 19, 2017.
