Role of digital technologies in our lives is is becoming the norm as our world is taken over by augmented reality, facial recognition, virtual apps, digital wallet, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) and so on further enhanced by support of Cognitive/ Artificial Intelligence (AI). Necessity is the mother of invention and thus Robotic Process Automation delivered Digital Workforce and Cognitive Automation to shake up the IT outsourcing industry.
As per the report produced by CSIRO, in partnership with Federal Department of Employment, Tomorrow’s Digitally Enabled Workforce, launched by Employment Minister Michaelia Cash in February 2016, it stated the number of independent contractors in Australia will continue rising above 1 million people. This is despite challenges including a lack of stable income and difficulties finding work. As per the report “Companies may opt for staffing models which include a smaller number of core staff, with many other roles provided by the freelancer.” and “Jobs of the future are likely to be more flexible, agile, networked and connected.”
Cloud computing will also encourage businesses to have smaller departments able to to quickly analyse data and embrace new technology. The continued rise in the use of digital devices, data volumes and automation and Uber-style employment models, the ageing population and Australia’s entry into the post-mining boom era had created a “perfect storm” to bring more demand in training individually to be digitally enabled and take advantages of emerging opportunities in the labour market. The labour market of the future will demand that Australian workers are digitally literate for most jobs. The reality of working in the digital era is going to be a challenge for many yet guidance on how to survive in this new world of work is still lacking.
Digital Workforce Enablement
As the industry rushes through embracing disruptive revolution by digital technologies, an organization needs to imbibe a different culture and work environment, which can then percolate, down to the lowest levels. Open, free and positive communication through all channels – human and digital – must get encouragement. Organization needs to strive to encourage and accelerate the cultural change. The role of visibility of changes to employees, driven by study aids, reference guides, visual means like milestone charts depicting the change journey accelerate the transition. The organization must strive to deploy people who are digital ready and digital savvy for the cognitive era and we call this the Cognital Workforce
To enable people to be more comfortable in a digital environment we offer advisory and training services to organizations to better adapt to digital disruption in the cognitive era. Organizations needs to prepare for digital disruption in the following ways:
1) Organizational Change Management:
Gen Y is more Tech savy than any previous phase of human era. Tracking the Social Media Platforms to gauge and understand the aspirations of modern day generation can be a very helpful tool. This helps initiating the right measures to meet these aspirations. The stability of employees resulting from such measures will result into gradual but effective integration between automated intelligence systems and human resources.
Another focus to supplement this need is to train the available resources on the digital trend. Of course – everyone will not be comfortable enough to adopt the technology and the new way of working but then there are enough who do feel comfortable and willing to adapt to change. Efforts must always be on to spot hidden talent and cultivate this talent with appropriate training for in-demand skills. So training is a critical area Management needs to seriously and actively pursue as the Organization gets ready to implement digital workforce.
Further, an organized talent pool of Freelancers or contractors having requisite skills is one more source for talent that can be leveraged while going through digital disruption. The good thing besides their talent is that they are readily available and do not impose any long-term commitment or liability.
So Organization must create and maintain an environment wherein Digital Workforce, Digital Savvy resources, newly trained resources and freelance resources can effectively work together to assist Organization adapt and move smoothly into the Cognitive Era. Organization must continue scouting for new talent from inside as well from external sources and get them on board in the journey to adapt to this disruptive digital revolution.
2) Top Down Approach:
An organization functions through its top leadership. So the behavioral change top leadership needs to drive is inseparable from the organization. Towards this, there are tools and means that Management can resort to, towards achieving organizational goals.
Management must be aware to resists to change is normal behavior and there is a learning curve to be pursued until the change becomes the norm. Continuous change tracking and monitoring, feedback through surveys and performance monitoring are valuable aids to the leadership.
Management must evolve a long-term strategy to identify the places in the organization impacted most by the digital revolution or those who would be required to drive the success and provide governance for Organization-wide acceptance.
3) Employees:
Many traits need to be imbibed in the Digital Workforce and they vary from organization to organization. So it is necessary to determine those specific traits required in your organization and assess their application to make sure that the requirements are being fulfilled in the way they are desired. If not, they need to be incorporated through training your employees.
If the employees experience a positive attitude on the part of colleagues and seniors, they are encouraged to learn from them and march ahead. That will be a big boost to employee retention. Sell the vision to employee on how digital workforce will empower them and not replace them.
– MP’s Personal Blog