Stratagem

The Changing Workforce

One of the few constants in life is that change happens. As Baby Boomers retire and Generation Y enters the workforce en masse, the complexion and character of the workforce is changing. And, as technology advances, the tools we use for communication on a daily basis are changing, too. Changes are rapid, at times, and disruptive. Still, people manage to adapt to changes and eventually embrace the new ways of getting things done.

 

Just think of this: Thirty years ago relatively few people owned and used cell phones. Today, more people have cell phones than not. Some people no longer have “land lines” — phone lines installed at their home or office. The phone now is truly portable, going wherever its owner goes (assuming he or she remembers to take it).

 

Just fifteen years ago, the Internet was far different than today. Although email was becoming common, large portions of the population had no access to the Internet or to email. Those who did most often relied on desktop computers for access to these new media. Back then, small hand-held portable devices that could receive email didn’t exist. Today, BlackBerrys and other similar products are owned by millions. So-called “smartphones” not only allow their users to make and receive phone calls, but also offer Internet access, email, appointment calendars and more. These little pocket-sized devices have created a communications revolution.

 

Over that same time, the Internet and World Wide Web have grown and developed. Companies such as Amazon.com, eBay, Orbitz and others have harnessed the potential of cyberspace to create new ways for us to purchase goods, sell things we no longer need and make our travel plans. And, the growth of these new technologies and media has changed the way we organize our lives and our work lives.

 

Change happens. That’s a given. And we adapt to those changes, over time. New technologies and new ways of communicating open up doors for new types of learning. Next generation learning. Learning that can be delivered on a number of platforms, providing your staff the knowledge they need, when they need it, in a form that can be conveniently accessed.

 

The changes in our technological world will drive changes in how workers do their jobs. And as companies adopt new technologies or new ways of communication, the workforce will adapt.

 

Next generation learning isn’t about learning for a particular group. It’s a new way of engaging all workers, using the technologies that can reach your workforce where they actually work.

The Constant Talent Vacuum

Whenever older workers, or workers with greater seniority, leave a company it’s more than just people walking out the door. The knowledge those people have — how the company works, the company’s products, the way those products are assembled, the way services are provided, the way things get done — walks out the door, too.

 

Smart companies implement programs to capture and retain that knowledge, in either a knowledge base or some other form. Replacing a worker with vast institutional knowledge with someone who has come from the outside means that the new person will have to reacquire that knowledge. However that’s done, the new person will not be as effective as the one they’ve replaced, even if they have the same degree of experience.

 

The challenge is how to capture institutional knowledge and how to bring new staff up to speed quickly. And that challenge will become even greater as large numbers of Baby Boomers retire. The trick is to be able to get the right information into the new person’s hands at the time he or she needs that information. And, it needs to be clear, concise and easily absorbed.

 

This will create a challenge for companies as they train their workforce. What’s the solution? Use the tools of next generation learning to clearly communicate with your workforce.

Adapting to Change

As new staff come on board, clear and effective training is needed now, more than ever. Workers today, especially younger workers, don’t have the same degree of loyalty to an organization as their parents or grandparents did. The idea that someone would go to work for a company and stay there until retirement has become the exception, rather than the rule, over the last 50 years.

 

Worse, for companies and organizations, is that today’s workers are not afraid to make their feelings about their jobs and their employers known using the various forms of social media (blogs, Facebook, etc.). Today, more than ever, the workplace needs to adapt to the workforce as much as the workforce needs to adapt to the workplace.

 

How can you do so? In a number of ways. For example:

1.     As you bring new staff on board, be sure to explain the corporate values, vision and mission.

2.     In describing the company to new employees, make sure that new staff understand the big picture and how they fit in.

3.     Ensure that you have your processes and procedures well documented, and ensure that you have the resources to explain how things are done. You should be able to answer all of the new employee’s questions.

 

Make the workplace fit staff needs, by:

·         Providing a flexible work schedule, if possible

·         Assigning the new staff a variety of duties, including some significant job responsibilities (regardless of the person’s job title)

·         Encouraging a collaborative work environment

·         Providing mentoring to new employees, including “helicopter mentoring” (also known as “just-in-time mentoring”) where the mentor provides guidance at the moment when his/her protégé needs it

·         Providing feedback — not just at regularly scheduled intervals, but as projects get completed, as milestones are met, or even when staff find innovative ways to approach common challenges, and 

·         Making sure your staff have plenty of opportunities to learn new skills or develop existing skills.