How Might Ecosystems And Their Services Change In The Future?

New research from MIT Sloan Direction Review and Deloitte indicates that workforce ecosystems can help leaders manage a distributed, various group that crosses organizational boundaries.

A vast bulk—87%—of global managers consider employees and other, nonemployee workers who create value for the enterprise to exist part of their workforce, according to "Workforce Ecosystems: A New Strategic Approach to the Future of Piece of work," a recently released report on the futurity of the workforce by MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte.¹ While the idea of organizations relying on a diverseness of contributors—including contractors, service providers, gig workers, marketplace sellers, and fifty-fifty bots—to get work washed isn't new, several meaning shifts are driving growth in these ecosystems, among them the changing nature of work, worker preferences, and the ways organizations are using technology to appoint with and manage extended workforces.

The search for an integrated approach to strategically managing a diverse group of internal and external contributors has led many frontward-thinking executives to adopt a workforce ecosystems arroyo, the report finds. This new, more than holistic view of workforce management provides executives with new perspectives and flips a perennial strategic question. Instead of asking, "How can my workforce support my strategy?" leaders tin can ask, "What strategies become possible with my workforce ecosystem?"

Agreement Workforce Ecosystems

Given these benefits, workforce ecosystem participation is increasing. The report finds 54% of survey respondents identify significant value on gaining ideas and skills from contributors who do not piece of work for their system, while 33% will rely more than on external participants, such as gig workers, in the adjacent 18 to 24 months.

In line with this ecosystem mindset, organizations are demanding new skills and increasing the use of online platforms to access talent. Ninety-one percent of respondents say that upcoming changes to their organization'south business strategy require them to improve access to new capabilities, skill sets, and competencies. Fifty-two percent, meanwhile, expect to use online platforms to access external talent in the next 18 months.

"When the workforce changes from being primarily employee-centric to encompassing a diverse customs that crosses an organization'southward boundaries, core talent processes must evolve."

Managing the Workforce Ecosystem

Today, most workforce-related practices, systems, and processes focus only on total- and part-time employees, not external workers and other contributors. Consequently, while many organizations are significantly adjusting their definition of the workforce, they often lack a cohesive arroyo to managing it. According to the report, just 28% feel they are sufficiently preparing to manage a workforce that will rely more on external participants.

Workforce ecosystems can help organizations move from a traditional employee life wheel model to a more holistic approach. When the workforce changes from being primarily employee-centric to encompassing a various community that crosses an organization'south boundaries, core talent processes must evolve. Near of these processes have been in place for generations and were designed to back up a traditional employee life cycle. Moving to a workforce ecosystem approach calls for a shift in practices, including adjustments to underlying philosophies, systems, and processes.

To address potential roadblocks, management practices within this approach should be reconsidered across several areas:

Workforce planning could transition from taking a narrow view of employee roles to adopting a definition that includes both internal and external human and digital contributors.
Talent acquisition could change from a decentralized HR function to an integrated, multifunctional process that spans Hr, procurement, Information technology, and other teams.
Operation management may move away from almanac reviews to become meliorate aligned with ongoing organizational needs.
Learning and evolution efforts should back up strategic skills and competencies.
Organizational structures could change to conform all aspects of the workforce past shifting toward more than team- and network-based approaches.

Earlier implementing a workforce ecosystem as a structured approach, leaders should keep in heed the post-obit challenges:

Strong internally focused organizational cultures, resistance to modify, and organizational silo behavior tin stifle workforce ecosystems.
Labor-related legal and regulatory issues worldwide nowadays complex hurdles.
Quality, brand, and intellectual property questions may arise, such as "Who has the right to use created holding and nether what conditions?"
Pay inequities and parity within and across organizational boundaries may cause social justice issues.

*****

Effectively managing a workforce that includes internal and external players in a style that is both aligned with an organization'southward strategy and consistent with its values is a critical business organisation necessity. Nonetheless, legacy management practices often remain centered on increasingly outdated views of the workforce. Executives tin either continue to manage employees, external workers, and others through different, often parallel, systems, or they can develop a new, more holistic arroyo that spans organizational boundaries and different types of workers and provides promising opportunities to harness their full potential.

To learn more, visit the full report, "Workforce Ecosystems: A New Strategic Approach to the Future of Piece of work."

—past Elizabeth J. Altman, assistant professor of management, Manning Schoolhouse of Business concern, UMass Lowell; David Kiron, editorial managing director, MIT Sloan Management Review; Jeff Schwartz and Robin Jones, principals, Deloitte Consulting LLP; and Diana Kearns-Manolatos, senior manager, Deloitte Middle for Integrated Research

Endnote

1. The global survey includes insights from 5,118 professionals and leaders across 138 countries and 29 industries, plus 27 executive interviews, to understand how they approach strategic workforce management problems.

PUBLISHED ON: June viii, 2021 three:00 pm ET

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