Because many workers are putting off retirement, today, there are currently five generations in the workforce. According to a story recently appearing on the Benefits Pro website, that means that everyone, from the newest hire, all the way up to the C-Suite and even HR departments, has focused on keeping up their skillsets to fit the demands of today’s job market trends.
A study was recently conducted by SHRM and Willis Towers Watson and involved more than 500 executives. The report stresses that the role of the Chief People’s Officer or CPO, HR professionals must commit “…evolve to ensure that the business maintains its competitive advantage.”
The authors of the report also stressed the need for C-Suite peers, CEOs, and boards to readjust their expectations as to the role of HR professionals and CPOs.
The study estimates that just 35% of those participating believe that CPOs coming into the industry have developed their skills enough to meet the challenge of today’s competitive workplace.
Some of this may be due to re-training being something that happens only occasionally to something that seems as if it is occurring on a nearly constant basis.
The report cited what it called five critical areas to focus on. These include:
- Pushing boundaries to evolve and become more agile in the continually changing business climate.
- Embrace digitization and technology to free talent in administrative roles so that they can focus more on higher-value activities, and deliver better employee experience to increase both engagement and productivity from workers.
- Because of the fast pace of technology, acknowledge and accept that continuous learning and reskilling are an integral part of today’s workforce.
- Empower those workers who are “on the front lines” to innovate wherever the workforce feels a common purpose.
- Make evidence-based decisions and their value to workers and organizations in terms of productivity and growth.
According to Katie Kuehner-Herbert, in an earlier article, industry experts believe that organizations around the world will need to invest an estimated $1,000 in each worker for reskilling. In the retail sector, the estimated investment is $2,000.