I spent far too long on deciding the title of this article. Originally, I’d referred to ‘increasingly more complex people and their needs’, but I don’t think this is accurate. People themselves and the needs of these people aren’t becoming more complex (and if they are perceived to be then I don’t see that as a negative or a problem to overcome, as such). People have always been complex, with differing needs and requirements. The difference now is that people are more empowered to be their authentic selves in the workplace and organisations are catering for their ‘complex’ needs and, for the most part, trying to give their people (their most important asset) the best experience. Organisations, as a whole, however, are certainly increasing in complexity, and this process is one of change, after all.
CR Series – Increasingly complex organisations and ever-improving people experiences
Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated
The AI revolution is certainly in full swing, and this is just one of a number of things that organisations are tackling at the moment. I’ve talked about Innovation Cycles and the pace of wider Digital (I.E. non-AI driven) Transformation in previous articles. It’s not just internal grapples with technological advancements that organisations are dealing with, there’s a very fragile political and economic landscape at the moment, not to mention the geopolitical and wider humanitarian issues that are impacting markets and the way organisations are deciding on strategic priorities and everyday risk management. With all of this complexity comes fear, confusion, disenfranchisement and a whole host of other emotions and issues for the ‘user’ and therefore the ‘business’. It’s not just a case of successfully navigating change to everyday operations and business structures, organisations must guide their people through these changes too, carefully balancing business need with employee experience, wellbeing and job satisfaction. You can design the best operating processes, have the best technology and the best products or services but if your people don’t feel listened to and valued then it’s a difficult position to drive sustainable success from.
It's the people, stupid
I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my (albeit relatively short) career so far to only work for companies that value their people as their most important asset. I’ve seen this pay dividends, first hand, in a number of ways, through some pretty challenging times over the past 6 years or so. It surely doesn’t take a genius to work out that happier people = more successful business, does it?
“Oxford and Harvard Universities looked at 1,600 US firms and 15 million employee surveys and found that companies with higher workplace wellbeing perform better on metrics including value, return on assets and profits. The 100 firms ranked by employee wellbeing outperformed both the S&P500 and the Dow Jones by 20% since 2021.” (Source: University of Oxford).
However, creating and maintaining a happy and high-performing workforce is no mean feat. This requires constant monitoring, evaluation, agility, and excellent and open communication from the very top of an organisation, down, and back up again. All of this is best managed and supported on a day-to-day basis by the Change Management team, their champions and wider Change networks. After all, these are the people that are helping to translate the corporate vision and navigate the constant changes whilst also listening to the people and ensuring that the heart (employees) and the brain (corporate machine) can function as one (so poetic, I know).
Every day is a school day
Perhaps the biggest challenge that organisations will face in coming years when it comes to improving or maintaining high levels of employee experience is the impending shift (for most industries) in the structure of the workforce and ultimately the way in which work is done, and what that work is. Whilst potentially already a little outdated, the Future of Jobs Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum has some rather interesting data linked to this topic:
-“Employers anticipate a structural labour market churn of 23% of jobs in the next five years
-Employers estimate that 44% of workers’ skills will be disrupted in the next five years
-Six in 10 workers will require training before 2027, but only half of workers are seen to
have access to adequate training opportunities today” (Source: World Economic Forum)
The disruption is certainly coming, if it isn’t here already. Beyond the obvious demands for L&D, wider training/re-training and a different approach to recruitment, organisations will need the Change Management profession to guide their people through this transition and help them to maintain or reframe their culture and employee experience.
It’s not just employees that face disruption and may face a need to re-train or focus on honing slightly different skills. As part of this journey of people becoming their authentic selves in the workplace, the drivers of employees are changing, it’s not just about money and promotions these days and organisations need to respond to that if they’re going to deliver the best experiences and ultimately attract and retain the best people.
“Smart companies will make themselves more attractive not solely by paying higher salaries, but also by offering employees an opportunity to make a meaningful impact.” (Source: Gartner).
Conclusion
In an era of constant disruption, rapid innovation and relentless change, one thing remains clear: the key to sustainable success lies in prioritising people. Organisations face a very tricky challenge in trying to navigate this everchanging landscape, maintaining success and growth, whilst also trying to deliver the best experience for their people, some will struggle and see these two things as mutually exclusive, and they will be the ones to drop off. For those that do not, they will be the ones that actively listen to their people, giving them room to grow, and create workplaces where everyone feels empowered to innovate and express themselves. Change Management is the glue holding it all together, making sure the business’ head and heart stay in sync. In the last article I talked about forward thinking businesses establishing Change Management CoEs, adopting consistent approaches, best practices and maturing organisations’ wider Change capability in order to ‘future proof’. This will play a vital role here too, especially as Change starts to become the new BAU…
Next in the CR series we’ll be looking at the impending surge in internal business model transformations, and linked to this, a likely increase in M&A activity.
Author: Harry Rawson