Jobs of the future

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A couple of weeks ago, I referenced Cognizant's 21 HR Jobs of the Future report, which is the latest in their 'Future Jobs' series. This week, I wanted to share some of its' more interesting insights with you and to highlight a role that I expect we'll see more of over the next few years. 

This version of their report, of course, was heavily influenced by Covid-19 and the effects it's had on businesses and employees alike. It's fascinating, less because the exact job titles will necessarily become a reality and more because it highlights trends that already existed before this year and which, as I've written repeatedly, have accelerated over the past few months. 

In particular, it focuses on the increasing role of data, the convergence of new technologies in the workplace, and the heightened focus on the impact of wellbeing on employees performance.

"As a human-machine teaming manager, you will identify tasks, processes, systems and experiences that can be upgraded by newly available technologies and imagine new approaches, skills, interactions and constructs."

The authors rightly allude to how a fundamental understanding of pairing automation and machine learning with uniquely human skills will be a critical determinant of a future-proofing an organisation - this won't solely be a question for human resources, of course.

Likewise, 'Chief Purpose Planner.' I'm as likely as anyone to bang the drum for establishing one's purpose - individually and as a business. However, again this sits well and truly with leadership, although if you had to narrow it down, perhaps culture.

Last week I explained how culture has emerged as an ever more critical aspect of an organisation's value over the past few months; acting as the glue to bind a geographically disparate group of people together.

Along the same lines, I like the sentiment behind a 'Uni4Life Coordinator' (encouraging an ongoing programme of learning) and a 'Second Act Coach' (acknowledging people will work for longer and will need assistance into the different transitions this will inevitably bring).

In the case of 'Director of Wellbeing', 'Head of Behaviour', on the other hand, I can undoubtedly see these roles emerging, if they haven't already.

Director of Wellbeing:

"The vision of the role is a holistic one, with an increasing emphasis on weaving mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well- being into the fabric and culture of the organization. "

Head of Behavior:

"We're looking for an ambitious and inspiring individual to establish
our organization as a frontrunner in behavioral data usage while maintaining the trust, satisfaction and motivation of our workforce."

And from a data and technology perspective, I can imagine the existence of a 'Human Network Analyst' that leverages the abundance of analytics across the organisation.

"Understanding the wirearchy means uncovering the "natural network" – how people really come together across the business to get the job done...The human network analyst uses artificial intelligence and data analytics to visualize and analyze human working relationships."

Finally, while thought-provoking, many of the jobs conceived in the report could easily fall under the umbrella of an existing role (although admittedly not one which is currently widespread). 

As I've mentioned previously, I'm currently interviewing business leaders to discover how they have responded to the Covid-19 crisis and to discuss the likely impact on future work-life design. Based on the evidence of the past few months, I predict we will see an increase in demand for Chief Culture Officers (CCO) over the next five years. 

Based on a quick LinkedIn search I made yesterday, I'd estimate that fewer than 20 people in the UK and around 1000 globally have the title CCO. 

Although the role is currently often teamed with 'People' - again, putting it firmly into the HR bracket - I see it much broader in scope, working best as a focal point of a company's purpose and vision, and aligning this with strategy. 

In large organisations, the CCO acts as the voice of the C-Suite to the broader team, while for micro-businesses, the founder embodies the role. 

Those in-between may look to a Virtual CCO - in the manner of the C-Lancers I discussed in FWL5 - bringing their specialism to lead the evolution in the future of work across multiple organisations. 

Cheers,

Ollie