The way people find jobs and companies recruit is just about to change forever. Many believe that the main reason for this change is the economy.

In fact the economic downturn was just a warm up for an even bigger challenge we will all face in the world of work from here on in.

The onslaught of technological and social change!

The need to cut carbon emissions, find oil and manage the speed of technological advancement and social change is not new to any of us, but it is now urgent for all and very soon it will take its toll on our world of work. Suddenly, every single thing we do needs to be done quicker, expend less energy and resource and cost significantly less money.

Are employers, recruiters or for that matter individuals ready for the change?

Well let’s take a look. The speed of change has gone from 6 MPH a few hundred years ago to being able to communicate and therefore change, instantaneously in 2009. We are all ‘real-time’ operators, irrespective of where we are on the planet.

Stuff of Star Wars only two decades ago!

As real time operators we have no time to think or plan. Our only plan is to change......and change; to react; to out-create and out-do our competitors as rapidly as we can.

So how will organisations work in the future?

The organisation of the future will be geographically, functionally and culturally diverse. There will be no talented individuals sitting around waiting on the bench. Why? Because organisations will not be able to afford that luxury.

In fact the potent ingredients of the capabilities of technology, the changing face of globalisation in light of the reduction in oil and other energy sources and demography fused together will not only changed the face of how business operates generally, it will also change the way recruitment is done.

When oil runs low and costs more, moving cheap goods around the planet may no longer be an option, nor will jumping on planes for a meeting or even a cheap holiday for that matter. Technological advancement does however make the whole world a ‘sweet shop’ of diverse talent that is very accessible and competitive. Many jobs, individuals and even whole organisations can and will become virtual.

The virtual organisation of the future will mean that, in comparison to today there will be very few ‘permanent’ jobs as we know it. Individuals, teams departments, units and even whole organisations will be created for specific challenges.

A talented workforce will fulfil the project or challenge and simply move on if there is not another one on the horizon. Permanency will be a distant memory and the relationship between employer and employee will be transformed to one of partnership and collaboration. Employee behaviour will be transformed from compliance to commitment and to a state of high self esteem that their predecessors didn’t enjoy (always an upside!).

So, is it all doom and gloom?

As with everything, there are pro and cons! Unpredictability and uncertainty also means opportunity for millions of people around the world. There is suddenly an opportunity to add value and capitalise on their individual talents; demolishing educational or cultural boundaries that have existed for centuries.

So we have created a global talent machine that competes on a much more equal footing than it has in the past?

I believe so! However, operating in new ways means that old processes no longer serve us well. In order to compete in this global talent machine the onus will have to be on the individual to get ready-to-employ and ready-to-go. There will be no time for a lengthy recruitment processes: everybody will develop and manage their own portfolio with everything in it required to ‘speed market’ themselves as an individual ‘asset’. Video CVs, assessments, validation documents, references and commendations, certificates and of course a CV, basically, whatever it takes to market themselves effectively and quickly!

The recruitment process will take hours not weeks or months!


Posted by Fi Haywood at 19:41
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