Seven essential skills for the new workplace economy

Image courtesy of Tamanna Rumee on Unpslash

With a major public health and economic crisis now largely in the rear-view mirror, the world of work has slipped back into a regular, rhythm and routine. However, the economic tempo and beat of this rhythm is decidedly different to what it once was. For many, the rituals of the daily commute and presenteeism have given way to hybridisation and remote accessibility.

The residual post-pandemic economic footprint has been both profound and transformational. Pre-pandemic, workforce development initiatives that were tentatively considered for roll out over the next three years were fast-tracked and mainstreamed virtually over-night. If there is one over-riding economic lesson of the pandemic it is that businesses, like people, have a shared instinct and that is the instinct for survival.

In recent times, serious column inches have been devoted to the what, how and why of the economic impact of Covid-19. Many of these narratives have sought to ascertain the likely effect of the pandemic on business productivity. Now, let’s cut through the clutter and get to the critical insights. Set out below, are the seven essential skills for the new work-place economy.

1. Manifesting presence in absence

You cannot be everywhere all the time, can you? Well, yes and no. In the new work-place economy the art and science of ‘being in two places at once’ is one that needs to be mastered — but not in the way that you may think. Clearly, this is not about being omnipresent, but nor is it about regularly ‘checking in’. The idea of manifesting presence in absence is a figurative and all about creating an enduring impression. As a case in point, a conversation can last an hour and be quickly forgotten. However, the same interaction may last a few minutes and leave a lasting impact. More than ever before, the frequency of contacts between employees is not what matters, it is the quality of those interactions that counts.

2. Pattern recognition

An enhanced capacity for pattern recognition is essential. Recognising patterns is not the same as observing trends. A trend is a statistical measurement, comparing like-for-like over time. By contrast, pattern recognition is a more abstract construct. Patterns can emerge from clusters of factors that are related or unrelated. They may prove to be meaningful or meaningless. In recognising patterns, the skill is to be able to see not just what is happening, but also why and whether any action needs to be taken, in light of what is being observed. Without the benefit of physical presence and with the increased expectation that employees work remotely, the need to be able to recognise patterns is critical in anticipating and mitigating risk.

3. Unconventional design

The traditional method for designing things, whether that be programmes of work or methods for delivery, needs to be significantly different. The idea of unconventional design is not a challenge to conventional wisdom. Why? Well, in the new work-place order, the assumption is that conventional wisdom is already largely redundant. In its place is the realisation that continued success and survival are impossible without a fundamental rethink of what is required to remain competitive. The capacity for unconventional design should, therefore, be the prevailing ideology and anchoring principle for the modern organisation. In the new work-place economy, there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. Instead, there are a multiplicity of tailored solutions co-designed by empowered employees and personalised to promote productivity.

4. Sensory compensation

This skill dovetails with that relating to ‘productivity measurement’ below. The context here is simple: in a hybridised working environment, where managers have limited real-time information about employee performance, the specifics of delivery (especially the impact of risk) must be clearly understood. This is not to second-guess employee competence, but rather to acknowledge that managers who are physically dislocated from their staff, experience ‘sensory deprivation’. How? Well, they no longer have access to the ambient noise of casual conversations, which are so often essential sources of soft intelligence. Managers often rely on this kind of insight to supplement knowledge gathering and identify risks and constraints to delivery.

5. Productivity measurement

In terms of organisational effectiveness, what are you looking for? Is it working days or productive hours? Pre-pandemic, presenteeism was a kind of organisational comfort blanket. A crude false equivalency that equated head count with productivity. The new work-place economy demands that we take a radical new approach to how productivity is measured as well as how it should be rewarded. The measure of productive time should not be how many days you work, but how many days’ worth of work you produce. As a result, employees who complete their tasks before the end of the working week should be allowed to ‘redeem their time’ as a reward for their productivity. This type of guarantee will significantly incentivise productive effort.

6. Weight distribution

When you consider the requirements of remote working, it has never been more important for organisations to discern the distinctive difference between skills for the individual and skills for the team. The importance of ‘weight redistribution’ is that it empowers an organisation to remain balanced when its entire centre of gravity has been displaced. As a case in point, in a situation where opportunities for real time in-person interaction between employees are limited, it is essential that emphasis is placed on those competencies that facilitate collaborative engagement. Perhaps key amongst these is emotional intelligence and the social skill of empathy. In the new work-place economy, the ability to understand the experiences of others, rather than the unrestrained focus on oneself, will strengthen organisations as social entities.

7. Forensic scanning

A spider’s web is a unique construct. Intricate in its design and measure for measure stronger than steel, the silk of a spider’s web is the ultimate ‘remote working’ tool. As a mechanism for transmitting and receiving information, it is a finely tuned instrument. It is sensitive enough to ensure that insight and knowledge can be captured, interpreted and acted upon immediately. In the new work-place economy, the development of a similar communication structure is an absolute imperative. Such a mechanism needs to be sufficiently tensile to cover significant distances and perceptive enough to filter out facts from noise. But there is more, within the spider’s web, effective information capture is all about positioning. The analogy here is that employees, whether managers or staff need to be in the right place to hear the right things at the right time.

Have you ever seen someone blindfolded, trying to navigate their way from one point to another? To compensate for the loss of vision it is likely that their hands will be stretched out in front of them, highlighting the greater reliance on the sense of touch. Similarly, the sense of hearing and smell will be heightened to offer greater discernment. It is interesting how, when we experience sensory deprivation, the acuity of other senses is sharpened. The point to make here is that, as the new work-place economy reduces emphasis on certain skills or makes some redundant, the emphasis on other competencies and capabilities will be increased. To that extent, unfamiliar environments represent the greatest opportunity for organisational development and business growth.