However, the “digital enterprise” cannot survive on technology alone. Innovation does not occur in a vacuum, regardless of just how advanced businesses software (and hardware) is across the greater organization. “Human centricity” should be heralded as a proactive and forward-thinking approach that places not just people in the center of work optimization, but the skillsets inherent within the human workforce.

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Other major films, such as The Matrix Resurrections, Black Widow, and Dune, proved that the pandemic also accelerated specific elements of consumerization, mainly the concept of on-demand and digital access to entertainment. We can all remember, as well, vying for coveted Peapod and Instacart delivery slots in the spring of 2020, which was a critical element of consumerization borne from necessity: the age of social distancing meant that many of us would rather pay a slight premium for doorstep delivery of our normal groceries instead of traversing to stores in a pre-vaccine, pandemic-led world.

The very concept of “consumerization in business” is not a new idea; for the past several years, business professionals have desired the same style and accessibility of tools, technology, and applications both in a working environment and as consumers. There was a speed in which e-commerce ran that, for many years, left enterprise technology woefully behind in terms of operating capacity. The move to the cloud, combined with a digital transformation renaissance, has changed that. Consumerization has firmly entrenched itself into the most critical tenets of the Future of Work movement.

In light of and because of the pandemic’s acceleration implications, business leaders expect the speed of the consumer in how they operate the inner-workings of the enterprise. Talent should be engaged and sourced within hours, not days or weeks. Project visibility needs to be extracted in real-time. Budgets and financial data should be proactively garnered, not requested. There is a “fluidity” that we take for granted as consumers: we buy items on Amazon with just a click, we order pizza for delivery in less than a minute’s time, and we can schedule a taxi ride just as quickly.

The consistent rate of innovation and transformation within the consumer world of technology has been creeping into the business arena; all the pandemic did was firmly push it into the fray. Two items stand out (amongst many) in this discussion, leading businesses to focus on these attributes of how they blend a consumerized culture with evolving technology.

Self-service configuration and the journey behind the UX.

Technology serves many, many purposes for the average business, however, at its entry point, it serves only one: that of the person using it. Automation in the world of the consumer must be fast, self-serving, and have a purpose; if it wasn’t, the average person would not utilize their mobile devices for the vast, vast majority of his or her daily processes (communications, content, commerce, entertainment, social networking, business networking, etc.). And so it must be for the business realm: enterprise technology needs to be applicable and accessible to all of its users while also supporting the “journey” (or purpose) within its overall user experience.

Every user must complete a specific task while leveraging an enterprise system. With this in mind, the consumerized aspects of today’s business technology should herald an overall UX that aligns with that “journey,” enabling professionals to harness the power of innovation at their very fingertips. In the same vein, the ability to mold technology into a more agile offering (something we’re absolutely experiencing in the world of workforce management automation) that is tailored to an individual user’s needs, wants, and preferences is what will help the typical enterprise in 2022 navigate not only the complexities of digital transformation, but truly thrive through innovation.

UX and self-service configuration are inherently linked, of course, with the two attributes of technology continuing to be optimized to benefit the user, the customer, the supplier, the partner, the hiring manager, etc.

Consumerization has, for several years now, danced with the business arena. Today, it’s not a matter of when this concept will shape the Future of Work, but rather, to what extent.

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Digital transformation depends on the evolving talent ecosystem, and businesses must embrace this symbiotic link to truly optimize how work is done.

For the past decade, I’ve defined the Future of Work in both simplistic and more intricate manners; the simple definition is “how enterprises optimize how work gets done through the advancements in talent acquisition, the advent of new technology and innovation, and the transformation of business leadership/business thinking.” The more complex version follows a cascading revolution of reimagining the very elements of work, including talent, diversity, workplace structure, technology and innovation, collaboration, etc.

It’s much more complicated than simply automating facets of the business. And it’s so much more than shooting for the “digital enterprise” goal. We’re at an inflection point when it comes to work, talent, and technology: embrace the linkage between these elements, or, lose the agility and flexibility afforded by the power of this convergence.

Businesses learned a harsh lesson in 2020: those that could not adapt to the major shifts in work optimization were the ones that could not survive months of extreme disruption. While we are now nine months into 2021 (wow…time flies, doesn’t it?), another new year is on the horizon, and businesses must prepare for perhaps the most critical year of their history given the direction of the economy and the labor market. The shift towards “flexibility as the Future of Work” means that enterprises must execute in a more dynamic manner. The companies that thrived and continue to thrive are the organizations that understand and embrace 1) how they want to get work done, 2) the talent and technology needed to get that work done across both the short- and long-term, and 3) the proper balance between human and automation. In addition:

• It’s not just about remote work, but rather the way remote workers collaborate, improve their productivity, and share intelligence. Digitization isn’t just for the office. With upwards of 44% of all workers telecommuting today (according to new Future of Work Exchange research), these critical professionals require the proper tools, technology, and software to be productive and connective with the greater organization. So much of the focus on hybrid work models has been on trust, communication, and productivity, when it should rightfully be on priming these workers for success.
• Businesses must tap into the full ecosystem of talent-led technology, including AI-led candidate assessment, digital staffing, talent marketplaces, etc., to drive a better alignment between work and skillsets. Using one outlet of talent technology won’t cut it moving forward. With so many job openings and “The Great Resignation” hopefully receding as we move into 2022, businesses are nonetheless faced with continued pressure to deepen human capital and future-proof skillsets within their total workforce. The only way to solve this incredible challenge is to invest in reskilling and upskilling, validate skills through AI-fused assessment tools, augment the total workforce by tapping into on-demand talent marketplaces, and developing a long-term digital staffing roadmap that ensures all talent gaps can be addressed from both internal and external channels of expertise.
• And, speaking of skillsets: “talent sustainability” is developed through data science, next-gen analytics, artificial intelligence, and data oceans that provide executives with real-time snapshots of their total talent. Talent sustainability is a keystone of the Future of Work moving further, as businesses require the ability to plug-and-play talent across a hypothetical future whilst maintaining, developing, and retaining the necessary skillsets to thrive. This is only possible through a thorough mix of talent management, skills assessments, next-gen solutions (like AI), and a commitment to harnessing data science to uncover core expertise gaps in both the general workforce and the leadership behind it.
• Digital recruitment depends on automated marketing, seamless referral campaigns, and full linkage of talent acquisition systems. “Digital recruitment” differs from “digital staffing” in that the former relies on more elegance and strategic capabilities rather than an external channel or talent network. As such, businesses must develop a positive and seamless “hiring manager experience” that allows these leaders to build pipelines of talent through automated referral campaigns, digital marketing initiatives that promote the company culture and brand, and full linkage of these efforts into greater talent acquisition strategies (and associated talent engagement, ATS, VMS, etc. platforms).
• Direct sourcing must move from “strategy” to “embedded architecture.” A straightforward notion: move direct sourcing from being a bolted-on workforce management strategy to one that is embedded in the digital architecture of the greater organization. Talent pools should be segmented and available on-demand in enterprise recruitment streams, while talent pipelines should be contributed to and accessed by any hiring manager across the organization for total visibility and proactive planning. Talent nurture should be a natural series of seamless processes that are automatically designed to facilitate open communication with candidates to foster engagement and continually reflect the strength of the enterprise brand.

And, finally, a fundamental shift in the role of digitization: technology should not be the total linchpin to organizational success, but rather a realm of interconnected functionality, data, and intelligence that reinforces true business agility and workforce flexibility. Problem-solving has long been the gateway for businesses to invest in, adopt, and leverage next-generation technology; the Future of Work dictates that businesses execute more forward-thinking strategies in the vein of innovation. The symbiotic link between digitization, talent, and the Future of Work is what will allow business to be more proactive as they build a dynamic infrastructure that is built on elements of new technology platforms, real-time data and intelligence, and an overarching desire to develop a truly agile workplace culture.

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