Future-proofing your career ready for organisational redesign.
I challenge the view that we should be uncertain about the future, rather we should be excited about the possibilities it offers. I believe the future of work is each organisations to create, however I don’t see this as something done in isolation. It is about co-creating future careers with those that will build themselves ready for them. The future is about diverse views, ideas and collaboration and in order to be successful, designing the future of work should be done in the same spirit. #futureofwork #career #capability
To find out more about future careers and how to stay relevant, I recommend you take the time to explore the topic of organisational design and organisational capability, with the company you are working with and get ahead of what the future state organisational design looks like – and where you fit within that future state. Organisations assess their current state workforce and their future state workforce often, shaping and or evolving roles, responsibilities and designing the operating model that will drive their strategic direction. If you are not sure where your role and the capability your bring fits into the strategic direction of the organisation, I would have this conversation.
The role you are currently sitting in, identifies the capability you bring, the skills that show up in the results your deliver via the responsibilities you have. The role responsibilities are connected to the Key Performance Indicators allocated to your current position, these performance indicators are then linked to a wider set of deliverables – tactics and actions that sit under strategic pillars that drive key initiatives that deliver to the strategic plan of an organisation. The key is knowing where your role sits in the bigger picture.
The people capability that sits behind organisational design principles, is known as organisational capability – organisational capability is met by identifying the roles that are required to meet the organisational goals. An organisation first needs to be clear on what skills will meet the goals and KPI’s set for the years ahead, and these capabilities come into play when assembling the organisational charts, where roles are determined, set and then available for the taking. If you are serious about future proofing your career I would get closer to this conversation with you manager and or leadership team – what is your organisations organisational capability plan, have they an organisational design future state, and what roles are they considering to meet the needs of the future.
According to my research, 70 per cent of Australians do not have a clear idea of what the future of work will look like in Australia, while 45 per cent do not believe their current workplace is adequately preparing them for the future. This could just be an assumption, hence why I encourage you to step forward to get under the hood of what your organisation is doing to design their workforce of the future.
The number one concern was the impact of automation and technology and potential job losses. It’s not so much about jobs disappearing, for us it’s more about how the jobs are changing — we always need to be thinking ahead. It could also be that your organisations strategic direction has or will need to shift to meet evolving market demands.
I suggest you access two documents that will support aligning your capability and reigniting your thoughts on your next steps / career plan – it will allow you to also assess your readiness. 1 – The Strategic Plan or some organisations call is the Operating Plan. 2. The Workforce Planning documents or Organisation Capability strategy – it will often share the organisation capability and the skills gaps the organisation has, identification of new skills required, and new roles identified for the future.
My top 5 advice for future-proofing your career
- Take responsibility for your own competence and become aware of what skills you need to sharpen to stay relevant and meet the evolving needs of your role, organisation and or industry.
- Meet change with an open mind and become an enabler of change ,as it is constant.
- Allow time in your work to be consciously naive, in order to look at things with fresh eyes and plant new innovative ideas into business. Be brave, test and try new ideas. It will help get you ready for new roles.
- Find an organisation that connects with your personal values and allows you to be
yourself at work. This will add value and meaning to your everyday life. - Think forward and scan the horizon, we don’t know for certain what’s ahead but we
need to be aware that this work and working environments are forever evolving and growing, be curious and adaptable.
While there is no doubt the future of work will look different from today, I believe in people and the contribution, skills and passion of people – especially when we work together. Speaking of future of work, I suggest having a read through Globalization Partners’ eBook about the growing global tech talent ecosystem.
When I put my TA #talentacquistion hat on, I look for the spirit of what I call ‘everyday entrepreneurialism’ in a candidate – openness to evolve with the role and the organisation, often a hunger to upskill and be ready for various roles and opportunities. These candidates should be shared with our hiring mangers, as they may be a wild card for the open role, however they could just be what the organisation is look for to enhance the organisational capability or meet futures and the competence required to evolve.
Thank you for having me as your THIS WEEK IN TALENT – Guest Editor, I look forward to exploring new topics across talent with you in the coming months. I encourage you all to continue to develop and become as ready as possible for future jobs and careers that lay ahead and that includes us, in Talent also.
Amplify your curiosity, values, creativity, leadership, innovation – all skills that are innately human.
