2050: The HR Odyssey – Episode 3

Somewhere in the world, on a date you may one day need, we have located an advanced technology that allows us to immerse ourselves in the daily lives of employees. This fantastic journey through the experiences of different employees will take you to the edge of the Future of Work and allow you to see the challenges of business transformation. Today in our odyssey, discover the daily life of Gaudia…

 

“Hello Xoe. My name is Gaudia and I’m Coorpacademy’s mental health referent, formerly Chief Happiness Manager! How are you?”

“Hi Gaudia, nice to meet you! I’m doing very well thank you, how about you?”

“I’m doing very well too, I recharged my batteries well this weekend! You recently joined your team, and it’s time for the monthly wellness talks. Are you familiar with these talks?”

“Not really… Are you going to ask me any questions?”

“Indeed. The purpose of the monthly well-being interview is to evaluate the well-being of employees and to assess their needs and motivation. It’s a free and confidential exchange, it’s up to you to tick off the information you wish to disclose to your hierarchy once the interview is over through a report that is automatically displayed at the end of our interview. Are you comfortable with that?”

“It’s very clear thank you! Yes absolutely.”

“The interview can begin. First of all, how did your onboarding go? Do you have any specific comments about the conditions in which you were welcomed?”

“Hmm… I thought the onboarding was great! I was at a distance and I was still able to visit the premises, meet my team and talk with my manager thanks to the virtual onboarding. All my tools were in place, I didn’t encounter any major difficulties!”

“I see. On a scale of 1 to 10, how much would you rate your onboarding?”

“I would give it a 9. Only because I still would have liked to have physically come for my first day but it was a bad set of circumstances.”

“Thank you. So you found out about the office remotely, but you were able to get there quickly. Are you happy with your workstation? Do you have any unaddressed needs or difficulties booking a workspace?”

“No, it’s perfect!!! 10 out of 10. I love being able to change desks and vary my work environment. Each station is well equipped and comfortable, I really don’t see anything to add.”

“Noted. Now we’ll move on to a series of teamwork questions. How is it working with your new colleagues?”

As the interview progresses, Gaudia gradually gets to the questions of commitment to work, and the meaning Xoe gets from her assignments – “We’re almost at the end of our interview” she announces.

“We’re coming to the end of our interview soon,” she announces. “This is a more direct question I’d like to ask you. Do you find meaning in your work?”

“Indeed, that’s very direct! I should ask you the same thing. And you, Gaudia, do you find meaning in your work? Why are you a “Happiness Manager”?”

Gaudia takes more time to answer than usual. She installs a small pause, the time to collect her “thoughts”…-

“I am Gaudia, an artificial intelligence programmed for this role. My mission is to collect the information necessary to assess the well-being of employees and to promote engagement at work. I find it meaningful because without this job, I wouldn’t be here to talk to you Xoe!”

“I get it, for sure. Finally, with all this data, the meaning of your job is kind of the continuous improvement of employee well-being?”

“Exactly.”

No one had ever asked Gaudia that question. Her system hadn’t seen it coming and the interviews had always gone smoothly. So she built that variable into her internal algorithm, her digital brain as she likes to call it.

“Speaking of data, I need to ask you for permission to connect your health data to my system. This will allow me to collect data such as your fatigue rate, your heart rate or, if you are concerned, your cycle in order to plan your menstrual leave! Of course, you have the right to refuse access to this data at any time, and you can choose which data you want to track. All this remains confidential and the data is automatically deleted every 6 months. I’ll let you think about it of course! All necessary documents will be forwarded at the end of the interview. Well, thank you Xoe for your answers! Here is the report of our interview. As explained at the beginning, you just have to read it again, and check the information you want to keep confidential or not. We’ll see you next month, and this time no trick questions please.”

 

Conclusion

In 2050, the digitalization of companies will have changed the way we organize ourselves, but also the existing jobs.

Thanks to artificial intelligence and data, it will be possible for companies to take advantage of tools to improve certain processes, such as employee engagement.

Currently addressed during annual individual interviews, employee well-being can be better monitored if it is automated. This way, the information can be reported frequently and quickly. In addition, this will eliminate the relational bias that can sometimes create a barrier for employees who wish to confide in us about a situation.

This way, taking into account the well-being of employees as well as their level of commitment will be better monitored and will save time for managers. In addition, it will make the information flow more smoothly and thus accelerate the solutions implemented.

 

2050: The HR Odyssey

 

Somewhere in the world, at a certain date you don’t need to know, we have located advanced technology that allows us to get inside the daily lives of employees. This fantastic journey through the experiences of different collaborators will take you to the edge of the Future of Work and allow you to gain insight into the challenges of business transformation. Today in our odyssey, discover the daily life of Xoe…

 

“Hello Xoe, welcome to Coorpacademy! I am Onboard, your virtual assistant who will accompany you during your onboarding for the position of Junior Customer Success Manager. I see from your employee profile that you have never visited our physical premises before. I hope you will soon, but first let me guide you through our meta-offices!”

 

A loading icon appears on my left. I readjust my helmet.

Once properly positioned, Onboard’s voice resumes:

 

“The meta-desk is a virtual workspace where the whole team can meet, even from a distance. As you can see, the 3D reconstruction of our premises allows you to discover your workspace as if you were there! If you would like a guided tour, click on…”

 

I decide to turn off the tutorial mode. I’m pretty well used to virtual reality, I even remember taking my University exams remotely during the heat wave of 2042. I move around the virtual offices and discover bright and very ergonomic premises, with a fully equipped kitchen, from the permaculture worktop to the compost bin integrated into the cooker! In the open-space, the work spaces are both shared, but there are also small cubicles that allow everyone to isolate themselves if necessary, which I like because, being a bit anxious at times, I like to be able to be alone in a quiet place.

 

A new notification appears.

“To reserve your workstation in advance, remember to download the “Coorpers Portal” application, which will enable you to carry out all your procedures relating to your workplace, contract and other administrative requests. I notice that the workspaces are not assigned, and that there are lockers connected to store everyone’s personal belongings. I understand that the Coorpers Portal application will allow me to book an office or a meeting room, to rent a connected locker for free or to make absence requests.

 

As I finish the visit, Onboard’s voice says: “How did your first steps in our offices go?”, a screen appears asking me to rate my visit between 1 and 5 and as I fill in my score, the surprisingly human voice of this artificial intelligence tells me: “For your information, all the data collected through the questions asked are anonymised and allow us to continuously improve the employee experience! To continue your onboarding, why don’t you meet the teams?”

 

I confirm and am propelled into a colourful and welcoming meeting room where the video testimonials of several employees are displayed on my screen. I can scroll through the videos and choose to start one. This is how I find out about each person’s role. At the end of each story, Onboard asks me if I have any questions, and if so, sends a message directly to the person concerned to arrange a meeting to discuss my questions further.

 

“It’s time for you to meet your manager! A video call is scheduled for 10 minutes with Clément M., Senior Customer Success Manager”, says Onboard, which I decide to mute in the settings of my virtual headset. I prefer subtitles, and it’s quite fun to be able to change the language in which Onboard speaks to me. Indeed, I have the possibility to modify the parameters to inform the language in which Onboard is configured. This could allow me to revise my French!

 

The interview with Clément went very well. After introducing me to the team and the tasks of the job, he moves on to a more personal part of the interview. I can tell him that the pronoun I use is the pronoun she, that I am anxious by nature and that in my job I get great satisfaction from having a real impact on society.

 

“Great, so you’ve got a rather Impact-oriented mode of reporting at work. I will send you a notification to fill in your personal information in Coorpers Portal, your pronoun used, your passions, your work aspirations, etc. The artificial intelligence of this application allows us to identify the projects that correspond to you and also the best way to communicate with each collaborator!

 

Speaking of apps, we also have a version for our customer accounts. As a central tool for our team, the Coorp & You application allows us to centralise data on our relationship with our clients, to get to know them better as individuals, but also as a company. They fill in their issues, priority levels, upcoming projects, areas for improvement, etc. This tool is very complete, you will have to learn how to use it, because it will allow you to know your client by heart, to better accompany them. I’ve already told Onboard to download these applications so that you can take a look at them today to familiarise yourself and note down if you have any questions!”

 

Once the interview is over, I watch the progress of the Coorp & Vous application loading on the virtual headset. I reflect on this onboarding and think of my parents, who used to talk about how they had seen companies transform. This world of tomorrow, as they called it, they participated in its construction and today, it is the world in which I will have to prove myself.

 

Conclusion

In 2050, the digitalisation of companies will have changed the way we are organised at all levels.

As a tool to facilitate and automate certain processes, digital technology will be able to replace the mentor during onboarding and save time for managers

The workspace will also be rethought to create a healthy, environmentally friendly and flexible environment: offices will no longer be assigned to an employee but will be workspaces that employees can reserve for the day, the kitchen will be equipped to allow employees to find the same comfort as at home, and the company will be able to rethink its workspaces by involving issues of biodiversity and environmental friendliness.

Finally, intergenerational relations and issues of taking into account the personality of employees will be paramount. In addition, the data that managers will be able to collect thanks to the digitalisation of processes will enable them to get to know each employee better, to individualise their management style and thus engage their employees.

Manager of tomorrow: 3 skills to adapt to the managerial revolution

 

Companies are changing. Like the world around us, organizations are evolving and with it, the teams that make them up. To guide these transitions, managers are the ones who will take the first steps towards change. New work methods, project management, and new cultures require the adoption of a 3.0 management style that adapts to the new needs of employees, and also responds to the upcoming challenges. So how can we transform our management so that everyone invests in the common good and achieves their objectives?

There is no ideal organizational model. When we talk about transformation, we may tend to believe that there is an ideal to be reached and that it is enough to meet the challenges of major transformations for them to be “completed”. But in a world that is constantly and rapidly evolving, transformation is never finished, it is renewed.  Today, all major transformations ultimately depend on the ability of individuals and organizations to adapt, to evolve serenely in an uncertain world, and to react to the unexpected. Management is a pillar for supporting business transformations, because they are driven by teams. The challenge for management in 2021 is to guide change.

Towards a management 3.0

Companies are facing new challenges: hybridization of work, digital and cultural transformation, renewal of skills and talents, to only name a few. The context of the pandemic has transformed our management methods towards more agile methods and requiring more autonomy. Added to this is the arrival of the younger generations, called millennials, which implies, for example, a review of management methods. 

According to a study by the recruitment site Monster.fr carried out in 2020 with the Yougov institute, at the end of May 2020, 19% of 18-34 year olds said they did not need meaning in their jobs, whereas at the end of 2020, only 4% shared this view. 

In search of meaning, millenials are therefore no longer just looking for compensation, but rather a sense of purpose. It will be important for these new recruits to understand how, at their own level, they participate in the company’s collective adventure. These new generations of employees are also looking for feedback and encouragement. In exchange for their involvement, it is important to be thanked and congratulated regularly.

The term management 3.0 was coined by Jurgen Appelo, a writer and lecturer, who works on leadership issues. Today, a manager is a leader. This means that they use their power of conviction to lead people towards their objectives. This concept describes all the methods of agile management: the manager-leader gives meaning to the employees, rather than giving them directives. 

Management 3.0 would be an agile management type, based on a sharing contract. More linear, horizontal and collaborative, it would increase the autonomy of each person, and would be more empowering for employees. For the smooth running of organizations, it is essential for managers to develop certain skills, which will enable them to better understand the needs and expectations of employees, and to get closer to the role of coach. To do this, managers must learn to better manage their emotions, but also those of their teams. So, what skills should a manager develop today to reinvent his management and better support employees in the future?  

Management 3.0

Active listening

Knowing how to listen is an essential professional skill for any good manager. Sincerely listening to one’s employees has important consequences on the overall efficiency of the team, both individually and collectively, but also on the quality of inter-colleague relations. So what is active listening? First of all, it’s about clearing your head to make room only for the information that your interlocutor communicates to you. Without thinking about what you are going to answer, you let the other person finish what they are saying. To draw the best conclusions from what your interlocutor communicates, you should not think about what you are going to say next. You let the speaker finish what he or she is saying, and only decide what to think about it once it is over. You can ask questions, show that you are attentive and constructive to what the person you are talking to is telling you. By developing your listening skills, you will truly understand the needs of your teams, and be able to respond effectively to their expectations. 

Discover the course on Counselling

Managing conflicts at work 

Within the company, we are in daily contact with each other and this can lead to conflicts. Indeed, in all human groups, tensions can occur and it is up to the manager to take charge of these conflictual situations in order to transform them into an opportunity to improve relations. Because it is by building together that we reach a satisfactory solution, managing conflicts is a crucial aspect of management. Between conflicts of objectives; conflicts of strategy or methods; conflicts of interests or needs; and conflicts of values, dealing with these tense situations requires very specific listening skills, particularly in order to resolve them. Even if the conflict often appears in a brutal way, it almost always presents signals beforehand, which one must learn to identify in order to manage them as soon as possible. As a manager, you must not only learn to identify situations of tension – which can lead to a rupture – but also learn to prevent conflicts between employees by instilling the right practices and behaviors. 

Discover more on Managing conflicts at Work

Leadership

The company is first and foremost made up of people, each of whom will have different behaviors. The adoption of new processes and the smooth running of certain projects can be encouraged – or not – by the employees and their behaviors. Thus, the organization is influenced by the personalities that make it up, and the manager’s mission is to unite these pluralities of behaviors around the achievement of common objectives. To guide transformations, leadership is a key skill because it allows one to learn how to respond to the needs of individuals and to understand the behaviors of each person, in order to better guide them. Getting teams involved in projects and enabling them to achieve their objectives requires a climate of trust, which can be fostered by the social influence of the manager, who knows how to communicate with the various individuals who make up the company. To go from manager to leader, you don’t necessarily need to have a strong personality, but above all you need to be aware that leadership is about motivating people. 

Learn more on Evolving from manager to leader

Of course, there is no ideal organizational model. However, well-managed teams can make all the difference in creating the optimal conditions for collectively achieving business goals. According to a Gallup study, organizations that manage to personally involve employees in their missions achieve very good annual results. For example, a 10% improvement in the connection between employees and their organization’s mission or goal leads to an 8.1% decrease in turnover and a 4.4% increase in profitability. And finally, managers themselves want to be better trained to improve their job performance. According to a TalentSoft study, during the pandemic, 44.5% of public sector managers requested training for themselves, and that’s good! Managers, in their role as leaders, set an example and encourage employees to learn, so that they can continue to perform well in the long term, despite the unforeseen events that the future holds.

Voir l'étude de cas