Christopher J. Dwyer, Author at The Future of Work Exchange

The “Why” We Work is Just as Important as the “How”

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/23/2023

Over the past several years, and especially since early 2020, there has been an incredible focus on the many, many facets of how enterprises address how work is done from various perspectives: workplace, workforce, operations, finance, etc. After all, it made (and still makes) sense: in the midst of the frightening early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the very aspects that supported how work was done needed to be reimagined in the wake of lockdowns, quarantines, and social distancing. And while the emergency phase of the pandemic is over, these transformations are still required to truly optimize the many ways work can be done.

As time passed, however, something incredibly interesting brewed below this layer of pandemic-specific responses: the so-called “Great Resignation” quickly became an outlet for workers and professionals to prove that the workforce needed the power, control, and better conditions to perform productively and effectively.

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Web 3.0 Is Here to Disrupt the Way We Work

Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/18/2023

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.

The Factors Shaping the Future of the “Future of Work”

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/17/2023

The phrase “Future of Work” can be confounding. It’s become an oft-leveraged, relied-upon, and catch-all phrase to describe the ideal future state of how work is addressed and accomplished. Here at the Future of Work Exchange, our definition revolves around the tenets of the talent revolution, the impact of next-generation technology and innovation, and the complete transformation of business leadership and business thinking to evolve alongside the human factors within the contemporary enterprise.

When the Future of Work is discussed, it is imperative to remember that external market pressures and global indicators are what influences the way workers work and the way businesses operate. And, that could not be more apropos than right now in 2023.

The Economic Factor

Call it a “soft recession” or a “light downturn,” but no matter what, there will be some economic challenges ahead for the global marketplace. That in and of itself will impact how businesses optimize their workforce and their workplace; in fact, Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research finds that nearly 75% of enterprises believe that anxiety over recession fears is actively impacting the workplace.

Inflation and global economic uncertainty translates into shaky financial ground for both people and professionals. Cost-of-living factors shape the way workers think about their current roles, while specific industries will face the burden of layoffs and shrinking headcount in the months ahead. With this, a giant question remains: will it mean that “power” shifts back to the employer after two-plus years of historic “Great Resignation” quits?

No matter the outcome, this much is clear: there are dozens of scenarios that could result, including:

Leaders having new leverage to force workers to return to the office.
Great Resignation-era professionals rethinking their choices.
A greater utilization of external talent and contingent labor, and;
Business leaders pumping resources, time, and energy into retaining talent.

That last point is especially critical, as the candidate experience is a foundational element of the Future of Work in 2023, as no matter how many cost-cutting processes are in place to balance a recession, these leaders must still double-down on the workplace, workforce, and culture improvements they implemented over the past two years.

The Education Factor

On the surface, there may not seem to be a link between today’s youth, lasting COVID implications, and the workforce of the future, however, the changes in how regions invest in education has a butterfly-like effect on future skills gaps.

In the past, organizations such as the American Action Forum estimated that there could be nearly $1.2 trillion in lost economic output as a result of gaps and shortfalls in education across the country…and this was before COVID. Quarantines and lockdowns were a necessary measure to combat the spread of the nefarious virus in its first year; the remote learning/school that was forced to happen as a result was devastating for children and adolescents who experienced a dearth of consistent schooling well into 2021.

If over a trillion dollars could be lost in economic measures before this all happened, then losses directly related to COVID (regarding skills gaps) is easily double or triple that number when all is said and done. Early-age learning is a foundational element of how humans progress throughout their lives, and, the bumps experienced during the pandemic will certainly show later this decade (and into the 2030s) when workers are dealing with new challenges and issues in a world yet unknown.

The Future of Work impact here: will 2020 and 2021’s inconsistent schooling result in a global skills shortfall in a future age when new, digital, and advanced expertise is required?

The Environmental Factor

Although recent news that the earth’s ozone layer may recover to its natural state sometime in the 2040s globally, there is still incredible concern over human-led damage to the environment and its impact on climate change.

This has resulted in a renewed focus on “green energy” that is sustaining and healthier for the planet. To achieve this goal and eschew carbon emissions and traditional energy sources, however, there will be a great need for new and advanced skillsets well into the future. According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, 12.7 million people now work in the global renewable energy sector.

In this insightful piece from the World Economic Forum, this number could blossom to over 38 million within the next seven years. An additional 25 million or so jobs created within this evolving sector would mean that innovative positions that require new skillsets would be developed. Considering the exciting developments in the wind power, liquid biofuel, solar photovoltaic, and hydropower industries, this translates into fresh crop of roles that may not even exist today.

New jobs require new talent that can drive new technology. A blend of brand new skillsets will be needed, as well as the best talent that already maintain strong digital and personal skills. As governments around the globe invest more resources into renewable and sustainable energy, it will determine how this global industry opens new possibilities for the Future of Work movement.

Is It Time to Reintroduce Ourselves to Total Talent Management?

Contingent Workforce HR Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/16/2023

For the past decade, the very concept of total talent management has been akin to the Bigfoot or Loch Ness Monster of the business arena: a mythical idea that has only seen slivers of reality across global organizations. Sure, we’ve seen dribbles of total talent programs in some enterprises, as well as specific elements of these initiatives (i.e., total talent acquisition, total talent intelligence, etc.) offered by some of the industry’s more progressive workforce management solutions.

However, on the whole, total talent management itself has still not yet experienced its true arrival as we all would have anticipated. Back in 2011, I wrote perhaps the industry’s first full research study on total talent management, which found that there was extreme desire for such a program; the caveat, however, was that the tools weren’t quite there yet…and neither were the foundational elements required to make such a program successful.

So, here were are in 2023, with a toxic workplace environment (due to so-called “quiet quitting” and “quiet firing”), a volatile labor market, and a Great Resettling that represents a continued revolution of talent. There may or may not be a recession swirling around us like a dooming specter. And, above all else, enterprises realize that they require the right talent at the right time at the right cost to get work done in an efficient and optimal way.

Dare I say that we should reintroduce ourselves to the idea of total talent management? Should we truly flip this concept from theory into reality? Here a few reasons why:

The technology is finally there to support TTM. A decade ago, the phrase “extended workforce” didn’t exist…nor did the proper technology to make total talent management a reality. Contingent workforce management (CWM) was just beginning its ascent to true strategic imperative, while less than a quarter of the total workforce was considered “non-employee.” Today, the story has evolved: extended workforce systems are innovative offshoots of Vendor Management System (VMS) platforms that can easily integrate with the core human capital systems (ATS, HRIS, etc.) for true visibility, management, and oversight of both contingent and FTE labor. Point-of-entry automation for new requisitions and talent requests can access various forms of talent, including the ever-important talent communities developed by direct sourcing solutions. And, most importantly, today’s workforce management technology can easily help businesses understand their total workforce, an attribute which allows them to pinpoint the best-aligned talent (be it contingent or an FTE already on staff) for a given project or role.
Functional collaboration today is a must-have capability. Unlike in years past, it is much more common for businesses to experience core cross-functional coordination; procurement and finance tackle their problems together, for instance, for the sake of the bottom-line. HR, talent acquisition, and procurement have all experienced challenges and pressures over the past two-and-a-half years, each unit emerging from the acute pandemic phase stronger than ever before. As such, the idea of collaborative strategies is much easier to maintain in today’s business environment: in the quest for survival during those scary days of 2020, enterprise functions learned that they needed each other to thrive. And, today, these three distinct groups now understand that, in a world where talent is an incredible competitive differentiator, they must work together to bridge the gaps between extended workforce management and traditional hiring. By combining efficiencies and blending strengths, the triumvirate of HR, procurement, and talent acquisition can form a formidable backbone of total talent management.
Aspects such as purpose, flexibility, and empathy boost the importance of the candidate experience, with the notion of “engagement” playing a critical role in total talent acquisition. No longer does a great hourly rate set the tone for freelancers, contractors, and other types of non-employee talent when choosing their next destination. Workplace culture (and leadership style) are more crucial now than ever for hiring managers to hook new talent; as such, the idea behind total talent acquisition (a key phase within TTM that involves a centralized, standardized set of guidelines and processes for engaging and sourcing all types of talent) becomes one of engagement, as well. True total talent management programs harness the power of employee engagement and candidate experience tools and tactics to ensure a steady approach towards talent acquisition for both contingent and FTE talent populations.
The need for business agility, combined with the volatility of the labor market, translates into the perfect gateway for total talent management. Simply put: total talent management is needed today, now more than ever. Businesses must execute lightning-fast talent decisions to thrive in an uncertain economy; the “total talent intelligence” enabled by total talent management programs and associated platforms allow hiring managers and other leaders to understand 1) the current makeup of talent across the organization, 2) the best-fit resources (whether it’s someone in house, a current contractor, etc.) for a new project or role, and 3) provide a dynamic entryway into a truly agile workforce.

Total talent management has been an oft-maligned strategy that has bordered on the hypothetical for over a decade. However, the platforms available today and the transformation of work and talent, combined with the need for such a program, positions total talent management as an innovative strategy for the months and years ahead.

The Continued Rise of the Extended Workforce

Contingent Workforce Talent Talent Acquisition by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/16/2023

During The Great Recession of 2008-2009*, businesses faced a harsh reality: do more with less…or else face a reckoning. Tens of thousands of enterprises were forced to lay off swaths of their staff in the wake of rough financial times, with so many others undertaking additional cost-cutting measures beyond slashing their total headcount.

Many incredibly talented professionals found themselves out of a job, and many once-thriving organizations found themselves without the same level of expertise they once maintained. However, unlike recessions of past, an interesting event occurred: a bounce-happened quick enough that those very businesses required talent to meet a rising demand for their products and services. And, those professionals who were cut from their positions became open to flexible work and new working arrangements.

Enter the “perfect storm” that signaled a revolution.

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A Time for Workforce Management Innovation

Direct Sourcing Solution Providers Talent Acquisition Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/10/2023

Humans are what drive the Future of Work today. What it all comes down to, in essence, is that a business relies on its people to get work done, to survive, and to thrive. The workforce has undergone some seismic shifts over the past several years, from the rise of the extended workforce to non-employee talent becoming a source of real enterprise agility.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research has discovered that 82% of businesses leveraged more contingent workers and sources of external talent in 2022 than in 2021, a powerful statistic that represents the relative power of the extended workforce, its overall value, and its impact on enterprise operations.

Considering that the specter of an economic recession lingers, as well as Year Four of the Pandemic That Will Not End, this means that now, more than ever before, businesses will require Best-in-Class strategies and solutions for engaging the best-fit, best-aligned talent, and, of course, managing it in a frictionless way.

What this means, of course, is that the workforce solutions market is what will set the tone for enterprises as they reimagine their outlook for 2023 and ensure that talent-fueled agility is the foundation for success in the year ahead.

The great news, though, is that this technology industry is abound with innovation. Heavyweight platforms like Beeline bring cutting-edge workforce management functionality and a talent-centric focus that will assist enterprises in achieving true total workforce management, while solutions such as Magnit seamlessly connect top-tier direct sourcing, services procurement, DE&I, total talent intelligence, and VMS technology under a frictionless platform approach. SAP Fieldglass continues to innovate around its idyllic blend of VMS, services procurement, and candidate management functionality, all of which are built on a foundation of high-powered analytics and intelligence offerings. Prosperix brings a truly unique “VMS network” vision to life through its next-generation solution, and VNDLY (a Workday company) converges procurement-centric solutions with the HR bliss of the Workday suite of technology. Coupa Software’s contingent workforce tool is an exemplary confluence of VMS technology, business spend management automation, and real-time talent visibility.

Technologies like Opptly are redefining talent acquisition via artificial intelligence-fueled functionality and dynamic candidate matching tools. LiveHire represents the convergence of deep direct sourcing, ATS, and CRM technology and real total talent management solutions. WorkLLama is a strong reflection of “Direct Sourcing 2.0,” in which robust, end-to-end workforce management technology catalyzes progressive candidate-focused functionality. HireGenics brings the power of enterprise brand management, “MSP 4.0” innovation, and diversity-led solutions to the direct sourcing arena. Worksuite (formerly Shortlist) continues to provide enterprises with an all-in-one, flexible platform that combines the power of VMS, digital staffing, and services procurement. HireArt’s unique approach converges workforce management functionality with forward-thinking talent curation, direct sourcing, and compliance management tools.

The realm of digital staffing is also actively contributing to the workforce innovation arena. Upwork, a giant in the talent marketplace solutions landscape, offers wide-scoping workforce management technology that is built on perhaps the world’s largest talent community. Toptal continues to revolutionize what “workforce agility” means to the modern business by enabling development of fully-scalable teams of top-tier, remote talent. The Mom Project’s continued evolution reflects their commitment to diverse talent acquisition, streamlined talent engagement operations, and Best-in-Class enterprise technology. Talmix leverages global talent intelligence and next-level automation to revamp the talent acquisition process.

Catalant‘s Expert Marketplace is more than a digital staffing solution, offering 80,000+ experts and freelancers in an enterprise platform that facilitates project-scoping, team management, payments, and compliance and risk management. GR8 People‘s innovative “Everyone Platform” is a stout, end-to-end tool that encompasses the best of recruitment technology, direct sourcing, ATS, and CRM that enables total talent management and a revolutionary candidate experience.

Artificial intelligence and next-level analytics are now front-and-center in the world of workforce management technology. HiredScore is an AI-fueled platform with “talent orchestration” technology that is perfectly-aligned with the evolving world of work’s need for real-time talent intelligence. Glider.ai continues to revolutionize candidate intelligence through assessment, interviewing, and engagement innovation.

With talent as the very nexus of the contemporary enterprise in 2023 and a linchpin to true business and workforce agility, organizations have access to the dynamic solutions that can transform talent acquisition, reimagine talent engagement, and spark next-generation workforce management.

The Power of Digital Workspaces in 2023

Business Leadership Technology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/09/2023

Digital workspaces are increasingly becoming powerful additions to the realm of remote and hybrid work. In the simplest of terms, these digital spaces allow employees to work remotely or from anywhere with an internet connection, rather than being tied to a specific physical location.

In recent years, the adoption of digital workspaces has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many companies to adopt remote work policies. However, even before the pandemic, the trend towards digital workspaces was already on the rise, driven by factors such as the increasing availability of advanced communication and collaboration technologies, the rising costs of real estate, and the desire for greater flexibility and work-life balance.

Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research in 2023 finds that nearly 80% of businesses across the globe experienced a greater number of remote and hybrid workers in 2022, a stat that represents something deeper about this type of work model: it’s now permanent, no matter how many executives believe they can ignore the spectrum of flexibility that has become synonymous with post-pandemic working.

The adoption of digital workspaces has not been without its challenges, however. One of the biggest challenges has been the need to adapt to new technologies and ways of working, especially as many executive leaders continue to push for return-to-office initiatives. For many workers, the transition to remote work has required a significant learning curve, as they have had to figure out how to stay connected and collaborate with their colleagues without the benefit of face-to-face interactions.

Another challenge has been the need to balance the demands of work with the demands of home life, as many people have had to set up makeshift offices in their homes. This can be especially difficult for those with children or other family responsibilities, who may struggle to find the time and space to focus on their work. Thus, the elements of work-life integration will continue to be a critical issue for enterprises that enable a flexible working environment for their talent.

Despite these issues, there are many benefits to digital workspaces. One of the most obvious advantages is the ability to work from anywhere, which can be especially appealing to people who live in high-cost cities like New York, Chicago, Boston, etc. Digital workspaces also offer greater flexibility and autonomy, as employees are not tied to a specific schedule or location. This can lead to increased productivity and job satisfaction (two factors that play vital roles in talent retention efforts), as employees are able to customize their work environments to fit their needs and preferences.

And, with innovation at play, digital workspaces can offer so much more than a flexible, automated, and collaborative environment for remote and hybrid employees. As seen with Vista Equity Partners and Evergreen Coast Capital’s acquisition of digital workspace leader Citrix last year, the convergence of virtual desktop technology and advanced, real-time intelligence (as well as other forms of automation) can provide business users with an additional layer of value. The Citrix deal proved that (with TIBCO (a Vista portfolio company)), digital workspaces can be seamlessly integrated with various applications and data across the enterprise technology infrastructure of the contemporary enterprise…meaning that businesses have the ability to shift a true office environment onto a remote infrastructure without losing control over intellectual property and data whilst giving flexible workers the same strength of access to enterprise systems that they would have in the office.

Overall, it is clear that digital workspaces are here to stay. As more and more companies adopt remote work policies, it is important for employees and employers to find ways to adapt to this new way of working. This may require a rethinking of traditional work practices and the use of new technologies, but the benefits of digital workspaces – including greater flexibility, cost savings, and, with a push from next generation automation, frictionless integration of applications and intelligence – prove that their power is critical for success in 2023.

Remote Work, Flexibility, and Trust

Business Leadership by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/09/2023

Stop me if you’ve heard this idea before: a grizzled executive decides that remote work was just a fad and it’s time for all workers to return to the office. He or she believes that the pandemic was an anomaly and any changes associated with corporate operations because the crisis was meant to stay within the confines of this short, confusing, and challenging era.

These are the CEOs and executive leaders that made news throughout 2021 and 2022 by saying, collectively, “It’s time to go back (to the office).” These are the leaders, many of whom control very large and household brands, that still believe that most, if not all, necessary collaboration between workers must happen within the physical presence of an office.

It seems that James Gorman, CEO of financial giant Morgan Stanley, fits squarely into this bucket. “They don’t get to choose their compensation, they don’t get to choose their promotion, they don’t get to choose to stay home five days a week,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg while in Davos. “I want them with other employees at least three or four days.”

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Revisiting the Blueprint for Direct Sourcing Success

Direct Sourcing by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/04/2023

Over the past few years, direct sourcing has emerged as perhaps the hottest talent-led strategy in the world of both talent acquisition and contingent workforce management. In pre-pandemic times, businesses understood that expanding their talent engagement efforts on building internal talent communities (via enterprise-led “agencies” that eschewed middle entities like staffing suppliers) was a powerful way to infuse new skillsets into the greater organization. During the pandemic, direct sourcing served as a robust means of keeping candidates engaged during uncertain times and augmenting workforce scalability. Today, direct sourcing represents the very future of talent acquisition.

With an ever-increasing number of talent channels, including digital staffing marketplaces, traditional staffing vendors, professional services, talent networks, and social media platforms, the ability to match project requirements with available skillsets has never been easier. However, it has also never been more competitive or difficult. Businesses that harness the power of direct sourcing and talent pools have the ability to develop an agile workforce which can be the key differentiator needed to advance and grow in a marketplace that rewards dynamic, talent-led responses to new business pressures and challenges…especially what could be ahead as 2023 unfolds.

With so many organizations yet to undertake this journey, it is imperative to revisit these guidelines for direct sourcing success:

A deep understanding of total enterprise skillsets is required. No matter the industry, each organization is comprised of a collection of skillsets that, in aggregate, contribute to how work is done. Direct sourcing programs thrive on “skillset intelligence;” without it, initiatives lose their flair. If hiring managers understand which skillsets are in abundance or in high demand and which will be needed in the near future, building initial talent attraction strategies will be much more effective.
Integrated procurement, HR, and talent acquisition competencies are necessary for early-stage direct sourcing. The capabilities of these three units are required for a direct sourcing program to succeed: 1) procurement’s influence will drive hard cost savings through talent channel optimization, 2) HR’s impact will guide hiring managers and stakeholders to engage the strongest candidates, and 3) talent acquisition will drive the strategic vision for how to source talent based upon current and expected needs.
Focus on both brand and experience. The employer brand can be powerful in today’s labor market; many candidates want to ensure that they work for organizations that share their cultural and societal values. Also, the omnipresent notion of the “candidate experience” should guide direct sourcing processes such that job recruits experience a positive journey no matter if they are merely sitting in a talent pool or actively engaged for an open position or project.
Segmentation is more valuable than it initially seems. Segmenting talent pools may seem like a basic strategy; however, it can pay incredible dividends. Talent pool segmentation, be it via geography, compensation, skill, remote or in-person, certification, etc., allows hiring managers to quickly focus in on the talent required for a highly-complex project or initiative. Taking the time during the front-end of the direct sourcing process to segment talent pools can be hugely impactful to the overall program.
In direct sourcing, selecting and utilizing the right solutions is job one. The inherent power of today’s contingent workforce, human capital, and digital staffing solutions provides enterprises with the ability to automate crucial aspects of talent pool development and integrate these sources into the business’ broader talent acquisition processes. MSP solutions, VMS technology, and direct sourcing platforms all contribute to create a human- and technology-led direct sourcing program, helping to launch the initiative and ensure that all hiring managers have the ability to quickly access available talent pools.

Why “The Human Factor” Should Be the Top Future of Work Focus for 2023

Business Leadership Talent by Christopher J. Dwyer on 01/03/2023

The concept of “humanity in the workplace” is not entirely new. While there are plenty of leaders that merely view their workforce as numbers and faceless drivers of productivity, there are also many leaders that prioritize the physical and mental wellbeing of their talent. So, what sets aside 2023 as an outlier for focusing on these attributes more so than in months past?

As the COVID-19 pandemic expanded and ultimately disrupted billions of lives, many workers used this time as an opportunity for personal introspection, reevaluating their goals in life and at work (and their career journeys to date). Workers newly entrusted within their organizations also felt empowered to take ownership of their careers. Many discovered renewed passions for social causes, a need for work-life integration, and career journeys that defined their sense of self. Those pursuits began playing out at the end of 2021 — referred to as “The Great Resignation” — and continued throughout most of 2022. The millions of workers who left their jobs during this period sent a message to their employers that a new set of workplace criteria was being considered. Issues like empathy, diversity, equity, inclusion, and other business culture considerations were identified as critical needs of the new-normal enterprise. Suddenly the need for a strategy to develop, communicate, and realize corporate values became an important way to retain current talent and attract new workers.

This sets the stage for 2023 as a critical year for “the human factor,” as businesses now have to contend with managing through economic uncertainty, an increasingly-tightening labor market, and a delicate balance between hanging onto pandemic-era reliance on remote and hybrid workplace models and desiring workers to return to in-person collaboration. Simply put: leading with a human edge might be the only way for enterprises to truly enhance talent retention while improving the ways they get work done in a challenging business environment.

Throughout the past 18 or so months, many business leaders were anxious to call their workforce back to the office out of fear of waning productivity and a loss of visibility and control over their teams. What they discovered, however, was a sense of empowerment that had been missing from the ranks of professionals for far too long; while compensation and benefits will always, always be critical factors in selecting (or staying at) a job, aspects such as flexibility, better working conditions, transparency into career journeys, etc. became top-of-mind and non-negotiable attributes of their roles. While we know this as “The Great Resignation,” this was, in fact, a true “talent revolution” that signaled a new era of work and labor.

Throw all of these concepts into a blender marked “2023” and what we get is a workplace environment that requires so much more than just appreciation and empathy. Leadership in the year ahead does not just need to implement more humanity, it requires it to truly be effective in what would be (yet another) watershed year for the business arena.

While not all industries fear the specter of a recession, there are many workers are shifting their mindsets from “revolution” to “survival,” a sharp turn from the months past when, on average, over four million professionals voluntarily resigned from their positions for a 16-month period. This type of thinking can wreak havoc on already-stressed professionals who are facing burnout and wellness issues, leaving leaders with only one option: infuse humanity into core leaderships strategies in order to develop a stable workplace that is supportive of its talent.

“The human factor” has been oft-discussed since the pandemic began. Many of us faced personal reawakening in the face of mortality and sickness, watching as the world faced a public health crisis unlike anything we had experienced before. People reevaluated their lives and the role of their careers as part of their identities, meaning that there was much more at stake than just “work.” Workers desired purpose, craved flexibility, and wanted an overall sense of alignment between their human personas and workplace characters. This translated into the need for business leaders to be more human in their management approaches.

Which, of course, leads us to a new year and new vision. Upcoming Ardent Partners and Future of Work Exchange research found that nearly 70% of businesses see worker burnout as a core challenge, in addition to another 74% who perceive recession risks as a driver for worker anxiety. This all means that leaders have to strike a balance between managing costs and driving productivity and ensuring that they emotionally support their talent in a more deliberate and meaningful way. Empathy-infused management, flexible workplace options, more appreciation, and enhancing worker wellness and wellbeing (especially mental health) are all critical attributes in this regard.

However, there is one overarching strategy that leaders can adopt to ensure that their workforce is engaged, productive, rested, and stable in 2023: place humanity in the center of all business strategies. By doing so, enterprises will create a workplace environment in which talent feels trusted and valued. In the wake of uncertainty, this is the most powerful approach of all.