HRD talks to Mercer’s Dr. Ben Haste about how to prepare for significant disruption
In 2019, a staggering 73% of companies expect significant disruption, and 99% are taking action to prepare for the Future of Work, according to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends study.
The nature of work is changing and rapid technological advancements are impacting work much more than in the past, according to Dr. Ben Haste, Organisation Practice Leader at Mercer.
“The reality is that things like artificial intelligence, remote process automation and drones are coming through,” according to Dr. Haste.
“Our clients are feeling that impact now - not in three years’ time - now. Consequently, they have to respond now because the workforce is changing now.”
In particular, Dr. Haste said there is an important trend around augmentation of work through technology.
“Things like remote process automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning, remote technology and drones are not replacing, but augmenting work,” he said.
He added that they are changing the nature of work for both knowledge workers and manual workers.
For example, the utilities sector has a big geographic coverage and needs to monitor their network. With the advent of drones, remote senses and so on, they are able to do that more effectively through technology than through manual labor.
“Things like machine learning and artificial intelligence are taking away a lot of the processes from knowledge workers and bringing them up to much more high end and complex work because of that.”
Dr. Haste advises organistions to be much more proactive about the Future of Work, instead of just thinking about how to respond.
“They have to be proactive around building and forcing the capabilities that they need for the changing roles and changing workforce,” he said.
“They need to plan for it strategically and do things about it now. If you are in an industry that you think is not going to be impacted by this - you will be.
“A lot of industries and sectors are feeling it now in terms of their work and their workforces.”
Mercer’s annual Global Talent Trends study is unique for its multi-perspective approach gathering the views of 7,300+ business executives, HR leaders, and employees from around the world.
Mercer will be presenting an upcoming webinar covering this year’s top trends and how high performing organisations are building their workforce for the future.
In this live session, their Talent Strategy experts will share global and regional findings from the all-important local perspective.
This interactive session will include audience participation and you can expect to take away practical advice on what employers can do today.
The webinar, Global talent trends: How high-performing organisations are building the workforce of the future, will be happening on Wednesday 29 May at 12:30pm. Register now!
