Work is not where you go, it’s what you do
04 January 2016
As the world of work grows increasingly fluid, connected and automated, we predict that the ‘connected work’ market will be worth almost US$63 billion globally by 2020. This presents a huge opportunity for employers, recruiters and businesses. But what does this mean for the way people are rewarded in the future?
Well, the relationship between an employer and their employees is already changing. We’re seeing far more evidence of flexibility and less focus on location based working – this is creating a different form of trust. But, because this flexibility is combined with a greater level of automation, we’re likely to see a change in the balance between permanent employees and contract workers, effectively changing the shape of the workforce. And while that can have its advantages, how do we nurture and reward the adaptable, reskilled people we need to work alongside technology?
It starts to raise questions around the cost and perceived value associated with a larger pool of contract workers, and how you might reward employees in a way that works for the business, but also builds a beneficial relationship with contractors – essentially the employee ‘deal’.
Technology is helping businesses to become more agile, fill their skills gap and respond to market disruptors. But competitive advantage isn't all about securing the best technology, it’s about how organisations use, manage, reward and inspire their people in a digital world.
A world of connected working has the potential to throw open the flood gates of change - and this change will require innovative strategies to make sure that you’re getting buy-in from a different type of workforce. So the role of reward is going to be very important - recognising and rewarding talented employees who are working across different and flexible models is going to take some very creative thinking. Take crowd sourcing for example – we’re seeing more and more employers using crowd sourcing platforms to generate ideas and encourage working differently in an organisation. Thinking about how you factor reward into that process is going to take a cultural shift and needs organisations to view connected working in a different way.
But is this something that heads of reward need to be thinking about now? I’ve already started having conversations with my clients and yes, some change is starting to happen now. But, as with anything these days, there are a number of different factors that need to be taken into consideration.
Watch the full story in the video. And if you have any thoughts about how the world of connected working will affect your business, I’d love to hear more. Comment below, or tweet me at @PhillippaOC123.
You can take a look at our latest research on connected work on our website.
