The nature of work has always changed and will continue to do so. This report from the World Economic Forum outlining trends and predictions came out a year ago. I find its conclusions as true today as they were when it was first published. It is a bit of a long read, but does break things out by country which shortens the time required a bit.
The net of the study is in the table below.
The Declining skills are instructive. Not surprising, the list contains skills which are being automated (management of resources, quality control, manual dexterity, etc.). Others are in response to a change in workplace culture which places higher value autonomy (management of personnel). We can have a separate conversation as to what it means that active listening is on the Declining list. What that leaves us with (see the Trending column) are the skills that are becoming more important in the near future. Innovation and learning top the list with plenty of problem solving skills. Seeing emotional intelligence on the list made me throw up in my mouth a bit, but there is no surprise about social influence.
The practical aspect of the report is to get us thinking about the skills that we really need for jobs in the 2020’s. As we automate more, how does that change our expectations of employees? At McDonald’s, automation means more interaction between staff and guests. With managers being freed from coordination and time management, what is it that we will want them to do?
Here’s how to keep up:
- You probably need to review your job descriptions more often than you think. And you should definitely do so after introducing new technology.
- Updated job descriptions should feed into your recruitment process. Be sure that you are not advertising for yesterday’s jobs.
- The Trending list throws down the gauntlet as to how we select candidates. Whether it be updating tests, interviews, or what we look for on resumes, knowing that we need more creativity and leadership, and less management, from those who direct the activities of others is a BIG difference. If our selection tools are to be valid, they need to keep up with changing jobs.
By making these updates, we can drive the recruitment and selection of employees with the right skill sets. It also provides us with a framework of being ahead of futures skill changes.