Two Forces Driving Talent Management Trends in South Africa
Talent management trends in South Africa are being shaped by two powerful and competing forces. One is the change in attitudes to work. These evolved quickly during the Covid pandemic and continue to do so in its wake. The Great Resignation may or may not be over. Worldwide, people now see work-life balance as both important and attainable. They are demanding meaningful work in more human-centric workplace environments.
The other force comes from corporate leaders. Their quest is for faster innovation, heightened competitiveness and greater productivity. The CEO clarion call is for smart, efficient technologies and for talented people with more relevant skill sets.
In practice, the goalposts keep shifting. Companies’ skills needs are changing at the pace of business. HR leaders struggle to pinpoint current requirements, let alone predict future ones. Workforce Skills Plans are often outdated before they come off the printer.
Building a Human-Centric and Productive Workplace
Forging a relatable and productive workplace
Talent professionals today must assess the implications of these two opposing forces and deal with the fallout as they collide. What is starting to ease employers’ and employees’ apparently irreconcilable positions is the emergence of a new skills paradigm. In practice, this is a more flexible talent marketplace shaped to drive greater productivity by being more human-centric.
As a result, we are seeing a strong emphasis on improving the employee experience. HR leaders are coordinating wide-ranging initiatives to ensure employees feel enabled, included, coached, mentored and developed. They are also offering meaningful autonomy and flexibility. Getting this right is a catalyst for improved motivation, engagement and inspiration. In turn, this drives productivity, because engaged and inspired people are up to two-and-a-half times as productive as disengaged or simply satisfied employees[1].
Technologies can enable this shift, but a company’s culture sustains it. Today, there is significantly more transparent debate about corporate culture. Diversity, equity and inclusion is on the lips of employees and the minds of stakeholders, as are the company’s purpose and values. Worldwide, ESG reporting has gathered momentum, with particular resonance in Africa given the continent’s history. CHROs are juggling multiple priorities. However, nurturing a strong connection between employees and the organisation is one that cannot be dropped.
The Future of Work: Hybrid, Flexible and Fluid
The journey may not be physically with the company at all. From anywhere, from home or from the office: the WFA, WFH and WFO debate continues. Organisations are still working out whether remote or hybrid models suit their business.
“The working-from-home illusion fades,” read a recent headline in The Economist, referencing research concluding that remote work productivity is lower, in some industries by as much as 19%. On the other hand, in a multinational 2022 ADP Research Institute survey of 32,000 workers, 52% said they would take a pay cut in exchange for more flexibility. The gig economy is built on exactly that kind of independence.
These complexities mean solutions are best designed for company-specific circumstances. The trend direction, however, is clearly towards hybrid work as the model most aligned with a human-centric workplace.
A related trend is the rise of internal talent marketplaces (ITMs). These are now in place at, or on the horizon of, many global enterprise-size businesses. Enabled by internal communication platforms, specified jobs can be offered to and between any employees. Those with capacity can toggle across projects and roles. As a result, ITMs improve internal talent mobility, contribute to a dynamic culture and reveal unexpected reservoirs of talent. The gains are also measurable: Schneider Electric launched its ITM in 2020 and calculated $15 million in productivity and recruitment cost savings in the two years that followed.
A change is also gathering momentum in the C-Suite. For decades, the mounting importance of digital technology has seen CTOs and CIOs take centre stage in the boardroom. Now, talent leaders are being invited to take their seats at the top table. Shareholders and CEOs know that their companies’ strategies are better when informed by the people leading their most important resource.
Talent Management Trends in Africa: Global Outlook, Local Application
As a new global talent marketplace takes shape, all these trends are significant in Africa. Geography is increasingly irrelevant to how and where work gets done. Enabled by technology, companies based on the continent now have access to a global talent pool. Equally, best practice learnings from other parts of the world present an opportunity to fast-track digitally transformed talent management across Africa.
Worldwide, organisations in all industries are working to future-proof themselves by fusing talent and technology. Africa is perhaps behind the global curve. However, HR leaders can themselves contribute meaningfully to the catch-up.
Africa's Demographic Dividend: Why the Opportunity Is Real
If Africa’s talent leaders act on this, the continent can deliver on its potential demographic dividend. That means accelerated economic growth driven by a high proportion of working-age, productive people.
Digital Transformation Is a People Strategy, Not a Technology Strategy
Digital transformation is frequently misinterpreted. It is imagined as a technology sea-change: more data and machines, faster computing and new levels of automation on the path to ubiquitous AI. However, these digital facets should not be seen in isolation. Improved information and systems enable innovative ideas, deeper collaboration and better strategies. But the motivated creativity and the continuous quest for improvement: this is the actual transformation aspect. As George Westerman, author of Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation, writes: “When it comes to digital transformation, digital is not the answer; transformation is.” Gearing people for positive change is fundamentally about people.
For this reason, high-performing organisations seek to fuse talent and technology on the path to digital maturity. This requires CHROs, CTOs and CIOs working together to blend the digital revolution with the ingenuity of their people. A genuine HR-IT digital handshake is overdue. When it happens, it will release significant potential and create real value for South African organisations.
References
[1] See Engaging Your Employees Is Good, but Don’t Stop There, Harvard Business Review, December 2015. The article references research by Bain & Company and The Economist Intelligence Unit.
[2]Â The Future of Jobs Report 2023, World Economic Forum, May 2023. The report is based on a survey of senior leaders in 803 companies in 26 industry clusters across 46 economies.
To explore how LRMG can help your organisation navigate the talent management trends reshaping South Africa and Africa, contact Riyan Silochan through our contact page.
