Every year we see constant and continuous changes in the business world to keep up with a contemporary society that is also ever-changing. Prada have vowed to stop using fur by 2020. Morrisons and Amazon are expanding same-day deliveries to keep up with the fast-paced lives of their customers. In a period of uncertainty and vast change, what will the workforce look like by 2035?
Interactive Workshops have a commitment to ensuring that executives in major companies grow, develop and push themselves to achieve more than ever, and reap the rewards as a result. IW create intelligently crafted, expertly delivered people development resources – from innovative workshops to strikingly designed magazines. Creativity is at the heart of what IW do. Learning should never be boring; that is why IW create learning that is working.
Facilitating the workshop were Susan and Matt, producers at IW, with completely different backgrounds but equally as energetic and enthusiastic about offering accelerated approaches to getting ahead – and staying ahead – of the change curve.
Sharpies. Post-it notes. And a group of great people. Ideas flowing, realisations being made, and solutions being created. We began with a summary by Susan and Matt, outlining how we can get prepared and ahead of the game for the 2035 workforce. Around the walls of the room are four A3 posters with the titles ‘organisational’, ‘macro’, ‘individual’, ‘team’. Key words we all think we understand the meaning of, but how can they be applied to how we understand the changes that will occur in the workforce?
The Interactive Part
In teams, sharpies in hand, and eager to go, we move around these posters in a magical fashion and discuss what each title means in regards to the ever-changing trends in the workplace. The first our team is faced with; team. Ironic. We discuss changes in communication, the formation of teams and changing structure – such as team leaders now becoming teammates, the lack of a hierarchical structure, the isolation of people due to the growing age of technology. Everyone is then given a number, and we form new groups, moving around the remaining three posters with the guarantee that there will be a member from the existing creator to break down and explain points. Next poster; individual. We discuss changes in fluidity of the workplace, self-actualisation and the desire to work with purpose, to name a few. Next, organisational. The greater amount of benefits paired with the greater need for survival in a hard economy. And last but most definitely not least; macro factors. The climate crisis, the ageing population, political instability and the decentralisation of influence. It all starts to make sense..
Our four territories; human, performance, innovation and sustainable (part of a 5-part series: ‘Workforce 2035’) all need to be targeted in order to keep up with the changing world and all of the changing elements we have identified in our groups. We can create a human-centric future, where work is about people first. We can create a future world focused on success, where work in about dominating a sector or vertical in the most efficient way. We can create a future of high-speed innovation, where work is about creating the new. And finally, a future of sustainability, where work is about both ecological and labour balance.
The discussion is opened, and some people share their experiences about their workplace and how they are keeping up (or not) with these changes. By considering and incorporating all of these factors, ideas and discussions within our workplaces, we are prepared for Workforce 2035. We will have an aim, what frustrates us in our workplace? We will create a hypothesis, if I try Y, X could be achieved.
“By considering and incorporating all of these factors, ideas and discussions within our workplaces, we are prepared for Workforce 2035.”
We will try an experiment, if I do X, I can test if Y is achieved. We will consider our obstacles and create three small steps for ourselves to ensure we can achieve this aim. This is unique to every individual. We all left with a clear idea of what Workforce 2035 will look like, and how to best prepare for this. My first SpeakEasy in summary: great ideas, great minds, great facilitators and great food. Need I say more?