Each week I’m going to provide a round up of what I consider to be important and interesting articles on the future of work (not authored by me). These will include a variety of sources and topics ranging from workplace practices to robots and automation to leadership and everything in between. There’s a lot of information out there so I’m hoping that these weekly round ups will help make life a bit easier for you by giving you just the good stuff. Let’s get into it!
Embracing Remote Working to Attract Millennials
Millennials are the most tech-savvy, innovative generation in the workforce today. This leads to different expectations within their work experience. According to the article, Forbes indicated that 85% of Millennials want to telecommute, 100% of their workday. This stems from their ability to be constantly connected and capacity to work independently. Additionally, their wish to have more of a work-life balance — losing the constraints of the 9 to 5 office — also drives this desire.
While previous resistance to the concept of remote workers has been found, those such as Apple, Deloitte and United Health have all implemented remote work programs. A few benefits have been identified. First, the organizations find that they are able to hire candidates from anywhere, rather than be constrained by geography. Also, with technology to assist workers to collaborate, the concerns of an isolated workforce are mitigated. Finally, the need to provide office space to employees reduces cost to organizations.
With so many ‘wins’ on both sides, telecommuting employees may take your organization to the next level.
Google Got it Wrong. How Open Plan Offices Ruin Our Productivity.
While many organizations are looking at introducing an open office environment, this article suggests that employees in that type of setting are 15% less productive, have trouble concentrating and are sick more often.
Though many people feel they can multitask in a work setting, the distractions found in an open office can lead to a loss of focus, thereby making employees less productive. It is suggested that work places need to consider offering a variety of types of spaces. These might include group meeting spaces, as well as something like ‘focus booths’ where one can get away from the noise of phones and colleagues.
Can Machine Learning Make HR Better?
Finding and recruiting top candidates takes time and recourses. The use of Al programs (artificial intelligence algorithms) might assist HR executives to find the best new hires.
Al allows HR to search more efficiently the vast number of online sites where candidates may be found. These programs can also detect patterns faster and more accurately when looking at resumes, thus making the hiring process more efficient.
According to the article, a Harvard Business Review study found that 80% of employee turnover is due to bad hiring decisions. With the use of Al, past experiences outlined on a resume, and personality traits found in the interview could be powerful technology to match the best talent to the right job.
With Al performing some of the rote tasks of HR, its comprehensive capabilities may free up them to focus on the ‘human elements’ and increase the success of hiring and retaining a first-rate workforce.
My new book, The Employee Experience Advantage (Wiley, March 2017) analyzes over 250 global organizations to understand how to create a place where people genuinely want to show up to work. Subscribe to the newsletter here.
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