How do you run a better business that drives outcomes for the business and for your employees? How do you know what is working and what isn’t? How can you tell how your organisation compares to those in your industry? 

These questions led the GOIP to publish their annual Future of Work report every year. Future of Work allows you to glean insights into the processes of hundreds of businesses like yours from across the world to see what is impacting who, and why. 

Learning from your own actions and those of others provides great insight into how you can improve your overall outcomes. 

This year’s report comprises answers from 1000 talent managers across a range of industries and over 25 different countries.

Here we’ll unpack the three biggest insights we think will be affecting organisations like yours in the next 12+ months, and how you can make them work to your advantage.

1. Change is on people’s minds

In 2019, ‘embracing change’ entered the top five on the list of most valued employee skills for the first time. It actually entered the top two – coming second only to collaboration. This shows us that organisations are experiencing change more than in the past, and are seeking employees who are able to handle it effectively. 

While the report showed this to be particularly important for larger organisations, overall six in every ten talent managers say adapting to change is an overarching issue and priority. 

Interestingly, the other top five valued skills are also essential for embracing change. Collaboration, communication, and leadership were all included, and are all required for teams to move through periods of disruption. 

What this means for you: 

Change is happening across all businesses, in all industries. Its likely rapid organisational change is here to stay as business, technology, and world economies continue to shift.  

Therefore, investing in both new employees with existing change management skills and training existing employees to gain these skills will assist you to:  

• Limit business disruptions during periods of change 
• Improve the skills and value of employees 
• Improve retention by empowering employees to withstand change

2. Coaching is a beneficial but underutilised resource  

There were no new additions in this year’s report when it came to skill development. In fact, the results of the 2019 report were nearly identical to the last five years. 

Coaching continues to be an effective way to develop employees, judging by the prominence of three coaching activities on the list of most effective activities:  

• training managers to become internal coaches 

• one-to-one coaching by external coaches 
• coaching programs for high potentials 

However, with survey responses also establishing that insufficient manager coaching skills is one of the top five people challenges, it seems that many businesses aren’t effectively implementing the coaching resources. 

What this means for you: 

The popularity of coaching across consecutive years shows us it is effective and safe option to invest in and work on. 

If you’re running internal coaching, you want to ensure those coaches are coaching well. External coaching is becoming more favourable, and can be used to advantage en masse, or to bring internal coaches up to scratch. 

3. Brand strategy and recruitment are intrinsically linked  

Two thirds of respondents in the 2019 Future of Work report stated that they have an employer brand strategy. Yet most organisations (particularly smaller ones) state that its purpose is to position in market, rather than for talent acquisition.  

In fact, only 18% reported brand strategy is used for recruitment, and 6% for retention. 

This might not seem abnormal. However, it becomes interesting when we look at the fact that recruitment and retainment were in the top three people management challenges organisations are facing. 

What this means for you: 

Brand strategy is important for positioning your organisation in the market and with your existing and potential customers. However, it can also be effectively used to attract and retain talent. 

A quarter of larger organisations are already doing this, but it can be said there is an advantage to be had to consider employees when building or tweaking your brand strategy. Kill two birds with one stone. 

Turning data into action:

Future of Work 2019 gives an unprecedented look into the current work environment. When we combine all the data together, we can see what challenges our organisations will face in the near future.  

Utilising these findings to update your current practices can help prepare your organisation and your employees to not only adapt, but prosper in the face of change. 

Sometimes, it can be hard to make these changes from the inside without full visibility. Choice Career Services have been working with organisations for years to help them strategize and upskill to keep up and exceed within their industries.  

If you haven’t already, you can read the full GOIP Future of Work report here. If you’d like more information about the report, or about how you can action some of the findings into real change in your organisations, click here to talk to Choice Career Services. 

For further advice on making the change, click here to contact Choice Career Services.