The Future Workforce

ChapmanCG recently brought together an expert group of Talent, Learning & OD Leaders for a lively roundtable session in Singapore around the topic of ‘The Future Workforce’. Thought-provoking presentations and discussions followed on how we can develop and prepare multi-generational employees, across sectors, in #industry4.0.

We’d like to especially thank  Cameron Hedrick, Chief Learning Officer, and Aditi Mahadevan, APAC Head of Talent, Learning, D&I at Citi, for kindly hosting ChapmanCG’s HR leaders networking session, as well as Padmashree Santosh, Associate Director Human Resources -Talent Development APAC at Merck Group and LiChow Tang, Head, Talent Management for Asia at Molex for also sharing how their organisations are developing the future workforce.

Industry 4.0 Drivers

Cameron (Citi) opened the session with a fascinating overview of industry 4.0 drivers and the workforce implications, including the loss of jobs due to robotics and automation. He spoke about Citi’s journey over the last few years to reinvent workplace learning and how it is one of the few competitive advantages left to companies. Citi is developing future compatible colleagues by investing in their digital learning experience through adaptive learning experience platforms (LEP/LXPs) such as Decreed and Edcast. Comparable to Netflix or Spotify, these cloud-based platforms use AI to predict what you like and can recommend subsequent targeted content based on your preferences and past activity. This offers more flexibility than a traditional LMS, being uniquely personalised and interactive and is available on an app, linking to social media. Retention rates are far higher as information is continuously reinforced and progress is tracked, encouraging lifelong learning.

Consumer Driven Learning

Padmashree (Merck Group) next shared how they too are making learning more consumer driven. They use data analytics to capture employees career aspirations which is the starting point in managing and driving employee’s own development. The capabilities and requirements associated with each role have been made more transparent to facilitate more informed and engaging conversations on development between employees and their Managers. They put increased focus on the quality of Individual Development Plans and created a simple mobile app for gathering feedback. They decided not to make this feedback accessible to Managers so there is a sense of safety in receiving it. Pallavi Srinastava shared that at IBM they have a similar feedback app and they used AI to build in a tone analyser to coach and direct managers on whether their words would be perceived as threatening or inspiring.

Actively Encouraging Feedback

LiChow (Molex) shared that feedback is actively encouraged and management is strategically driving a self-actualised corporate culture. With their focus on employees’ sense of purpose, fulfilment and belonging, they recently updated their guiding principles, which form who they are as an organization, to include Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs concept of Self-Actualization. Part of this includes a commitment to the upskilling of employees on the firm’s business model, culture and professional skills and reskilling others on new technologies to retain talent. As this occurs and employees reach their highest potential, they become more agile, better able to deal with reality, face the unknown, creatively solve problems and help others to succeed.

In Summary

The key take-away for HR professionals and employers was the importance of developing self-actualized, lifelong learners who will harness the compatible skills, capabilities, and attributes required in the future. This is the key to future-proofing collaboration with AI. Inspiring examples were shared of some progressive employers leading the way in the adoption of sophisticated Learning Experience and Adaptive Learning Platforms, customized for each individual’s learning journey and finding new ways to encourage feedback sharing (listen to this ChapmanCG podcast on ‘building internal capabilities’ here) . We’re excited to continue being at the centre of the dynamic changes that are taking place, in preparing the HR leaders of tomorrow.

As Yulia Pellegrin, at McCann commented, “challenges in organisations remain notably human, and talent development as profession becomes increasingly complex. We have to constantly educate ourselves, think two steps ahead.”

What participants had to say about our HR leaders session:

“ChapmanCG always manage to attract a high calibre group and facilitators to discuss interesting and relevant topics. The focus on learning as we think about our future was particularly helpful and thought provoking. Keep up the great work”
Rick Suneson, Director of Talent and Organizational Development – Asia Pacific at Ecolab

 “It is always a great learning experience when a diverse group of people from diverse companies come together. I enjoy both the similarities I hear in our challenges and the differences; the similarities make me feel reassured and the differences really get me thinking!”
Joanna Maneckji, Global Lead, Learning Consulting & Design at Philips University, Philips

“What I learned about the Adaptive Learning and Verified Skills Taxonomy initiatives at Citi was mind-blowing. Thanks, Cameron! Also surprised that IBM had already employed AI to coach managers in giving feedback.”
LiChow Tang, Head, Talent Management for Asia at Molex

“I must recognise ChapmanCG’s superpower to connect professionals who inspire forward-thinking. The round table was a meaningful opportunity to experience the diversity of perspectives and thought-provoking ideas related to ‘The Future Workforce’”. 
Maria Giovanna Vianello, Group Organizational Development Leader, Novartis

“It was a great session with lots of valuable takeaways and learnings besides the opportunity to network with peers in the Learning and Talent space!”
Krishna Bedi, Head of People Development, APAC at IHS Markit

“Speakers were great, their talks about ‘The Future Workforce’ were very informative and provided valuable insights. Challenges in organisations remain notably human, and talent development as profession becomes increasingly complex. We have to constantly educate ourselves, think two steps ahead, and forums like this it’s a great way to learn and get inspired.”
Yulia Pellegrin, Regional Talent, OD and Diversity Director – APAC at McCann Worldgroup

 “I found the sharing session very insightful and took away a few interesting concepts which I have not thought of before.  Thank you to the speakers.”
Roy Chan, Director, Organisation Development & Performance Management at Surbana Jurong Group

“I gained valuable insights on the digital future of learning and met old and new friends through the networking opportunity.” Kumar KS, Head Of Capability Development, Asia & Pacific, Leadership Academy at BP

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