Nowadays, everybody is talking about being future-ready! But there are so many misconceptions and misnomers around the whole concept.
Rohit Bhagat joined us at our greytHR Meets to demystify the concept. As a future-of-work facilitator, organisation development & talent transformation consultant and author, he underlined the 'why, when and how' of building a future-ready workforce.
This webinar was hosted in association with ETD Marketing and Events FZE LLC, a greytHR partner. Here are the edited excerpts.
What is a future-ready workforce?
The future has always been there. But it's been a consistently moving target. Future readiness is about building a workforce that's ready to tackle tomorrow's challenges and capitalise on
opportunities by overcoming obstacles. A future-ready workforce can maximise their progress towards an unseen future.
How has the workforce evolved since the pandemic hit?
Everybody has been touched by the fangs of the pandemic. As a result, people's priorities and aspirations have changed. They want more control of their lives. This change in thinking also impacts how the work is done, the place of work and the number of working hours.
People have now started prioritising work flexibility while choosing a job. Moreover, the pandemic has placed the spotlight on remote working, skilling and constant learning.
What is reskilling, and how is it different from upskilling? How will it help create a future-ready workforce?
When a recruiter learns to use new tools for virtual hiring, it's called upskilling. The same person may also shadow the compensation & benefits team to acquire an additional skill. In both these scenarios, the area is the same.
Reskilling is about learning a totally different skill set. If the same recruiter takes a course in accounts or corporate taxation to enhance employability, it's a case of reskilling.
Does the idea of building a future-ready workplace apply only to reskilling, upskilling and knowledge growth?
Skilling is one of the enablers of future work. Strategy, technology, workplace flexibility, KPIs and diversity & inclusion are some of the other main factors that contribute to building a future-ready workplace. An organisation should also inspire people to be self-motivated to learn.
What strategies should a company adopt to build a future-ready workforce?
There are five critical steps a company needs to take. The first is to visualise the future work as per the business strategy. The second is to figure out the skill sets required in the future. The third is to be aware of the industry dynamics and innovations. Last but not least, it is important to make constant learning a way of life.
Listen to the recording of the entire webinar
