Predictions by Ian Lloyd, Director at Vistage UK.
- Human interaction is back. the link between positive working relationships and increased collaboration and job satisfaction is nothing new. Look at Apple’s new facility and Google Cafés as examples of what’s possible when people stop emailing and start talking. While technology can make us more efficient we believe more companies will put greater emphasis on F2F meetings, phone calls and video conferencing.
- Employee burnout. Employees are working longer hours and the pervasive influence of technology is leading to longer working days and significantly decreased amounts of down-time. A 2017 study by Kronos and Future Workplace blames burnout on up to half of companies’ annual workforce turnover.
- Networks rather than silos. Smart leaders are realising that dividing their organisation into functional areas of expertise (i.e. silos) does nothing to promote team working or strategic thinking. Getting good people together to work cross-functionally requires different thinking and training but the rewards can be massive. This is also reflected in the boardroom with increasing emphasis on developing boards composed of board members with diversity of skills and expertise.
- Personalised Learning. Catering to an individual’s pace, style and goals, and breaking learning down into short, digestible chunks is seen as bringing better results than traditional courses. Millennials are now a massive part of the UK workforce and one of their key motivators is professional and personal development. It’s our belief that mentoring programmes will be in high demand as part of the overall learning package that great companies can offer. And likewise, mentoring at board level and of the executives is an important role of non-executive directors.
