Over 10,000 survey respondents in 105 countries rank leadership among the top barriers in the majority of reported trends
NEW YORK, January 10, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Nearly three years after the pandemic, business leaders are still dealing with a host of global, economic and societal changes, all of which are impacting work and workers at a breakneck pace. Deloitte’s 2023 Global Human Capital Trends report, “New Fundamentals for a Boundaryless World,” examines how leaders are managing these challenges and how their organizations can succeed in an ever-changing environment if they evolve with it.
Overall, survey respondents, who include more than 1,500 senior executives and board members, agree that the boundaries that have traditionally governed work rules – how jobs are organized, where work unfolds and who qualifies for specific roles – are falling. However, while many understand the need for new fundamentals in today’s world of work – 87% say finding the right workplace model is important to the success of their organization – only 24% believe their organizations are quite ready to respond to this trend. In the short term, 59% of respondents say they are focused on next steps to rethink their workforce models. Their dedication indicates that they see great potential for reward in a new approach to work, workers and the workplace. However, survey respondents ranked leadership among the top barriers for seven of the nine trends explored in the report, showing that more needs to be done collectively for organizations to move toward future success.
“Labour, organizational and HR priorities remain high on the agendas of boards and senior executives. Insights into this year’s ‘Global Human Capital Trends’ reinforce the continuous prioritization that we have seen for more than a decade in this research The opportunities for leaders and their teams across all industries are borderless and open new frontiers in the relationships between workers, customers, stakeholders stakeholders and leaders,” said Mazor of artPrincipal and Global Human Capital Practice Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP.
Reinventing work: the end of jobs
Even though work today is primarily defined by specific jobs and job descriptions, many consider this an outdated notion. According to Deloitte’s survey of competency-based organizations, only 19% of managers and 23% of workers say work is better structured this way. This mirrors what many are already seeing in their workplace, with 63% of executives saying workers focus on team and project work outside of their current job descriptions.
“While jobs remain the primary way we define work, they are not the only one. Strict job definitions can limit the ability of workers and organizations to be agile and innovate in the face of disruption,” said Michael Griffiths, Director and Head of the Learning Consulting Practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “By taking a skills-based approach, these organizations can unlock the full potential of their workforce and create a workplace where people have more choice, growth and autonomy in their careers.”
With this changing idea of what makes teams most effective, organizations are looking for ways to change work and the way it is organized and accessible in an inclusive way. For example, 93% of respondents to the Trends survey said it was important or very important to the success of their organization to shift their focus from jobs. Yet only 20% believe their organization is fully prepared for the challenge, representing the largest readiness gap of any trend studied. If organizations decide to urgently close this gap, the added benefits of transitioning jobs include unleashing the potential of workers to generate tremendous value, making their teams more likely to innovate and improve processes to maximize efficiency.
“Organizations around the world are seizing the opportunity to elevate skills far beyond ‘functional’ or ‘technical’, they are focusing on building critical workforce capabilities that will enable their employees to navigate near-constant change and disruption,” said Kate SweeneyHead of Human Capital Practice, Deloitte UK
Reinventing the workforce: worker agency is essential
In today’s online and interconnected world, public awareness of the impact of American business on society plays an increasingly important role in workers’ decisions in the workplace. For example, 2 in 5 Gen Z and Millennial respondents to a Deloitte survey rejected a job or assignment because it didn’t align with their values. In contrast, organizations that commit to a clear purpose or mission see notable benefits – half of executives surveyed in the Trends Report saw an increase in employee retention and well-being.
“Workers today have more influence than ever before and have demonstrated a willingness to use it to shape the work their organizations take on, as well as the way they do it,” said Steve Hatfield, Principal and Global Leader of the Future of Work, Deloitte Consulting LLP. “To succeed in this new world of work, organizations must let go of the idea of total control and co-create with workers to shape the new rules and boundaries that will define how they operate.”
This means rethinking the boundaries that dictate access to and use of worker data, which 83% of executives believe is important to the success of their organization. According to the Trends Report, 61% of organizations describe their data ownership as either “shared” or “worker-owned,” a notable departure from traditional data models characterized by organizational control.
reinvent
the workplace: designing work for a world without borders
As worker agency grows and technology accelerates, organizations should challenge the idea that workplaces are just physical locations. It’s a concept that has been under pressure for some time, with access to digital work becoming increasingly popular even before the pandemic. While only 15% of respondents agree that the way work is designed is one of the most important attributes in creating the future of the workplace, other factors show how crucial it can be. Additionally, respondents indicate that increased worker engagement and well-being are among the most important benefits they have seen from a future approach to the workplace.
“Many workers now consider the ability to determine where they finish their work – whether in the office, at home or elsewhere – as an inalienable right,” said Maren Hauptmannhuman capital leader, Deloitte Germany. “They see this as one of the best opportunities to co-create the future of work with their organization’s leaders and see those declarations of confidence in action.”
This evolution of the workplace calls for leaders to evolve with their workforce, as evidenced by 94% of respondents who believe leadership capabilities and effectiveness are important to the success of their organization, the highest importance score among all trends. However, only 23% believe their leaders have the capabilities to deal with the current disruptions. This lack of leadership is probably due to looking at work and workers from an outdated angle. Nearly half of respondents say their organization’s leaders are overwhelmed by disruption and struggle to identify what to prioritize.
“Rather than worrying about finding the perfect starting point, organizations should redefine disruptions as business challenges they can use to experiment with and learn from,” Kraig Eaton, director of the human resources transformation practice at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “By working alongside their employees to develop these rules, organizations can ensure wellbeing is at the heart of these changes, creating better business and human outcomes.”
Methodology
The information gathered for this report is based on Deloitte’s scenario planning methodology and is powered by research findings from a combination of social media polls, live polls, focus groups enabled by AI and interviews with business and HR leaders from all sectors and – for the first time – in the 11-year history of Deloitte’s “Global Human Capital Trends” report — hundreds of workers of the whole world.
About Deloitte
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