Building the organisation of the future a key focus for HR and business leaders

Almost 90 percent of HR and business leaders rate building the organisation of the future as their highest priority, according to Deloitte’s fifth annual human capital survey released overnight.

The 2017 Global Human Capital Trends report, “Rewriting the rules for the digital age,” surveyed more than 10,000 HR and business leaders from 140 countries, including the largest ever response from New Zealand organisations. It reveals that leaders are turning to new organisation models that highlight the networked nature of today’s world of work.

Similar to the global response, 89 percent of New Zealand respondents rated this issue as important or very important, with 61 percent locally indicating that they are already exploring what the organisation of the future means to them.

Deloitte New Zealand’s human capital consulting leader Hamish Wilson says given the pace of change and the constant pressure to adapt, it is not surprising that executives identified this as the most important challenge for 2017.

“As technology, artificial intelligence and robotics transform business models and work, companies should start to rethink their management practices and organisation models.  The future of work is driving the development of a set of ‘new rules’ that includes the replacement of structural hierarchies with networks of teams empowered to take action,” says Mr Wilson.  

The three most important trends for global respondents were organisation of the future (88% ranked this issue important/very important), careers and learning (83%) and talent acquisition (81%).

New Zealand respondents’ top three differed slightly. They were organisation of the future (89% ranked the issue important/very important), employee experience (86%) and leadership (85%).

In line with last year’s survey results, the importance of the employee experience touches on elements of culture and engagement for Kiwis at work.

“Culture and engagement are vital parts of the employee experience. Today, companies are looking at employee journeys and studying the needs of their workforce to better understand the employee experience. Workplace redesign, well-being and work productivity systems are all becoming part of the mandate for HR,” says Mr Wilson.

Leadership is a perennial concern for New Zealand organisations.

“Leadership as a driver of the employee experience is very important.  As companies transform and digital organisation models emerge, leadership needs to change as well.  There is a crucial need for developing leaders who can thrive in today’s digital world and appeal to diverse workforce needs.”

The trends in this year’s report identify 10 areas in which organisations will need to close the gap between the pace of change and the challenges of work and talent management. They include (in order of importance to global respondents):

1.    The organisation of the future: arriving now

2.    Careers and learning: real time, all the time

3.    Talent acquisition: enter the cognitive recruiter

4.    The employee experience: culture, engagement and beyond

5.    Performance management: play a winning hand

6.    Leadership disrupted: pushing the boundaries

7.    Digital HR: platforms, people and work

8.    People analytics: recalculating the route

9.    Diversity and inclusion: the reality gap

10. The future of work: the augmented workforce

“Overall, this year’s survey results represent a call-to-action for companies to completely reconsider their organisational structure, talent and HR strategies to keep pace with digital disruption and remain competitive,” concludes Mr Wilson.

To read the full report, go to www.deloitte.com/nz/humancapitaltrends

About the Global Human Capital Trends report:

The 2017 survey is our largest and most extensive to date, with input from more than 10,000 business and HR leaders across 140 countries. Twenty-two percent of respondents were from large companies (more than 10,000 employees), 29 percent from medium-sized companies (1,000-10,000 employees), and 49 percent from small companies (fewer than 1,000 employees). Respondents from the Americas accounted for 31 percent of the total; Europe, Middle East, and Africa contributed 51 percent, and Asia Pacific 18 percent. Respondents represented a broad cross-section of industries, including financial services; consumer business; technology, media, and telecommunications; and manufacturing. Sixty-three percent of the respondents were HR professionals, with other business executives comprising 37 percent. C-level executives accounted for 30 percent (more than 3,100) of the respondents.