New study finds SA organisations not ‘change agile'

© Sergey Nivens – 123RF.com

The study shares insights from over 7,500 global perspectives and compares the views of senior business executives, HR leaders and employees from organisations around the world, including 462 replies from South Africa. The report assesses significant gaps in alignment, identifies several critical disconnects concerning change, and makes recommendations to capture growth.

As the competition for talent continues to rise and business models are disrupted by technology and socio-demographic shifts, organisations are still taking an evolutionary approach to their talent strategies in the face of revolutionary changes. According to the study, nearly all organisations globally (93%) report they are planning to redesign their structure in the next two years and South Africa is no different (100%).

“In an age where digitisation, robotics and AI are wreaking havoc with traditional business models, it is easy for executives to focus on superior technology as the solution to ensuring the competitiveness of their organisations and to overlook the human element,” said Ilya Bonic, president of Mercer’s Career business. “Growth rests on engaging and empowering today’s workforce in ways that we are just beginning to uncover. It takes employees armed with the right skills and opportunities to develop innovative solutions to advance the business and themselves.”

Evolving employees rather than evolving workplaces

Most notably, despite organisations’ plans to transform, HR leaders do not have organisation or job redesign on their list of priorities for 2017. In fact, the top priorities of HR leaders – specifically developing leaders for succession, optimising performance management, supporting employees’ career growth and attracting top talent externally – reflect the priority of evolving employee capabilities, but may not align with executive’s goals for more substantial workplace change.

Additionally, while HR leaders express confidence in the talent management processes they have in place (68%), employees are still looking elsewhere for new opportunities. Slightly more than one-third (37%) of employees say they plan to leave their current role in the next 12 months, even though they are satisfied in their jobs. Equally concerning is that those employees not planning to leave their current roles report they are less ‘energised’ in terms of bringing their authentic selves to work and therefore, less likely to thrive in a collaborative and innovative workplace.

Moreover, business executives view talent scarcity more acutely than HR professionals; with all executives surveyed (100%) expecting a significant increase in competition compared to just one in five HR professionals.

“Organisations need to prioritise a culture of agility to stay ahead of rapidly changing market trends,” said Kate Bravery, global leader for Mercer’s Career business. “Those employers that empower their workforce – by helping them plan for the unknown, mitigate risk and thrive at work – will be more successful in building a responsive and successful organisation.”

Missing factors employees deem significant

What is not on the HR agenda for 2017 demonstrates misalignment and perhaps missed opportunities to leverage what employees report as important:

• Health over wealth: Despite 45% of employees in South Africa ranking their health as more important than their wealth or career, and 47% indicating they expect their workplace to become more focused on employee health in the next few years, health and wellbeing still ranked in the bottom half on HR leaders’ list of top talent management priorities this year. “Navigating the changing talent ecosystem by redesigning future roles and supporting employees’ health and wealth needs is already becoming a market differentiator,” said Bonic.

• Wealth over career: The majority (97%) of employees reported that they want to be recognised and rewarded for contributions beyond the organisation’s financial results and activity metrics. Although 43% of employees think their company does this well, fair and competitive compensation still ranked in the top three when asked what would make a positive impact on their work situation. Yet rewards ranked in the lower half of priorities for HR leaders.
  

• Gig is big: Flexible work arrangements are important to employees, with around half reporting that both their direct manager and company leaders are supportive of it (52% and 50%, respectively). Nevertheless, 52% of employees believe working remotely or part-time can adversely affect promotional opportunities. While 74% of full-time employees would consider working on a contingent or contract basis, neither business executives nor HR leaders have embraced these new forms of employment as much as expected or desired. Both the C-suite and HR leaders agree that they do not expect the ‘gig economy’ to have a major impact on their business in the next two years. “It’s a risk for any organisation to ignore opportunities for people to work more independently,” said Bravery. “Those companies that find ways to leverage a more fluid workforce will harness growth and outpace the competition.”

• Relevant experience: Beyond flexibility, personalisation is essential for creating an experience that resonates with employees. Less than half (41%) of employees say that their company understands their unique interests and skills, while 73% want their company to increase this understanding and help them invest in themselves. “Employees are increasingly bringing a consumer expectation to the workplace since it is how they engage in almost every aspect of their lives,” said Bravery. “It creates an authentic environment in which employees can excel. When done right, it does not feel like personalisation – it just feels like a great experience.”

• Digital divide: Aspects of technology also show HR is lagging expectations of both executive leadership and employees. Business executives (60%) believe technology at work, including automation, robotics, machine learning, and wearables, is the workforce trend likely to have the most impact on their organisations in the next two years. Yet, 42% of HR professionals agree. For employees, it is even more basic: one in four organisations surveyed in South Africa say they do not provide a digital experience for employees when interacting with HR.

“Despite the desire to cling to more traditional methods, the landscape for the workplace, the workforce and the future of work are changing too quickly and drastically to do so,” said Bravery. “To stay competitive, it is imperative that business executives and HR leaders collaborate and that organisations take new approaches to how employees access knowledge, adapt to technology, manage, communicate and leverage their careers.”