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Elevate Your Future of Work Processes with Blockchain

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceDirect SourcingTechnology and InnovationUncategorized by John Yuva on

One of blockchain’s chief benefits is the ability to authenticate and protect information. With today’s decentralized workforces, there is a variety of information possibly at risk, including payroll, insurance, health, and personnel data. Similarly, HR and enterprise recruiters want assurance that potential job candidates and their résumés are authentic and accurate. Blockchain technology has the potential to provide the necessary verification and protection of such sensitive workplace data.

Here are three Future of Work areas where blockchain technology could provide critical verifications and safeguards, particularly for the contingent and gig workforce — from the recruitment to the contracting and payment process.

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The Role of Blockchain in Candidates’ Digital Identities

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsHRTechnology and Innovation by John Yuva on

A more digital Future of Work environment also means an increase in data volume. Information about potential job candidates collected through direct sourcing efforts, as well as more process digitization puts an abundance of sensitive data at HR’s and business leaders’ fingertips. Concurrently, cybersecurity risks continue to grow as threat actors attempt to thwart individuals’ and corporate efforts to defend against them. Enter blockchain, a technology that holds the potential for capturing and securing sensitive personal and workforce data.

What Is Blockchain?

At its core, Synopsis defines blockchain as “a decentralized, distributed, and public digital ledger that is used to record transactions across many computers so that the record cannot be altered retroactively without the alteration of all subsequent blocks and the consensus of the network.” For each ordered record (i.e., transaction) a block with a timestamp and transaction data is created and linked to subsequent blocks forming a blockchain. Whether it’s financial records, supply chain transactions, or personal information, blockchain guarantees a record of integrity and trust for all parties — without requiring a third party for verification.

Blockchain is most associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to secure a record of transactions. However, it is gaining more attention in industries outside of banking, including pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defense, and food and beverage, with several companies piloting blockchain technology for track-and-trace initiatives. For example, in the food supply chain, a supplier is unable to alter transaction data such as batch numbers, ensuring the ability to appropriately track and trace specific food shipments in the event of a recall.

The technology is now making its way into the HR function. This week, we’ll look at blockchain from the individual level (digital identity), followed by part two, exploring areas where HR can leverage blockchain to benefit the enterprise.

Defining Our Digital Identity

Our digital footprint includes basic information such as name, address, nationality, and social security number, as well as data related to our banking activities, professional history, and online interactions and behaviors. Much of this information resides on websites and is accessible with a username and password. Unfortunately, security breaches can threaten our information and digital identities — with implications affecting HR and employment databases.

Blockchain and Digital Identity Control

Blockchain is capable of revolutionizing what it means to have a digital identity through digital identity management and a decentralized identifier (DID). Digital identity management solutions can help provide greater control over our own digital identities and who has access to them.

Digital identity management. According to 101 Blockchains, the following are advantages of using blockchain for digital identity management:

  • Blockchain features the elements of maintaining data in an immutable and encrypted manner. Thus, it ensures that the digital identity is secure and easily traceable.
  • The efficiency of blockchain encryption alongside the facility of digital signatures ensures effective “Privacy and Design.”
  • Maintain records of every identity throughout all the nodes across the network and thus make it trustworthy.
  • Maintain the communication metadata in a distributed ledger, and consensus mechanisms help in verifying data authenticity across multiple nodes which improves trust.
  • Set clear roles for identity issuers, identity owners, and identity verifiers by simplifying the processes associated with each stakeholder.

Decentralized identifier. Coupled with digital identity management, a DID provides a holistic approach to digital identity protection through blockchain. Georgia Weston, a prolific subject matter expert in the blockchain space, says the DID is an important concept within digital blockchain solutions.

“It is actually a pseudo-anonymous identifier for a specific object, person, or company, and a private key secures the DID. Individuals who own the private key can prove ownership or control over a specific identity. One person could have multiple DIDs, which can restrict the extent of tracking throughout multiple activities in everyday life.

“…Decentralized identifiers also feature a collection of attestations or verifiable credentials which verify the specific traits of the DID. Generally, the issuers of the verifiable credentials sign the credentials cryptographically. Owners of DIDs could store the credentials on their own without depending on a single service provider.”

DIDs and digital identity management can be critical pieces for maintaining and verifying information about one’s educational background and professional history. Enterprise recruiters and HR can verify and authenticate a person’s identity — but with consent while ensuring their privacy and data control.

Pam Baker, a technology subject matter expert, shared insights and results of a blockchain report by the American Productivity and Quality Center in an article for Tech Target, describing the potential for personal blockchains and the workplace. “Employers would need permission to access and add to an individual’s private blockchain. Employees could provide access keys to employers and then rescind the keys when they leave the organization to maintain control over their personal records.

“Blockchain HR technology used in this way would effectively function as ‘value passports’ that employees could take anywhere and continue to build throughout their careers, according to the report’s authors.”

Future of Work and Mainstream Digital Identification

Blockchain is an evolving technology that requires cooperation and adoption by several entities before it becomes a mainstream solution. Governments, industry, vendors, and users themselves must agree on the foundation and potential regulations for how to leverage digital identifiers. It is a complex but important discussion due to the growth of data through Industry 4.0 and other technologies.

The possibility of having a university issue a college degree or an enterprise award a training certificate via a digital certificate on a personal blockchain is not far-reaching. It represents the purest and most authentic form of our personal and professional histories.

Enterprise recruiters and HR will have confidence that the candidates they select (using blockchain technology to verify and authenticate) truly possess the experience and skills for the position. Digital identity could become the preferred method for applying through a job portal or engaging with a recruiter.

In part two, we’ll explore blockchain from an HR and enterprise perspective. There are several use cases to consider in such areas as contract management, payroll, and recruitment.

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Could NFTs Signal Another Future of Work Pathway for Blockchain?

TalentTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The first time I learned about nonfungible tokens (NFTs) occurred while perusing Twitter last summer. Seeing that Topps, perhaps the most-revered name in collectable trading cards, was going “full blockchain” a little over a year ago sparked an interesting dive down a rabbit hole of blockchain, the evolution of e-commerce, and, perhaps, yet another link to the Future of Work movement. Will blockchain finally take its rightful place within the pantheon of Future of Work-era innovation, or will it be limited to the crypto-fueled world of NFTs?

NFTs, Explained…Quickly

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) are, in essence, a digital record that confers ownership of a specific asset. This record does not bestow “rights” but rather ownership of the asset, details of which are permanently recorded in a public database.

The NFT is stored in a shared global database that runs on, yes, you guessed it…blockchain!

Decentralization is the Future of Work Key

The biggest claim to fame (besides cryptocurrency, of course) for blockchain’s impact within the greater world of business was always its decentralized means of permanently recording information and data in an unalterable way. Back in 2016, which now seems like forever ago (thank you, pandemic!), I wrote about blockchain’s near-limitless potential in transforming how business was done. Innovation, of course, is the pumping heart of the Future of Work movement; blockchain, then, represented a way for businesses to not only transform the way they record information (such as contracts, IP, SOWs, and impactful data), but could also help to streamline the human touchpoints inherent in finance, accounting, payment management, and contract management to permanently eliminate errors and inconsistencies. In the continuing crossover between personal and business worlds, “digital wallets” or “e-wallets” leverage blockchain as a storage device for funds, gift cards, personal information, and more, furthering the growth and impact of blockchain technology.

Even with a pandemic raging across the globe, blockchain still had moves to make in 2020. “Decentralized finance” was a big hit for the blockchain movement as more and more consumers and business leaders alike bought into peer-to-peer transactions that eschewed traditional measures (such as banks and standard payment outlets), and, digital wallets became a trusted means for consumers that wanted to shun cash as a safer payment option while shopping.

“Decentralized commerce,” also known as dCommerce or DeFi, has a simple goal in mind that traverses beyond decentralized banking or finance: untether commerce from monopolistic giants in retail and other major markets. Blockchain-driven dCommerce networks, such as the Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX), which specializes in the creation and sales of NFTs and similar assets, in addition to the already-proven advantages of digital wallets, could be harbingers of the future of blockchain in other business realms…even in how talent is engaged in the years to come.

“Open Talent,” Frictionless Talent Acquisition, and the Next Great Era of Workforce Management

The concept of digital wallets could point to how talent is engaged and sourced in the very near future. John Healy, Vice President at the World Employment Confederation, believes that this technological progression could very well be the Future of Work movement’s most crucial pathway into connecting people with projects and work.

“Digital wallets are emerging as an essential asset to our personal privacy and safety, and as governments recognize the need to leverage such a tool as a way to have trusted access to verify vaccinations, the next question they are asking is, “What else should be in that digital wallet?” Healy said. “Information regarding your identity, eligibility to work, your education, employment history, certifications and licenses, any assessments, awards or achievements…all part of the solutions that are actively being deployed using blockchain technology. 100%, this is part of how we will reduce friction in the ways that people connect with work – speeding up the time from application to paycheck, and interview to productivity, while also helping improve wellness for individuals and communities.”

If NFTs are the hot tech attribute du jour and bring more attention to digital wallets and the decentralization of commerce and finance through the advent of blockchain, we could certainly soon live in a world that untethers traditional talent networks and places more emphasis on the unalterable permanent scale of information enabled by blockchain. The freeform sharing of ideas, projects, information, intelligence, and yes, even talent, could lead to a relatively frictionless “open talent movement” as a Future of Work undercurrent.

Vaccine records (a topic worth digging deeper into), portfolios of work, certifications, education, and assessments are all critical measures of the true impact and alignment of talent with work and business projects. As decentralization and blockchain continue to transform the world of work, as non-traditional/non-employee talent continues to grow in both size and prominence, and as business leaders continue to rely on talent clouds and talent communities for agile workforce needs, it’s not too difficult to think of an environment in which a peer-to-peer, frictionless, and “open” culture permeates into the next great era of workforce management.

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Web 3.0 Is Here to Disrupt the Way We Work

Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The next generation of digital technology is here. Web 3.0 is on the horizon and it’s poised to have a significant Future of Work impact due to its revolutionary nature. Web 3.0 is defined as the integration of blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and augmented reality, with the convergence of these advanced digital solutions presenting an innovative transformation for the modern business.

The advent of Web 3.0 is not just a natural evolution of the internet at scale, but rather a calling for a new era of decentralization, automation, and intelligence exchange.

A crucial impact area of Web 3.0 is workforce decentralization. By integrating blockchain, professionals will have more control over their personal data, profiles, and accolades, and thus, will be able to monetize their skillsets via decentralized platforms linked by blockchain technology. By being more empowered and autonomous, the non-employee workforce will be enabled with more control, as well as new and more opportunities, for freelance, contract, and gig-based work and positions.

This autonomous, digitally-enabled decentralization would, in essence, catalyze a boundaryless and frictionless stream of work opportunities matching with available talent and expertise…a true Future of Work disruptor that would transform the way we think about recruitment, hiring, and talent acquisition.

Another impact of Web 3.0 on the Future of Work is the automation of tactical and repetitive tasks. With the integration of AI, robotics and other automated systems will be able to perform menial and repetitive activity, freeing up human workers to focus on more creative and strategic work, a boon for efficiency and productivity.

The promise of Web 3.0 also revolves around the idea of transformative data exchange, with IoT concepts driving seamless sharing of critical data between enterprise devices, platforms, and systems. In a remote-work-driven business arena, this is a crucial element in enabling workers, no matter where they may be, to drive decision-making by leveraging real-time enterprise data. Too, this quashes much of the concern of the distributed workforce: giving on-demand, enterprise-grade access to data via Web 3.0 technology convergence means that workers will always be robustly interconnected to their peers, colleagues, and leaders no matter the workplace model.

There are some concerns that these technological advancements may negatively impact the global workforce, displacing some jobs and roles (and even creating income disparity). It will be incumbent on enterprises and government entities to invest the time and resources for reskilling and upskilling initiatives that would ensure that workers are prepared for a new digital age with the proper and aligned skillsets to adapt.

The future of the Future of Work is based on many factors (as we detailed recently). Web 3.0 and its digital experience will prove to be a major disruptor for the world of work and talent.

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The Elements That Will Shape the Skills-Based Organization

TalentTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Here’s a phrase that’ll be mentioned many times throughout 2023: the skills-based organization will be the one that thrives during what could be an uneven and uncertain year ahead. Skills is akin to currency in today’s volatile market in such a way that it seemingly creates a have/have not business society. Those with top-tier skills will flourish, and, those who don’t, well…

The latest United States jobs report was rosy from a certain perspective (adding 517,000 jobs in January alone), one that reflects not only the lowest unemployment figures in nearly 55 years, but also an awkward juxtaposition of the discussions around an economic downturn and the continued fight against inflation.

For all the talk about a blooming-yet-complicated job market, there’s another side to this positive news. Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that 73% of businesses currently face a critical challenge in the months ahead: a lack of candidates with the required skillsets for open positions. This is yet another representation of why the skills-based organization (SBO) is a true opportunity to, essentially, reimagine the ways they think about talent acquisition and the role of talent in getting work done.

The most progressive way of thinking here is to apply agility-led principles to the realm of talent acquisition and talent engagement by 1) harnessing the power of artificial intelligence and machine learning to revamp the candidate-matching process, 2) expanding “known” skills taxonomy in an automated manner to account for innovative and future roles, 3) developing a central, on-demand database of skillsets across talent communities (talent pools, talent networks, current employees, etc.), and, 4) leveraging a multi-dimensional nexus of skillsets and expertise from which to address new and evolving requirements based on the trajectory of the greater organization.

The foundational elements of the skills-based organization revolve around the concepts of rethinking the parallels between talent and work; thus, the very future of the skills-based organization depends on forward-thinking strategies, ideas, and, of course technology. Here are the crucial elements that will shape the SBO in the months ahead:

  • Digital credentialing will emerge as a powerful disruptor in the skills validation market. Even in the technologically-advanced days in which we live, validating skillsets and expertise is largely a manual game. Talent acquisition execs and hiring managers (as well as other core HR leaders) must review portfolios, speak to references, confirm education and backgrounds, etc. to ensure that a candidate holds the proper skillsets for the role in which it is applying. Digital credentialing platforms remove nearly all of the guesswork and the tactical elements of skills validation and provide a veritable gateway into verified skillsets, strengths, certifications, etc. that candidates can maintain throughout the duration of their career. Solutions like Credly, Sertifier, Accredible, and Certifier are revolutionizing both the candidate-facing and hiring-led aspects of digital credentialing.
  • Blockchain realizes its potential and becomes a gateway for talent. Across the business spectrum, blockchain has so many potential paths: augmenting data warehousing, tightening legal and financial intelligence, and, yes, reinventing the ways enterprises find and connect with talent. In a hyper-competitive and globalized talent marketplace, the power of blockchain truly shines through; by defragmenting traditional barriers to talent acquisition, blockchain-fueled candidate networks enable hiring managers (and similar leaders) with the ability, in real-time, to view candidate profiles, validate expertise, and confirm career data and portfolios. Candidates own their information, and, subsequently, their career pathways, an important factor in today’s labor market from the worker perspective. The speed in which blockchain presents a match and a connection can dwarf that of traditional hiring. Platforms like the non-profit Velocity Network and innovative solution Braintrust are helping businesses reboot their talent strategies.
  • AI moves firmly into the talent acquisition arena. Artificial intelligence has become, particularly over the past several years, a formidable means of visualizing workforce data through dynamic analytics. Predictive analytics and scenario-building capabilities within workforce management suites and VMS platforms have changed the way HR, procurement, and talent acquisition leaders access total talent intelligence and supercharge their talent-decision making with that data. However, 2023 is the year of AI in talent acquisition; it is imperative that businesses drive real workforce scalability and boost their skills-oriented approach by leveraging artificial intelligence to better validate candidate profiles, enhance skillset-to-job matching, and improve the overall hiring process. Talent acquisition is entering a new, AI-charged era in part because of the advanced technology that can seamlessly streamline the ways businesses not only engage candidates, but also the ways they catalyze the skills-matching experience. Platforms like Opptly represent this exciting new generation of technology, along with solutions like Phenom, Gem, and Gloat, as well as Magnit and both its ENGAGE Talent tool and total talent intelligence offering. Too, solutions such as Glider.ai (robust skills verification and candidate assessment), Fuel50 (recalibrating workforce intelligence), and HiredScore (next-generation, proactive talent-fueled AI) will also disrupt the concept of AI in talent acquisition.

One other factor that could play a pivotal role in the evolution of the skills-based organization is direct sourcing and its impact on digital recruitment, an arena that is founded on the ability to better match open positions with top-tier skillsets. Today’s direct sourcing platforms are a key cog in developing a skills-oriented approach towards talent acquisition, with solutions such as WorkLLama, whose AI-fueled recruitment tools revolutionize candidate collaboration and boost talent acquisition strategies, and LiveHire, whose end-to-end recruitment and direct sourcing technology facilitates a dynamic and holistic approach towards total talent management,

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The Recession-Ready Enterprise

Business LeadershipContingent WorkforceDirect SourcingGeneral InsightsTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by John Yuva on

There has been great debate in recent months about a recession. Are we already in a recession? If a recession occurs, will it be light or something more impactful? Or will the economy be resilient and avoid a recession entirely? Enterprises in technology and media industries are already reacting to recession fears by laying off tens of thousands of workers. As we move through the first quarter of 2023, how could a recession impact the extended workforce?

Business As Usual

There’s no doubt we’re experiencing challenging economic times. However, businesses must continue with mission-critical projects and initiatives that often require specialized expertise. The skills gap remains inherent in many enterprises, leading to continued demand for contingent workers. And as the Future of Work Exchange research indicates, 47.5% of the enterprise workforce is comprised of extended workers. That figure cannot be ignored, especially during times of economic distress.

Digitization Evolution and Workforce Mercenaries

Despite the recessionary climate, there is an enterprise evolution occurring: digitization. Whether it’s talent acquisition platforms, accounts payable solutions, or larger enterprise resource planning systems, businesses are transforming from tactical (manual) to strategic (digital) strategies across the operational landscape. And with digitization comes the extended workforce.

As more enterprises pursue digitization, mission-critical hyper-specific skillsets and expertise are not only preferred but required. Transforming into the digital era means companies are implementing new technologies that leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and other Industry 4.0 automation. Enterprise integration of these technologies requires specific skill sets and competencies that are often outside the capabilities of existing permanent employees.

Hiring full-time employees for digitization projects and initiatives does not make fiscal sense (particularly during a recession) unless the role is a data analyst or scientist critical to interpreting daily analytical outputs. Otherwise, contingent workers specializing in digital transformation integration and implementation are the ideal choices — aligning contractual agreements with workforce budgets. Hyper-skilled talent is the future for enterprises expanding their product and service offerings through automation.

Supply chain and procurement are fields that employ hyper-skilled talent. Enterprises will hire a chief procurement officer to transform the procurement department through digitization and eliminate manual processes. A timeline may last two years, but once the project is complete, the individual seeks out other organizations with transformation as a critical initiative. These types of workforce mercenaries are much more abundant today than a decade ago. Their sole purpose is the execution of strategically detailed operational initiatives to elevate the enterprise competitively before taking on a new assignment elsewhere.

Sourcing such talent is already available to many organizations through workforce platforms and processes.

The Recession-Ready Enterprise

Direct sourcing and talent marketplaces are now table stakes for enterprise competitiveness. The use of these channels is necessary to source extended workers and hyper-skilled talent with current, specialized competencies. Recent Future of Work Exchange research found that 82% of businesses utilized more extended talent in 2022 than in 2021. During a recession, organizations can specify specific hours for extended workers who are already accustomed to flexible schedules or defined project timelines.

The workforce mercenary is likely to find an abundance of opportunities in a recession with 73% of businesses planning to divert external talent to mission-critical type initiatives and projects over the next six months. This is a clear sign that organizations are taking a more proactive stance against a possible recession than in the past. It appears quite possible that talent acquisition strategies will also shift during a recessionary period as the extended workforce closes critical skill gaps.

Enterprises with the ability to scale their extended workforce before, during, and after a recession are best positioned to weather an economic downturn. Seek workforce mercenaries for those transformational initiatives, while leveraging external talent for skills gap challenges. It’s a critical balance, but one that separates the modern enterprise from those still operating at a tactical level.

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Calling All HR, Talent Acquisition, and Procurement Execs (and Chief People Officers!)

Business LeadershipGeneral Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The Future of Work is here and now. Business leaders aim to optimize the way they engage and source talent, manage their workforce, and ultimately address how work is done. Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange are currently conducting a new research study that will fuel our 2023 research calendar and arm today’s HR, procurement, and talent acquisition executives with Best-in-Class strategies for:

  • Managing DE&I initiatives and their impact on talent acquisition.
  • Implementing new and innovative technology, such as artificial intelligence and blockchain.
  • Addressing progressive leadership transformation, such as conscious leadership and empathy-led management strategies.
  • Optimizing extended workforce management and contingent workforce management, and;
  • Leveraging the best capabilities and solutions for recession-proofing the business (and its workforce) in 2023.

Click here to participate in the new research study, which should take about 15 minutes of your time. All survey participants will receive complimentary access to the Future of Work Exchange’s entire 2023 research calendar, including new research studies on total talent management, direct sourcing, DE&I, and more.

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Web 3.0 Is Here to Disrupt the Way We Work

Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

The next generation of digital technology is here. Web 3.0 is on the horizon and it’s poised to have a significant Future of Work impact due to its revolutionary nature. Web 3.0 is defined as the integration of blockchain technology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, the Internet of Things (IoT), and augmented reality, with the convergence of these advanced digital solutions presenting an innovative transformation for the modern business.

The advent of Web 3.0 is not just a natural evolution of the internet at scale, but rather a calling for a new era of decentralization, automation, and intelligence exchange.

A crucial impact area of Web 3.0 is workforce decentralization. By integrating blockchain, professionals will have more control over their personal data, profiles, and accolades, and thus, will be able to monetize their skillsets via decentralized platforms linked by blockchain technology. By being more empowered and autonomous, the non-employee workforce will be enabled with more control, as well as new and more opportunities, for freelance, contract, and gig-based work and positions.

This autonomous, digitally-enabled decentralization would, in essence, catalyze a boundaryless and frictionless stream of work opportunities matching with available talent and expertise…a true Future of Work disruptor that would transform the way we think about recruitment, hiring, and talent acquisition.

Another impact of Web 3.0 on the Future of Work is the automation of tactical and repetitive tasks. With the integration of AI, robotics and other automated systems will be able to perform menial and repetitive activity, freeing up human workers to focus on more creative and strategic work, a boon for efficiency and productivity.

The promise of Web 3.0 also revolves around the idea of transformative data exchange, with IoT concepts driving seamless sharing of critical data between enterprise devices, platforms, and systems. In a remote-work-driven business arena, this is a crucial element in enabling workers, no matter where they may be, to drive decision-making by leveraging real-time enterprise data. Too, this quashes much of the concern of the distributed workforce: giving on-demand, enterprise-grade access to data via Web 3.0 technology convergence means that workers will always be robustly interconnected to their peers, colleagues, and leaders no matter the workplace model.

There are some concerns that these technological advancements may negatively impact the global workforce, displacing some jobs and roles (and even creating income disparity). It will be incumbent on enterprises and government entities to invest the time and resources for reskilling and upskilling initiatives that would ensure that workers are prepared for a new digital age with the proper and aligned skillsets to adapt.

The future of the Future of Work is based on many factors (as we detailed yesterday). Web 3.0 and its digital experience will prove to be a major disruptor for the world of work and talent.

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BEST OF 2022: Flexibility Is a Catalyst for the Next Great Iteration of the Workplace

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on

[The Future of Work Exchange will be back next week with all-new content and insights to kick off the new year. Until then, enjoy our “Best Of” series that revisits some of our most-read articles from 2022.]

There’s enough discussion around the technological components of the Future of Work movement: artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, digital staffing, etc. While “innovation” in and of itself is one of the three major foundational legs of the Future of Work (the other two being “the evolution of talent” and “the transformation of business thinking”), there’s so much more to the very notion of work optimization than just automation and new technology.

As we’ve learned over the past two-plus years, the workplace itself has become a living, breathing entity that has the power to determine the overall productivity of a business, and, more importantly, how emotionally tethered the workforce is to the greater organization. For the record, it’s not just a matter if or when a business offers remote or hybrid work options, but rather how deeply rooted flexibility truly is within all facets of how work is done and how the workforce is ultimately managed.

Now would be the best time to bring up the annoying factor in every business-related conversation: “The Great Resignation” continues unabated, sparked by a veritable “Talent Revolution” that has restructured the way workers perceive their jobs, roles, and career paths. The very concept of flexibility is not just a “perk” for talent; it’s become a determining factor in whether or not a professional chooses to remain with an enterprise or search for greener pastures.

From here, flexibility is catalyst for the next great iteration of the workplace. There are undeniable roots from the larger idea of flexibility, including empathy-led leadership (more flexibility in how leaders lead), leveraging new models to get work done (distributed teams, new functional collaboration, etc.), more humanity within the fabric of the workplace, and, of course, more malleability in where workers work (remote work, hybrid workplace, etc.).

And, when we bring up this idea of “flexibility,” it doesn’t just translate into specific aspects of the workplace, but rather all of them. That’s right: the next iteration of the workplace centers on how work is done rather than on archaic principles of control and authority, including:

  • Promoting an inclusive workplace that welcomes and values all voices, no matter their differences, disabilities, etc.
  • Relying on empathy-led and conscious leadership that takes into account worker emotions and perceptions.
  • Offering various outlets of paid leave (maternity, paternity, wellness, etc.).
  • Embracing flexible work models, including fresh takes on shift-based work, four-day work-weeks, collaborative-led schedules, etc.
  • Supporting remote and hybrid work options (including offering proper hardware, software, leadership support, etc.).
  • Augmenting these remote and hybrid models with digital workspaces.
  • Measuring both employee engagement and productivity, and;
  • Detailing flexible work options within new job requisitions (to attract talent).
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Contribute to the Most Definitive Future of Work Research in the Industry

Business LeadershipDirect SourcingDiversity and InclusionHRTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange are excited to announce the launch of its annual Future of Work research survey. This comprehensive, online survey will fuel the Exchange’s research calendar for 2023 and aims to tackle progressive topics, such as:

  • The impact of innovation and new technology on work optimization, particularly the applications of artificial intelligence, blockchain, machine learning, chatbots, and digital wallets on the realm of talent engagement and talent acquisition.
  • The growth of the extended workforce and how businesses can harness the power of the contingent workforce to thrive during challenging times. (Ardent Partners and FOWX plan to publish several exciting new reports on Best-in-Class contingent workforce/extended workforce management programs, including deep-dive insights into the required capabilities, competencies, and strategies for maximizing the value of this talent.)
  • The evolution of talent acquisition, including how businesses can revolutionize the candidate experience while also enhancing the hiring manager experience through new technology, omni-channel talent engagement strategies, and advanced total talent intelligence.
  • How remote and hybrid work models will impact business operations and the total workforce in 2023.
  • The reality of total talent management and how organizations are getting closer to successfully implementing these programs.
  • The transformation of business leadership, including how today’s executives are weaving in conscious leadership styles, empathy-led directives, and enhanced worker appreciation into their greater management strategies.
  • How direct sourcing programs will evolve in the year ahead to include “Direct Sourcing 2.0” capabilities, such as digital recruitment, deeper marketing input, reflection of workplace culture and company brand, chatbots and AI, and more, and;
  • The necessary competencies that must be included in all diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) programs in 2023 and beyond.

Click here to participate in the new Future of Work Exchange research survey. If you are an executive leader that works in the HR, procurement, finance, talent acquisition, or IT function of your organization, or if you’re a Chief People Officer, this survey has been designed to capture your specific experiences in addressing how work and talent are managed at your enterprise. As a thank you for participating in this crucial research effort, all research study participants will receive access to all of the Future of Work Exchange’s market research studies in 2023.

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