The Future of Human Resources

The Future of Human Resources

Unlocking Human Potential

Tim Baker
The Future of Human Resources: Unlocking Human Potential

Copyright © Business Expert Press, LLC, 2022.

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To HR professionals wherever they may be, devoted
to their profession, and striving to create
employee-centered organizations.
 Description
The tired cliché that employees are our greatest asset is false. It’s unlock-
ing the potential of employees that’s the greatest asset. COVID-19 has
accelerated an examination of HR and all that it does. Releasing people’s
potential at work is key to business success more than ever.
The Future of Human Resources confronts the conventional employ-
ment practices of selecting, inducting, developing, rewarding, and exiting
employees. This book is a comprehensive blueprint for HR professionals
to make the necessary changes to accommodate a new mentality.
Thirteen traditional practices are challenged, and fresh, practical path-
ways offered. The Future of Human Resources sheds light on what works,
what doesn’t work, and why. It shines a spotlight on an uncertain pathway
forward for the world of work.
By critiquing the employee’s organizational journey—from starting
to parting—the aim of the book is to cultivate the right environment for
people at work to prosper in the postpandemic world.
Dr. Tim Baker, according to leadership guru, Marshall Goldsmith,
is “one of today’s most influential HR experts.” He offers new insights
about what’s still considered conventional wisdom, such as employee
inductions, job descriptions, and succession planning.
The central idea of The Future of Human Resources is the imperative
for companies to adopt an employee-centered approach. Baker’s employee
lifecycle model tracks the familiar passage employees take in their
employment route, from job interview to exit interview.

Keywords
human resources; trends in human resources; HR; managing perfor-
mance; performance management; employee development; job design;
employee engagement; attraction and retention
 Contents
Testimonials������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������xi
Acknowledgments���������������������������������������������������������������������������������xiii
Introduction����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� xv

Part 1 Employee-Centered Approach����������������������������������������1

Chapter 1 The Changing World of Work������������������������������������������3
Chapter 2 A World Without Work?������������������������������������������������11
Chapter 3 Employee Purpose, Potential, and Perspective�����������������19
Chapter 4 The Employee Lifecycle Framework��������������������������������27
Chapter 5 The Big HR Mindset Shifts��������������������������������������������35

Part 2 Starting Phase of Employment�������������������������������������47

Chapter 6 Shift 1: Past Performance to Future Potential������������������49
Chapter 7 Shift 2: Induction to Integration�������������������������������������57
Chapter 8 Shift 3: Onsite to Hybrid Working���������������������������������67
Chapter 9 Shift 4: Them and Us to Collaboration���������������������������77

Part 3 Developing Phase of Employment�������������������������������87

Chapter 10 Shift 5: Training to Multidimensional Learning��������������89
Chapter 11 Shift 6: Job to Nonjob Roles�����������������������������������������101
Chapter 12 Shift 7: Job Description to Role Description����������������111
Chapter 13 Shift 8: Job Design to Job Redesign������������������������������121
Chapter 14 Shift 9: Competition to Partnership�����������������������������131

Part 4 Rewarding Phase of Employment������������������������������141

Chapter 15 Shift 10: Technical Knowhow to People Leadership������143
Chapter 16 Shift 11: Appraising to Developing Performance����������151
Chapter 17 Shift 12: Carrot and Stick to Human
  Spirit and Work��������������������������������������������������������161

Part 5 Parting Phase of Employment������������������������������������171

Chapter 18 Shift 13: Exit Interviews to Building Networks�������������173
x Contents

Action Plan����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������181
Notes�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������191
References�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������199
About the Author��������������������������������������������������������������������������������205
Index�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������207
 Testimonials
“Tim asks timely and pertinent questions and offers equally relevant sugges-
tions. While scientific control methods may have been reliable and relevant in
the last century, we live in a fast and mind-blowingly changing world. His
well-researched and thoughtful book encourages us to evolve or … become
irrelevant. This is a ‘must read’ for HR practitioners and senior executives.”
—Bill Lee-Emery, Keynote Speaker, Corporate facilitator and author
of How To Be Bulletproof From Criticism.

“As we navigate the impact of the Covid pandemic, there has never been
a more important nor opportune time to challenge and improve our ways
of managing work. Tim’s timely, thought-provoking book challenges some
of the long-held mindsets and perspectives and offers an alternative path for
the future of HR.”—David Concannon, Head of Insights & Strategy,
Employer Branding Australia

“Dr. Tim Baker has written an easy-to-read, comprehensive, and for-

ward-thinking book on where HR needs to position itself for the future. There
are some brilliant insights and a must read for those who are trying to get the
very best from their employees.”—Dr. Peter W. Beven, Director QUTeX
Open Professional Education, GSB, QUT

“Reading The Future of Human Resources will help you build, lead,
and inspire teams to flourish in the post-Covid world. Tim Baker provides
insights—based on the latest research, examples from real world business
success, and his decades in leadership and organizational development—to
help you transform the employee experience. It’s a practical, hands-on approach
that you can read now and apply tomorrow.”—Clio Robertson, Senior
L&D Specialist, Team Management Systems
 Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr. Mike Provitera for his guidance, reassurance, and encourage-
ment. I also acknowledge Scott Isenberg, managing executive editor of
Business Express Press for showing faith in the ideas in this book and
guiding me through the editorial process so professionally. The talented
Charlene Kronstedt for creating great cover design for this book, with a
minimum amount of fuss.
 Introduction
Frederick Taylor conducted time and motion studies on the Ford Motor
Company assembly line 112 years ago. Taylor’s idea was to make every
step along the assembly line more efficient and effective. No more guess
work. The “one best way” became the mantra. And the Model T Ford was
the first successful product of scientific management.
Scientific management is based on a simple principle. Workers are
more productive when they are assigned narrow and clearly defined tasks.
Creativity and guess work are removed. Taylor believed that productivity
improved by eliminating unnecessary effort.
In 1908, the Model T Ford was priced at $825 and initially sold well
over 10,000 cars.
When Taylor—the first and perhaps the most influential manage-
ment consultant—came on the scene, he formed his management theo-
ries in his best-selling book, The Principles of Scientific Management.1 The
book, published in 1911 is still selling like hot cakes on Amazon with
a four-and-a-half star rating. Taylor’s ideas grabbed Henry Ford’s atten-
tion. Observing Ford’s workers, Taylor considered the most efficient and
time-saving methods for increasing the production of the Model T Ford.
After a few years, the application of his scientific management principles
reduced the average production time of a car to 93 minutes. The sales
price dropped to $575. And by 1914, Ford captured 48 percent of the
automobile market.2
Fast forward 100 years. Most industries still adopt scientific manage-
ment principles like those used on Ford’s assembly line. Although the
world of work has profoundly changed, we still use the same systems to
manage the production of goods and services. The application of scien-
tific management isn’t isolated to the manufacturing sector. They have
been applied across the board, including service industries. Telemarketers
are given a script to read. Franchise food outlets are based on a system
that entrepreneurs pay millions of dollars to purchase. Five-star hotels are
xvi Introduction

run by a procedure’s manual. Most successful businesses apply scientific

management principles.
Modern jobs, like those on the Ford assembly line, are a series of
tasks broken into bite-sized pieces. Jobholders are trained and expected to
follow set procedures—they mustn’t deviate from the prescribed system.
Scientific management isn’t confined to blue-collar jobs. Patients are pro-
cessed through the hospital system. Loan applicants are handled by the
bank in a particular way. Job applicants are administered by a recruitment
and selection process. Jobholders are appraised and rewarded based on
their willingness to follow the system.
The system reduces the margin of error. The system reduces training
costs. The system reduces rework. The system reduces pay rates. It’s little
wonder it’s still popular, at least with employers. Many employees enjoy
the safety of the boundaries that scientific management offers. They don’t
have to think or take risks. They don’t have to reinvent the wheel. They
don’t have to be creative. Scientific management principles follow the
employee through their organizational journey, from starting to parting
a company.
A person is hired based on their experience, having demonstrated
their willingness to follow the system in other companies. That same per-
son gets a pay-rise on proving their reliability to pursue the company’s
systems and processes. He or she is trained to learn how to apply the
systems in their work. They are appraised once or twice a year on whether
their key performance indicators (KPIs) have been achieved. Sometimes
people are sacked for deviating from the system.
Scientific management worked well in a stable and predictable world.
But we’re no longer living and working in a stable and predictable
world. As I illustrate some of the big changes in the past decade in
Chapter 1, the world is now in a state of flux. There’s little that’s stable
and predictable in the past decade. In the post-COVID world, it’s certain
that this volatility will continue.
In a volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) world
thinking on your feet is the new normal. Thinking laterally and creatively
is more valuable than adhering stringently to systems, processes, and pro-
cedures. Even so, being creative is risky business. In our paint by numbers
 Introduction xvii

workplace, given a choice between following a designated pathway and

being unorthodox, most employees will play it safe and not chance their
arm. Although it’s perceived as the safest route, it’s not always the best
route. Just like the Ford Motor Company assembly line, employees are
clustered into functional specialties, with procedures to follow.
There’s discord between the rhetoric and the routine. The mantra is:
be innovative and creative. But the practice is to follow standard oper-
ating procedures. People are confused. So, the less dangerous path is to
follow the one best way.
We are seeing gradual improvement. But HR practices are still rooted
in procedure. The recruitment and selection process requires interviewers
to ask the same questions of each candidate around job competencies.
New employees are passive recipients of a generic information dump
during their induction. It’s one-way traffic from the organization to the
individual. The employee is given a piece of paper called a job description
that defines their job role, KPIs, and targets. Most of their training is con-
fined to improving technical capabilities. Pay-rises are granted for moving
into management. People are appraised on how closely they follow their
job specification. Although we’ve tinkered with these practices, they’re
still centered on the tenets of scientific management.
The world has moved on, however. Fresh thinking about how we
manage people at work is needed.
I use the assembly line analog to structure The Future of Human
Resources. But it’s not an assembly line of production. It’s an assembly
line of the phases an employee pass through in their employment from
starting to parting a company.
In other words, it’s the process the employee goes through with an
employer. These stages of the process are the familiar touchpoints HR
has the most impact over the employee. I’m proposing a makeover of the
employee lifecycle, like Taylor did on the Ford assembly line. We examine
the major HR practices from organizational entry to exit.
How can these practices be improved? What needs consideration in
a climate of accelerated change and uncertainty? How can HR be trans-
formed post-COVID, where all the rules are broken? The central idea
of The Future of Human Resources is the imperative for HR to adopt an
xviii Introduction

employee-centered approach. By critiquing the employee’s organizational

journey, the aim is to cultivate the right environment for the employee
and their employer to prosper in the post-COVID world.
HR has its finger in many pies. But the pie where it has the great-
est influence is the employee lifecycle. We know that generally engage-
ment levels are low. Uncertainty is high. Stress is prevalent. Mental health
and well‑being are focal points. Competition is heightened. Businesses
are looking for better ways to get the best from the people they employ.
Employees, particularly younger employees, are searching for meaning
in their work. These factors can be considered through the prism of the
employee journey through the firm.
Now is a good opportunity for HR to reinvent itself.
My hope is that this book is a catalyst for change. I want to provoke
discussion on how HR remains relevant and adds value in the transfor-
mative world of work. To make change, we need to think differently;
to challenge ourselves not to accept conventional practice. Adopting an
employee-centered approach is a good place to start considering the way
we approach HR. The Future of Human Resources is designed to be a blue-
print for change.
The framework I use is the pathway employees walk in their
organizational journey. There are four phases to the employee lifecycle.
The starting phase is when they commence employment in a new
organization. This is followed by the developing phase. This phase assists
the employee to grow and develop to be more effective in their current and
future job roles. There is the rewarding phase. This phase covers monetary
and nonmonetary measures to reward the employee for the work they do.
And finally, there’s the parting phase where an employee decides to move
on from their current employer. Each of these four phases are established,
familiar to all employees, and will remain relevant to the employee
experience. There are several HR practices that support each phase.
We consider each of the four phases and critically review the support-
ing HR practices. Although these four phases will stay constant, how they
are managed will be scrutinized. The focus is how HR can be reimagined,
in other words. These practices are deeply rooted in scientific manage-
ment. Although scientific management has worked well in the past, it’s
time to rethink these principles.
 Introduction xix

It’s the perfect time for reflection and renewal as we emerge from the
pandemic. Although there is evidence that the changes I am suggesting
are occurring in some companies, many businesses are taking tentative
steps in the right direction. I will share some successful innovations com-
panies around the world are making. This will hopefully provide you with
the confidence to continue the transformation journey.
PART 1 puts the case for change. We look at the changing world of
work and map out the necessary mindset shifts. These shifts are oppo-
site to the practices used for a century. These traditional practices have
served industry well. But it’s time to let go of them and embrace new
perspectives. To continue to add value, I argue that HR needs fresh think-
ing. There are 13 mindset shifts I urge you to consider. During PART 1,
I also introduce you to the employee lifecycle framework. This framework
provides the structure for implementing these changes.
PART 2 examines the starting phase of employment. Specifically,
I look at the recruitment and selection process, induction, working
remotely, and the changing expectations managers and employees have of
each other in the employment relationship.
PART 3 focuses on the developing phase of employment. In this phase,
we look at the obsolete job description. The job description isn’t an adequate
method for capturing all that the employee is expected to do in the modern
workplace. The increasingly important value of nonjob roles is discussed.
I also challenge the job design framework we refer to as job specification.
We consider a new model of multidimensional learning and development
(L&D), to replace the old functional training model. Although job crafting
is slow to take hold, it’s now time to embrace it to strengthen job specifi-
cation, the traditional job design mechanism. And finally in this phase, we
consider the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and smart machines in the
workplace. Instead of viewing machines as a competitor for jobs, we need
to view AI as a collaborator in super team structures.
PART 4 considers the rewarding phase of employment. Rewarding
people for their technical knowhow rather than their people skills must
change. Developing performance rather fixating on appraising perfor-
mance is a shift necessary in the new world of work. Using reward and
punishment doesn’t ignite human spirit and work. Intrinsic motivation is
the driver for success.
xx Introduction

And in PART 5, we discussed the inevitable parting phase of employ-

ment. I use the word parting rather than exiting deliberately. By part-
ing, there is a pragmatic acknowledgment that this departure may not
necessarily be permanent. We need to leave the door open for departing
employees to return either on a part-time, project, or on a full-time basis
in the future. If business changes its attitude about the way an employee
leaves an organization, it keeping the door open for future ­employment
opportunities.
Finally, I provide 65 questions for you to evaluate your organization
against these 13 mindset shifts. You can then build an action plan for
making the changes needed.
This book is designed to challenge the conventional thinking about
employment. Further, it’s a blueprint for HR professionals to make the
essential changes to accommodate a new mentality. By making these
shifts, HR will continue to add value as a key internal service provider. As
we emerge from the constraints of COVID, it’s a perfect opportunity to
look in the mirror and consider the way we have done things in the past
and how we can do things better in the future.
Enjoy.
 PART 1

Employee-Centered
Approach
 CHAPTER 1

The Changing World

of Work
As a survival mechanism, employees exercised agility during 2020.
The challenge is to maintain this agility while the business recovers to
full profitability.

AstraZeneca is an organization that capitalized on employee

potential. It was quick to mobilize resources to meet the
pressing need to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. Tonya Villafana,
AstraZeneca’s vice president and global franchise head of infection,
credits the company’s accelerated response to its ability to tap into
a varied pool of experts, both across the company and through
its collaboration with the University of Oxford. What’s more,
AstraZeneca not only involved top experts, but also added high
performers who were really passionate and wanted to get involved
with the vaccine development team.
“They were the right people at the right time to put into that role.
Not everyone has to be an infectious disease expert. It was more about
having that kind of passion to deliver and the energy to want to do it.”
AstraZeneca also tapped into the potential of its ecosystem. United
by a common purpose, the company collaborated with academia and
regulatory agencies and applied new ways of working that allowed
them to begin vaccine trials in record time, doing in weeks and months
what might have taken months four years in the past. The success of
those collaborations leads to meaningful change moving forward.1

In the past decade, the world has experienced dramatic political,

social, technological, scientific, and economic disruption, capped off by
the pandemic in 2020. In the early part of 2010–2020, we were recover-
ing from the global fiscal crisis of 2007–2008.
4 The Future of Human Resources

Let me remind you of some of the events in the past decade. From
royal weddings to missing planes, there were a plethora of history-defining
moments in the second decade of the 21st century. Prince William and
Prince Harry’s royal weddings, al-Qaeda and Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria (ISIS) terror leaders killed, missing Malaysian planes, legalization of
same-sex marriage, reality star Donald Trump becoming president, and
tech diversity, are just some of the momentous happenings we experienced
since 2010.
More specifically, Apple released the world’s first iPad, the game-
changing piece of technology on April 3, 2010. The South Korean pop
superstar Psy created Gangnam Style, which became the first video in
YouTube’s history to reach one billion views in 2012. The world said
goodbye on December 05, 2013 to Nelson Mandela, the former president
of South Africa and the country’s first black head of state. Described as being
one of the biggest aviation mysteries in history, MH370, the Malaysian
Airlines plane with 239 passengers and crew on board completely vanished
on March 08, 2014. The year 2014 was a disastrous one for Malaysian
Airlines. Just four months after MH370 went missing, MH17 was shot
down while flying over eastern Ukraine, killing all 283 passengers and
15 crew. There was the rise and fall of ISIS. Brutally graphic beheadings,
horrific attacks, and suicide bombings from the ISIS hit the western
world during its peak in 2015. While the jihadi group‑who controlled a
population of 8 million at its height‑may have been the most powerful
and wealthiest force. The ISIS caliphate dream collapsed mid-2017.
The world struck a deal on climate change, dubbed the Paris Agreement,
in 2016, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation, adaptation, and
finance. In a history-defining moment on June 26, 2015, the United States
legalized same-sex marriage across all 50 states. Ireland, Finland, Green-
land, Colombia, Malta, Australia, Germany, Austria, Taiwan, and Ecuador
all followed. Greece became the first developed country to default the Inter-
national Monetary Fund in 2015, which alongside the European Union,
provided the nation with €110 billion in loans over three years.
The Brexit Referendum took place. As 52 percent of Britain voted
to leave the European Union in 2016, the political debate is still rife.
­Donald Trump became U.S. president. The television personality, real
estate developer, writer, entrepreneur, and investor added another
 The Changing World of Work 5

profession to his name in 2016—the 45th President of the United States.

There was the largest women’s march in history. After just one day of
Donald Trump’s presidency, more than 5 million people marched globally
protesting for women’s rights in January 2017. The #MeToo movement
started. It became viral on social media following public sexual abuse alle-
gations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein in October 2017.
The inspiring campaign led to global awareness, going down as an iconic
feminist movement.
The rise of the share economy began. While companies such as Uber
and Airbnb were technically founded in 2009 and 2008 respectively, the
past 10 years saw the boom in the share economy’s popularity. The tech
giant, Apple, became the first public company to be worth US$1 trillion
in 2018. The first photo of a black hole was taken. Astronomers captured
the awe-inspiring sight on April 10, 2019, making it one of the biggest
space moments in recent history. These are just a few of the events in the
past 10 years.2
The world of work has been in a constant state of upheaval too, like
most aspects of life. After the 2020 pandemic we all yearn for a period
of stability. But we need to accept that disruption and dislocation is now
part of “normal” life. This is the new reality.

Is HR Ready?
Surveys show that HR enhanced its reputation in the way it dealt with
the COVID crisis.3 HR is in a great position to capitalize on its new
status. But if we dig a little deeper, it’s the traditional domains of HR
that get high marks. Executives praise HR for its handling of health and
safety matters, its workforce communication strategies, and promoting
the well-being of employees. HR now needs to expand its influence in
other areas.
If we assume that disruption is now the constant (and this is a fair
assumption), HR must adjust. While keeping its good reputation in cus-
tomary areas, tackling some of the other issues affecting employee perfor-
mance is the next frontier. I will discuss these in the following chapter.
Before we consider these HR issues, let’s consider some of the broad
strategic issues for business.
6 The Future of Human Resources

The first obvious adjustment is that conventional strategic planning

isn’t viable anymore. As a replacement, companies need to focus finding a
value-based purpose in a turbulent and unpredictable marketplace. Values
are enduring. Strategic plans are not. Values offer a foundation to build
upon. But a strategic plan can be obsolete by the time the ink has dried. A
values-based purpose gives the business scope to pivot in unforeseen cir-
cumstances. Values supply guiding principles for clarity of direction. For
instance, being flexible and innovative, suggests that the business should
change when the opportunity arises. Being customer-focused remind the
business of its #1 priority, regardless of fluctuations in the marketplace.
Short-term goals can be shaped around values.
There are two types of values. A value can be terminal or instrumen-
tal. In his book, The Nature of Human Values,4 social psychologist Milton
Rokeach defines the difference between terminal and instrumental values.
Rokeach defines values as, “enduring beliefs that a specific mode of conduct
or end-state of existence is personally or socially preferable to an opposite
or converse mode of conduct or end-state of existence.” Terminal values
signify a destination or outcome. Instrumental values signify a behavior.
Let’s look at some illustrations of terminal and instrumental values in
a business context. Terminal values provide a direction for the future. For
example, terminal values include:

• Profitability
• Quality
• Excellence

On the other hand, instrumental values might include:

• Taking responsible risks

• Innovating
• Continuous improvement
• Being a “team player”

Instrumental values are generally a guide to acceptable behavior that

is observable.
In a climate of accelerated change and uncertainty, specific goals
can become obsolete quickly in changing circumstances that can’t be
 The Changing World of Work 7

predicted. Values are enduring and more reliable indications in the face
of ambiguity.
For HR, setting a clear set of values that are both terminal and instru-
mental would be a good place to start. I’m hoping that the 13 mindset
shifts I introduce in Chapter 5 will give you a basis for formulating a new
set of values consistent with these transformations.
Ken Sneader and Bob Sternfels of McKinsey in their article, From
Surviving to Thriving: Reimagining the Post-COVID-19 Return,5 suggest
that to come back stronger, companies should reimagine their business
model as they return to full speed. They identify four areas to focus on:
recovering revenue, rebuilding operations, rethinking the organization,
and accelerating the adoption of digital solutions. For businesses to
rethink their operating model, HR must adapt too.
As a survival mechanism, employees exercised agility during 2020.
The challenge is to maintain this agility while the business recovers to
full profitability. Undoubtedly, there are lessons to be learned from the
pandemic. What were the success factors that facilitated this agility?

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

A Lesson in Agility and Responsiveness
Consider a Chinese car-rental company whose revenues fell 95 percent in
February 2020. With the roads empty, company leaders didn’t just stew.
Instead, they reacted like a start-up. They invested in micro-customer seg-
mentation and social listening to guide personalization. This led them to
develop new use cases. They discovered, for example, that many tech firms
were telling employees not to use public transportation. The car-rental com-
pany used this insight to experiment with and refine targeted campaigns.
They also called first-time customers who had canceled orders to reassure
them of the various safety steps the company had taken, such as “no touch”
car pickup. To manage the program, they pulled together three agile teams
with cross-functional skills and designed a recovery dashboard to track pro-
gress. Before the crisis, the company took up to three weeks to launch a
campaign; that is now down to two to three days. Within seven weeks, the
company had recovered 90 percent of its business, year on year—almost
twice the rate of its chief competitor (Sneader and Sternfels 2020).6
8 The Future of Human Resources

Agility
Agility can mean many things. It’s a word we tossed around before the
pandemic. In the context of speed in a crisis, it means putting into place
new operating models that focus on the end-user, the customer, supported
by rigorous processes. Being able to be responsive and pivot quickly is
critical to success in a post-COVID marketplace, as it was during the
peak of the pandemic. Operationally, it means accelerating end-to-end
value chain digitalization. Digitalization tools are available, and they can
significantly reduce the cost of flexibility. Low-cost and flexible operat-
ing systems are not only now possible, but they are also available. The
challenge for HR is how they can synchronize people with these tools to
provide speed and precision. The benefits are higher productivity, more
flexibility, enhanced quality, and more customer connectivity. I discuss
this further in Chapter 14.
Undoubtedly, the future of work involves more automation and use
of technology. The pandemic has hastened the pace. Working remotely,
employees across all functions of the business have learned how to com-
plete tasks, using digital communication and collaboration tools. With
increased technology, we’re seeing humans doing less manual and repeti-
tive tasks. And this means that employees are doing more analytical and
technical support work. As Sneader and Sternfels of McKinsey point out,
“This shift will call for substantial investment in workforce engagement
and training in new skills, much of it delivered using digital tools.” They’re
right and we should prepare for this if we haven’t already.
Matching talent with agile practices is challenging. Hierarchy and past
performance can be roadblocks. Simplifying and streamlining organiza-
tional structures, centered around project-based teams is required. Aptitude
and getting results are now more valuable than expertise and experience.
Developing leaders shouldn’t be confined to the hierarchical positioning of
people. Leaders can emerge from everywhere in the structure. Leadership
development programs should be more dynamic. A renewed emphasis on
talent development will help to attract and retain top talent.
Digital communication is now commonplace. During 2020, there
was a transformation in the way we interactive with one another. It wasn’t
just the way we communicated with work colleagues, but in some cases
 The Changing World of Work 9

our loved ones, and with suppliers of specialist services, such as medical
care, and routine transactions. The pandemic has accelerated the migra-
tion to digital communication technologies. This will surely be a turning
point in history. We need to accept that remote working in some form,
probably in a hybrid format as I suggest in Chapter 8, is likely to be con-
tinued well after the pandemic has passed.
As we move back to full recovery, some fundamental communica-
tion changes will need to be addressed. Consumers now are connecting
with businesses in many more ways than previously. Businesses need to be
geared up for all the access channels customers elect to use with businesses.
In the next chapter, we look at some of the big HR issues and how
this shapes their services.

Ten Key Takeaways

1. In the past decade, the world has experienced dramatic political,
social, technological, scientific, and economic disruption, capped off
by the pandemic in 2020.
2. The world of work has been in a constant state of upheaval too, like
most aspects of life.
3. Surveys show that HR enhanced its reputation in the way it dealt
with the COVID crisis. HR is in a great position to capitalize on its
new status.
4. If we assume that disruption is now the constant (and this is a fair
assumption), HR must adjust.
5. The first obvious adjustment is that conventional strategic planning
isn’t viable anymore.
6. As a replacement, companies need to focus finding a value-based
purpose in a turbulent and unpredictable marketplace.
7. In a climate of accelerated change and uncertainty, specific goals can
become obsolete quickly in changing circumstances that can’t be
predicted.
8. Companies should reimagine their business model as they return to
full speed.
9. Matching talent with agile practices is challenging.
10. Digital communication is now commonplace.
 Index

Accountability, 155–157, 159 Employee

Agility, 3, 7–8, 14–15 lifecycle framework, 27–34, 181
Alumni network, 174–179 performance, 108
Artificial intelligence (AI), 11–14, perspective, 20, 25
17, 28, 41, 50, 94, potential, 20, 25, 50–52, 54
131–135, 137 productivity, 68–72
AstraZeneca, 3 purpose, 20, 25
success indicators, 52–54
Behavioral interviewing techniques, Employee-centered approach, 20–22
37–38, 54–55 Employer–employee relationship, 16
Employment relationship, 23–25
Climate review, 157–158 Engagement, 22–23, 52–53
Closed information, 85 Experience, 37–38
Cognitive crafting, 125–128 Extrinsic rewards, 163–164
Collaboration, 136
Collaborative employment Face-to-face
relationship, 77–86, 176 interactions, 68, 69
Collaborative intelligence, 133 interviews, 72
Collaborative learning, 90 jobs, 12
Comeback colleagues, 175 Five conversation framework,
Commitment, 83, 174 157–160
Competency-based appraisals and Flexible deployment, 52, 80
appointments, 54 Former employees, 175
Conenza, 175–176 Function-based work, 82
Conflict resolution, 136
Contingency work, 15–17 Growth approach, 104–105
Continuous improvement Growth opportunities, 158
conversation, 159–160
Conventional strategic planning, 6 High Potential Trait Indicator
Critical thinking, 136 (HPTI), 51
Curiosity, 52–53 HubSpot, 178
Customer-focus, 81 Human dispirit and work, 82–83
Human effort, 29
Determination, 52–53 Human resources (HR)
Development conversation, 159 issues, 5–6
Development phase, 32 mindset shifts
Digital communication, 8 competition to partnership,
Digitalization, 8 131–139
Duolog, 64–66 extrinsic rewards, 163–164
Duty approach, 174 induction, 60–61, 61–63, 65
208 Index

integration, 63–66 Job satisfaction, 163–164

intrinsic motivation, 165–169 Job sharing, 17
job crafting, 121–128 Job specification, 41, 51, 122–123
job satisfaction, 163–164 Job/technical development, 107
job to role description, 111–119 Job to role description, 111–119
leadership, 143–150 Jobs, pointless, 30
multidimensional learning,
89–99 Leadership, 143–150, 154–153
network building, 43–44, Learning and development (L&D),
173–180 84–85, 90–92
overview, 35–44, 182–187 Learning conversation, 159
performance development, 42, Lifelong learning, 106–107
151–160 LondonEnergy, 70–71
potential, 49–56 Loyalty, 83
productive workplace culture, 39
remote working, 68–76
Machine-centered learning, 94
role, 29
Machines, 12, 13
Human spirit and work, 83
Manager–employee relationship, 39,
Human traits, 138
77–86
Hybrid working, 39, 67–68
Motivation, 43, 165–169
Multidimensional learning, 39–40,
Induction, 65 89–92, 98–99
conversation, 159–160 nontechnical
issues with, 60–61 person-centered, 94–96
vs. onboarding, 61–63 problem-centered, 96–98
online program, 72–73 technical
training, 38, 58 job-centered, 92–93
Insight, 52–53 machine-centered, 94
Instrumental values, 6–7
Integration, 38, 63–66
Internal focus, 81 Network building, 43–44, 173–180
Interpersonal interactions, 54 Nonjob roles, 40, 101–105
Interpersonal nonjob roles, 105–106 interpersonal, 105–106
Interview, 43 personal, 106–108
Intrinsic motivation, 165–169 Nontechnical proficiency, 91

Job-centered learning, 92–93 Onboarding, 38, 58, 65

Job crafting, 41, 64, 121–125 induction vs., 61–63
cognitive crafting, 126–128 Open information, 85
drivers, 124 Optimal performance, 59
relational crafting, 126 Optimality model, 51
task crafting, 125–126 Organizational readiness, 134–135
Job description, 40–41, 51, 101 Orientation, 62
Job design, 24, 41
Job-focus, 81–82 Part-time work, 16
Job lag, 58–60 Peer-to-peer learning, 104
Job redesign, 41 People, place and performance, 148
 Index 209

Performance development, 42, Suboptimal performance, costs of, 59

151–152 Succession planning, 42, 115,
accountability, 155–157 144–145
case against performance review, Super jobs, 135–138
152–154 Super teams, 135–138
climate review, 157–158
growth opportunities, 158 Talent conversation, 158
innovation and continuous Talent development, 42
improvement, 159–160 Task crafting, 125–126
leadership, 154–153 Team awareness, 106
learning, 159 Team player, 105–106
strengths and talents, 158 Teamwork, 136
Performance-focus, 81 Technical mastery, 90
Performance review, 152–154 Technical training, 114
Personal development, 107 Technology unemployment, 12
Personal nonjob roles, 106–108 Terminal values, 6–7
Person-centered learning, 94–96, 114 Time-honored hiring practice, 51
Positive attitude, 105 Traditional employment relationship,
Problem-centered learning, 114 79
Productive workplace culture, 39 Traditional performance appraisal
Productivity, 68–72 system, 152–153
Project-based work, 82 Training, 84–85, 91–92
Psychological contract, 79–80
Unilever, 148
Recruitment, 32
Relational crafting, 125, 126 Values
Remote working, 67 defined, 6
challenges, 72–75 types, 6–7
work from home (WFH), 68–72 Virtual learning, 104
Resigning/exiting phase, 33
Responsiveness, 7, 14–15, 153–154 Work from Home (WFH)
Rewarding phase, 33 employees productivity, 68–72
Right motivation, 52–53 Work–life balance, 84
Role description, 41 Work performance, 102–104,151
Workplace
Self-development, 107 innovation and continuous
Self-employment, 33–34 improvement, 107–108
Skill development role, 106–107 traits in, 51
Specialized employment, 80 Work promises, 167
Strength conversation, 158 A World Without Work (Susskind),
Stretch development, 55 11–18