Remote enablement company Citrix recently undertook a year-long study of global work patterns and trends, to understand how work will change and the role that technology will play in enabling people to perform at their best.
Their conclusion: “driven by flexible models and intelligent solutions that remove the complexity and noise from work, employees will be more engaged and productive and fuel innovation and growth like never before.”
They also say that robots won’t replace us. But they will make us smarter and more efficient. Most respondents believe that in fifteen years, artificial intelligence will significantly speed up the decision-making process and make workers more productive. You can include recruiters and HR professionals among those workers. I’m sure candidates will experience that evolution as well by benefiting from a speedier recruiting funnel.
Work Becomes Flexible
Technology that allows for seamless access to the tools and information people need to collaborate and get work done wherever they happen to be will fuel flexible models that the future of work will demand.
- 67 percent of professionals (business leaders and workers combined) believe that a “platform” model – which creates value by facilitating exchanges between groups or individuals using digital technology – will dominate work in the future.
- 60 percent of workers believe permanent employees will become rare by 2035.
- 80 percent of leaders believe that technology platforms will provide instant access to the highly specialized, on-demand talent required to power future organizations and accommodate rapid changes in business and customer needs.
- 39 percent of leaders believe that in 2035, the majority of high-value specialist workers will be on-demand and freelance workers.
What’s interesting to note among these numbers is the one about permanent employees becoming “rare” by 2035. The gig/freelance job market has been growing for years and shows no signs of stopping its upward momentum. There may be a day when a full time job becomes an exception rather than the norm. The growth of freelance marketplaces like Upwork, HR Lancers and others is certainly contributing to that trend.
Productivity Gets Major Boost
More than half of professionals they surveyed (51 percent) say technology will make workers at least twice as productive by 2035. Among the solutions they believe will be commonplace will be things like AI assistants, AI reminders, Wearable technology and AI that anticipates and performs tasks based on your habits.
Technology, closely integrated with humans, will drive step changes in productivity as workers are supported by solutions that enable them to perform at their best. “AI-ngels” – digital assistants driven by AI – will draw on personal and workplace data to help employees prioritize their tasks and time and ensure mental and physical wellness. These worker augmented assistants will, for example, schedule meetings to take place at the most effective time based on factors ranging from the blood sugar levels of participants to their sentiments at different times of day. And while the meetings are taking place, they will monitor concentration levels and attitudes and adjust as necessary to drive optimal outcomes.
Employees Become More Engaged
As technology and AI takes over time-consuming, mundane tasks, work will become more strategic by enabling low-value, mundane tasks to become automated. It will also allow for better upskilling of workers creating more career advancement opportunities for them
The global pandemic has forced leaders to reimagine they way their organizations work and recruit talent. The savvy companies, the ones who embrace automation technologies will be the ones that the best candidates flock to in the future. Your company will want that recruiting edge. Automation in all phases of operations is the key to gaining that advantage.
