Last week at Cisco Live, my manager and I had an opportunity to share with some of Cisco’s largest customers and partners the latest trends in The Future of Work. Given that so much has been written on this topic, we decided to unpack a 2024 Forbes article that focused on eight trends to look forward to.

The world as we know it is going through unprecedented change, technology is a driver, but factors such as ageing workforces, rampant inequality and seismic geo-political shifts all play a part too. What does this mean from a Talent perspective? The world of work has seen concepts like the nine-to-five job, job security for life, and work being a place we went to and not what we did, are all things of the past.

We are seeing that in 2024, Digitisation and Datafication data impact every aspect of our daily lives. For those who want to make their mark, a basic ability to knock together a spreadsheet in Excel isn’t going to cut it in 2024. Understanding how to use data to assist our day-to-day tasks doesn’t mean studying for a degree in data science, but it does mean having an overview of the tools and platforms that are becoming available and learning how to spot opportunities to use them.

The biggest driver of this change has to be in the Generative AI space. The reality we’re facing is that what can be automated will be automated. Mercer talks about “Taking away the hands work so you can focus on the head and heart work” This means that as humans, we can focus on the things that we are more naturally suited to, relying on skills like complex decision making, creativity, empathy, EQ, critical thinking, and communication. This is the future of work!

Linked to the above is the focus on Future Skills. We are about to see a significant shift in the skills landscape. One of the biggest shifts is going to be the ability to unlearn. This involves changing your mindset about how you worked in the past.

With today’s pace of change, education can no longer be thought of as a process we go through in youth that will equip us with skills for life. We need to become Lifelong Learners. What matters is weaving learning into our day-to-day working practices. If we’re going to be training more frequently for longer, and we need people to actually get work done at the same time, then we need to focus more on the effectiveness of training.

Future talent increasingly wants to work for companies where there is an alignment with their beliefs and the company's purpose. Sustainable Working Patterns matter more to this generation than any other. Connecting the hearts and minds of your talent to the Purpose of your organisation will not only positively impact engagement, but it’s also going to help companies engage and retain top talent. Ageing workforces and a rise in immigration have seen significant changes in Workforce Demographics. Organisations are becoming increasingly aware of Inclusion and Diversity. And the traditional approaches to DEI are widening, focusing now on Product Design and Marketing too.

Approaches to DEI need to evolve to meet the changes in workforce demographics. The emergence of Cultural Intelligence is going to be fundamental for companies to adapt to new cultural settings. None of us are stranger to Hybrid and Decentralised Work. We now have this amazing potential to form global teams and attract talent from everywhere. This opens the door to opportunity and inclusion and gives companies access to different talent. Technology is a massive enabler here, building the bridge between opportunities and talent.

There was a time not so long ago when employees joined and stayed at companies based on adequate compensation. And it may have worked for a time. In 2024, if that’s all you’re offering your employees – adequate compensation, you’ll struggle to hold onto the talented ones. Today’s it’s all about the Employee Experience. Employees need meaningful careers, development opportunities, intellectual challenge, work/life balance and wellness programs.

There is one common thread throughout these eight trends, and that is the importance of leadership as companies focus on future talent. You can have the best policies, workspaces and places, but we know that employees experience a company.

Written by UK People & Communities Director Jack Naidoo