Even before the current crisis, changing technologies and new ways of working were disrupting jobs and the skills employees need to do them. In 2017, the McKinsey Global Institute estimated that as many as 375 million workers – or 14 percent of the global workforce – would have to switch occupations or acquire new skills by 2030 because of automation and artificial intelligence. In a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 87 percent of executives said they were experiencing skill gaps in the workforce or expected them within a few years. But less than half of respondents had a clear sense of how to address the problem.

The coronavirus pandemic has made this question more urgent. Workers across industries must figure out how they can adapt to rapidly changing conditions, and companies have to learn how to match those workers to new roles and activities. This dynamic is about more than remote working – or the role of automation and AI. It’s about how leaders can reskill and upskill the workforce to deliver new business models in the post-pandemic era.

Remote working was gaining currency before the crisis, but the pandemic has shown that telecommuting is here to stay. A recent Gartner CFO survey revealed that almost three in four CFOs plan to “shift at least 5 percent of previously on-site employees to permanently remote positions post-COVID-19.” Although many employees “learned by doing” during the first phase of the crisis or received “quick and dirty” training, continued remote working will probably keep posing an upskilling challenge. To meet this challenge, companies should craft a talent strategy that develops employees’ critical digital and cognitive capabilities, their social and emotional skills, and their adaptability and resilience. Now is the time for companies to double down on their learning budgets and commit to reskilling. Developing this muscle will also strengthen companies for future disruptions.

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After Dave Ulrich's masterclass, ReShape Organizations Masterclass Series continues with a session delivered by Angelika Reich, McKinsey Partner in Zürich and Alexandru Filip, McKinsey Managing Partner in Bucharest.

Under the theme Future of Work, this masterclass will be about how to address the future skill challenge and prepare your organizational operating model for the future: identify the skills your business model will require, build employee skills and launch tailored learning journeys to close the skill gap. We will discuss how to test rapidly and iterate, how to have big impact and why is important to protect your learning budgets.

More about the session here, and about Angelika Reich and Alexandru Filip here.

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How do you register? Check out the registration fees and send an email la anca.toma[at]hr-club.ro.