Plenty of software runs on the concept of drag and drop: simply moving an icon with a mouse and rearranging different processes visually as you wish.
Jacob Morgan, author, keynote speaker and self-prescribed futurist, has taken this idea into the workplace, writing about the ‘drag and drop employee’ in his latest article for
Forbes.
The idea is quite a simple one, he writes.
“Let’s say you were a part of a marketing team and needed some design support and market research assistance. What if you could simply open up a blank canvas like this, search for the right people to fill the job, filter them based on ratings, and then drag and drop them into your project?”
That individual would then be sent the proper documents, meetings would be scheduled and the team would have the support it requires within a few hours: all this by dragging and dropping the right employees into the project.
This would be even more efficient if technology existed to take care of this constant reorganisation.
“Right now this is just a concept since the technologies don’t yet exist to make this happen, but I think they will in the next few years,” he said.
Companies which work with freelancers through external networks would benefit from this type of software, being able to effortlessly move around their workforce.
“Our concept of employees and employment is changing and is becoming much more fluid, liquid, and open,” Morgan said. “This is why I think the idea of the drag and drop employee is something that we will see much more of in the near future.”
For now though, the ball now lies with the vendors who will have to design and create the automated solutions which enable HR to better manage staff on a day-to-day basis.
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