Based on research by The World Economic Forum, Gartner, Mercer and Ardent Partners

“Total Workforce Development” and “The Future of Work”. Much has been written about it, however new technologies and the impact of COVID-19 have led to more recent research studies. Hiring managers need to focus on employee’s perspective and personal growth to attract & retain Data & AI talent, in order to limit the impact of COVID-19.

What is Workforce Development?

Workforce development is considered an interconnected set of solutions to meet employment needs. It can include changes to culture, changes to attitudes, and changes to people’s potential that help to positively influence a business’ future success. Workforce development is also sometimes referred to as employee development and is considered an important aspect of business success.

Through workforce development you prepare your team with the skills necessary for a specific type of job. It prioritizes the value of ongoing workplace education and skills development, as well as addresses the hiring demands of employers. Because the goal of workplace development is to place each person in jobs where there are career development opportunities — and to nurture that development — a company can ensure they have an adequate supply of qualified individuals for their needs.

The importance of Workforce Development

Employee retention & attraction

The overview above illustrates the importance of an inclusive culture of lifelong learning for development opportunities, to increase employee attraction and retention – without taking the positive effect on your project into account. There are three elements which play a crucial role for the implementation of re- and up-skilling within your Workforce Development strategy.

• Adopt the right mix of financing instruments
  Invest in human capital development. Give employees a stake in their learning through contributions towards training courses.

• Create learning modules that foster continued learning
  Create modular learning programs that allow for rapid reskilling and upskilling as demand evolves.-

• Determine the role of different stakeholders
  Create opportunities across sector alliances and business councils. Partner with education actors to ensure access to a suitable talent pipeline with the right blend of skills.

Different Workforce Development Strategies

As shown in the overview above, there are different type of strategies to implement Workforce Development in order to address the shift in required (future) skills of an organization’s team members. It ranges from hire new permanent staff to applying new technologies, outsourcing by hiring external consultants, automation of work through Artificial Intelligence – or train your team on topics like Data Science, Machine Learning Engineering, Cloud Development or Data Engineering. The research shown above was done by the World Economic Forum in their "Future of Jobs Survey" in 2018. It goes without saying that a lot of things have changed since then, given the rise of the importance new technologies and the current impact of COVID-19.

Global Talent Trends 2020

By 2022, 85% of businesses are likely or very likely to have expanded their adoption of user and entity big data analytics. Similarly, large proportions of companies are likely or very likely to have expanded their adoption of technologies, and to make extensive use of cloud computing.

Among the range of established roles that are of cloud engineering. Among the range of established roles that are set to experience increasing demand in the period up to 2022 are roles that are significantly based on and enhanced by the use of technology, like Data & AI.

Thrive in uncertain times

We enter the new decade with a more expansive view of an organization’s purpose and contribution to society. Leaders have a clear mandate to invest in reskilling and well-being. As they continue to innovate, disrupt and redesign, it is clear that existing approaches to workforce management are no longer sustainable. Hence, a lot of research have by done by the World Economic Forum and other international, independent organizations like Mercer and Ardent Partners to accelerate organizational transformation.

Drawing on input from C-suite executives and HR leaders, the latest studies reveal how organizations are transforming their workforce and workplace. Employees in 30+ countries also shared what helps them thrive in uncertain times. Together, these 7,300+ voices highlight four key trends that will enable companies to navigate the challenges of 2020 and beyond.

• Work together to ensure people thrive: focus on growth of careers and teamwork, instead of solely the performance of the company itself.

• Transform the workforce: prepare for the future, enabling team members to apply the latest technological developments.

• See ahead by augmenting Artificial Intelligence with human intuition: using data science, machine learning engineering, data engineering and cloud solutions.

• Inspire and invigorate people: motivate your team by offering e.g. Data & AI traineeships / training / courses to future-proof their career.

Learning goals, the new deliverable for employers

People are already comfortable blurring work and life, so the next challenge is to appreciate a blended work-learn model. If employees are ready and eager to reskill, what’s holding them back? For the majority, it’s time. Almost all (87%) employees experience barriers to reskilling. And the most commonly cited challenge is time constraints (38%), followed by a preference to spend spare time in other ways (35%).

HR Strategies for filling skill gaps VS employee perspective

As employees and (HR) executives look ahead, we see a clear shift in their perception of reskilling — from a valued opportunity to an essential step in remaining employable. As the reality of new technologies sink in and we witness the economic aftermath of the pandemic, employees’ own market value moves front of mind. When asked what helps them thrive, employees’ number one response is recognition for their contributions, alongside opportunities to learn new skills and technologies (43% and 42%, respectively).

Furthermore, 63% of employees say that they trust their company to invest in their skills and 55% trust their organization to teach them the new skills they will require should their job change or disappear. This notable shift in employee outlook shows how employees equate investment in their marketability as part of their total reward proposition. In an era of shifting market needs and uncertain futures, continuous learning, job redefinition and redeployment have to become part of the new work deal.

Post COVID-19: The Future of Work

The world of work is changing. Traditional concepts of how to engage, acquire, and address enterprise talent have been replaced by innovative, on-demand strategies to fill business’ skills-based needs, as shown above. And, with the transformative mindset adopted by many of today’s executive leaders geared towards harnessing the impact of the "gig economy": the boundaries between full-time equivalent (FTE) and contingent talent / external consultants starting to blur.

In this new world, the notion of the "blended workforce" has become a reality, forcing organizations around the world to adopt more forward-thinking approaches as to how to best manage all facets of their talent engagement, talent acquisition, talent management, and contingent workforce management strategies and programs.

The changing world of work dictates that executives rethink their mindset regarding talent, as well as the underlying tactics to effectively drive total talent visibility, real-time alignment of projects/requirements to expansive networks of talent, and a baseline of Total Workforce Management (TWM) to prepare for the future of work.

Total Workforce Management (TWM) vs. Workforce Development

Due to the growing hybrid nature of the workforce – combining employees on the payroll, flex workers and self-employed – total workforce management is more important than ever. Its integrated approach to recruitment, retention and talent management provides organizations a range of forward-looking benefits.

TWM is a standardized and centralized program for engaging, acquiring, sourcing, and managing all types of talent via linked procurement and human capital processes, integrated contingent workforce management and human capital management systems, and utilization of total talent intelligence.

It is a growing trend but implementing a total workforce solution is a long-term process. Rather than a one-time implementation, it’s most helpful to think of total talent as an evolution. That evolution will look different for each organization as they work to unite separate parts of a business into one unified strategy.

Implementing a Total Workforce Management strategy

While collaboration is a must for any total workforce management program, the core attributes of any procurement or HR/HCM function are critical to the successof TWM and helping to foster the value inherent in both flexible and permanent workers. Cross-functional efforts are crucial in building long-term, effective capabilities within total workforce management.

However, the respective knowledge brought to the table by each unit ensures that all talent, regardless of its source, is progressing through the proper channels of learning, development, project management, etc. With this aspect in mind, coreHR and HCM form a foundation for any TWM program.

With transformation an everyday reality, reskilling is the biggest opportunity and challenge of the decade. Without accelerating our progress on the skills agenda, we won’t have the talent to take advantage of the new jobs we’re creating. This is both a business and an HR challenge, and it therefore demands organization wide interventions to deliver results. Companies that unlock reskilling at speed and scale will transform at a pace that leaves their competitors behind.

Influence of COVID-19 on TWM

The decade ahead presents businesses with major opportunities, considering the innovations in technology and overall corporate strategy, particularly the shift towards a more agile culture (78%), which revolves around new and dynamic strategies, tools, and, critically, the transformation of the workforce.

The "skills factor" cannot be overlooked: 73% of enterprises today require higher-quality and deeper skills and expertise in order to get work done. As research has shown, many aspects will involve Data & AI: Data Science, Machine Learning Engineering, Data Engineering and Cloud Development. Very few businesses in 2020 can safely state that they will always be prepared for new challenges and issues given the range of skillsets across its current talent pool. Data & Artificial Intelligence traineeships / training / courses are required to fill that gap, both beneficial to companies and each individual employee to futureproof their career.

Most enterprises will eventually experience a sharp need for enhanced expertise, as globalization, continued innovation, and uncertain economic times may force them to reevaluate their current skills hierarchy. In fact, over half (52%) of businesses will require new skills and competencies (see Figure 2 above). Thus, the non-employee workforce will continue to grow in the months and years ahead and critically impact how work is done due to more and more businesses tapping into alternative labor sources for as of-yet-unknown expertise.

Outlook 2020 - post COVID-19

In 2020, talent, technology, and work are converging to transform the way businesses find, engage, and source the workers they need. This convergence is shifting the very foundation of how work is done. The non-employee workforce of 2020 demonstrates four key elements of change:

• The laser-like focus on skills, expertise, and how the business will react to unpredictable market shifts.

• The impact of next-generation technology on how talent aligns with work.

• Business agility, and the role of the agile workforce.

• The continued impact of the talent experience and worker empowerment

In fact, Figure 4 above highlights how these major attributes are top-of-mind for executives and business leaders in 2020 and the major market shifts that are ushering in a world of change in the labor market. 

That the vast majority (72%) of companies are focused on new and unpredictable skillsets is telling, as the contingent workforce of the future will surely be a relied upon source of talent. As the pace of technology progression, coupled with the major economic, political, and social shifts in how businesses operate, presents a frightening scenario for even the Best-in-Class organization: that they will be woefully unprepared from a workforce and talent perspective in how they address future skills gaps and unpredictable needs for volatile expertise requirements.

Since the non-employee workforce has long been a core strength for those organizations that need unique and on-demand skills in short order, it will be even more vital to those organizations in the years to come, especially in a post- COVID-19 economy. The need for reskilling and upskilling (68%) is another indicator of just how much the greater talent market has shifted.

The ability for businesses to adapt is more critical today than it has ever been, as businesses that do not hold the necessary expertise required to thrive today must figure out a means to quickly re-skill and upskill their workforce. As the "digital enterprise" becomes a reality in 2020 and as the virtual workforce becomes a necessity, enterprise leaders are starting to realize that they may not have the toptier skills needed to effectively deploy new technology. This disruption is fuelling the average organization’s laser focus on developing skills within its total workforce.

Key lessons for The New World of Work – 2020 and beyond

Contingent workforce management has recently and rapidly undergone critical changes. It is crucial that all businesses understand how the Future of Work will push the non-employee workforce into new places, and comprehend the technological, strategic, and cultural transformations that will impact them in the decade ahead. 

Total Workforce Management Strategies

Over the next several years, the following strategies will be leveraged to further link the contingent workforce and the desires for work optimization and business agility:

• Nearly 62% of businesses expect to implement an "integrated talent strategy" into their CWM programs over the next two years.

• 58% of companies plan to fuse agile talent strategies into their greater contingent workforce initiatives.

• 58% of businesses expect to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into their talent acquisition programs over the next two years.

Increase in remote work

Gartner analysis shows that 48% of employees will likely work remotely at least part of the time after the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to 30% pre-pandemic. In fact, 74% of CFOs intend to increase remote work at their organization after the outbreak. To succeed in a world of increased remote work, hiring managers should prioritize digital dexterity and digital collaboration skills. HR must consider how the context of remote work shifts performance management, particularly how goals are set and how employees are evaluated.

Expansion of contingent workers

A recent Gartner survey revealed that 32% of organizations are replacing full time employees with contingent workers as a cost-saving measure. Utilizing more gig workers provides employers with greater workforce management flexibility. However, HR will also need to consider how performance management systems apply to contingent workers as well as questions around whether contingent workers will be eligible for the same benefits as their full-time peers.

Digital staffing platforms represent the future of talent engagement

The traditional structure of digital staffing platforms followed simple "search-and-select" functionality, helping businesses directly connect with available independent talent. Today’s digital staffing platforms build on that classic functionality to offer more than just on-demand access to top-tier workers. Ardent expects that, within the next several years, digital staffing solutions will be just as prevalent as their enterprise software brethren.

Skills development should be a high-priority item

Talent is undeniably a business’ top competitive differentiator. Full stop. As such, a company’s workforce should drive innovation, spark business development, and spur organizational evolution. In today’s talent-led climate, the very concept of "skills" means something different than in years past: as technology progresses, there will be an increased need for complex expertise that is not necessarily readily available within the walls of the typical business. 

Organizations must do whatever they can to tap into next-level skillsets and expertise, whether it is by expanding talent pools, reskilling or upskilling staff, or transforming talent engagement strategies to include younger generations.

Total workforce management will become a necessary strategy

With 43% of the average organization’s overall workforce considered contingent or non-employee, companies are running out of excuses to develop strategies related to TWM. Although it can seem (on the surface) daunting to merge procurement and HR competencies, the value is there: businesses that have developed TWM programs can gain the best possible visibility into the total workforce, allowing them to execute real-time decisions when talent-based needs arise.

These organizations have the ability to "see" the long-term makeup for their total talent pool, being able to account for retirement, generational shifts, gaps in skills or expertise, and so on.

About the writer and references

Bart Wetselaar has a background in Business Administration, working in the fields of recruitment, business development and training- & consultancy. As Founder & Managing Partner of Xccelerated, he accelerates growth for both data-driven organizations and young professionals within the fields of Data Science, Data Engineering, Machine Learning Engineering and Cloud Development.

The content of this article has been based on research by independent companies, which published their findings in the sources mentioned below.

Sources used

• The World Economic Forum
  The Future of Jobs Report - Employment, Skills and Workforce Strategy

• Mercer
  2020 Global Talent Trends Study

• Ardent Partners
  The State of Contingent Workforce Management 2020

• Gartner
  Future of Work Trends Post-COVID-19

Interested to know more?

Questions, feedback or wanting to discuss anything related to this article / the services of Xccelerated? Feel free to contact Bart personally through Email or LinkedIn.