My mind does wander and whirl around a bit – the least thing can set it going! Carol and I often P about a bit – we are both MBTI Perceivers which when combined with our high Extrovert preferences can make us a nightmare to deal with and we often talk to each other in half sentences. This can be challenging for the rest of the Cullen Scholefield team!
So get to the point do I hear you say? I read an article about Millennials embracing freelance work – a quick definition for Millennials as I so easily get confused by people talking about Generation X and Y too – those who were born in 1983 or later.
An American organisation Elance-oDesk, they purport to be the largest online workplace, published a report in January after contacting more than 1,000 Millennials and 200 hiring managers. 57% of the Millennials believe that the concept of loyalty to an organisation is dead. The report indicates that they are more attracted to freelance work and that 73% believe that they are more adaptable to change. If we think about this burst of energy combined with a balance of experienced older workers things are looking good for 2015 and beyond.
One thing that worries me is that we can see these shifts and changes in the world of work but will we flex to accommodate them? Back in 2013 Deloitte surveyed more than 7,800 Millennials and I just wonder if business leaders and people professionals will fail to harness this energy. I am beginning to think that we have accepted poor people management skills for so long by ducking the issues when they arise and failing to have those difficult conversations.
That got me to thinking about Deloitte’s work on the open talent economy — they describe this as “a collaborative, transparent, technology-enabled, rapid-cycle way of doing business. Supported by an array of megatrends ranging from globalization and mobility to social business and analytics, employers and employees now seek each other out on a playing field that is broader and more level than ever before.” We talked about it last year this will also challenge people professionals and managers as they will need to abandon traditional ways of working.
I started to then think about Cullen Scholefield and about how we as a small organisation constantly evaluate what we are doing to improve – for example when we were London based we were hot desking in the early 1990’s, in 2004 we gained recognition against the Work Life Balance Model from Investors in People, in 2011 we abandoned a formal office for all, apart for our small admin and sales team. We view our contractors as integral members of the team. So our strap line “Ahead of the game in ’86, still ahead now” really is valid!
Do come to our next Circle of Peers event!
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Friday 13th February 2015 at 09:00 – 14:00 Birch Hotel Haywards Heath Sussex
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Tuesday 17th February 2015 at 09:30 – 15:00 Cineworld Haymarket London
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Wednesday 25th February 2015 at 12:00 – 14:30 Sefton Hotel Douglas Isle of Man
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Tuesday 3rd March 2015 at 12:00 – 14:30 Elliot Hotel Gibraltar
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Very interesting … as I write – from the USA – the question I have is … does that missing employee loyalty gene have an impact on customers? My observations across a variety of retail and food outlets at the sharp end … suggest that maybe the case. Maybe it doesn’t matter in online businesses but what if you are a human facing business? Having recently arrived in the USA to live and work for the first time it feels, to me, as though America has lost its touch in the delivery of customer centric service … why? is that because employees are treated as the lowest cost “commodity” hire? Is that why John Lewis do so well, because they have collaborative invested employees in their business? I’m having a fascinating time watching the UK/USA cultural differences!
Great to hear from you Debby – it is an age since we caught up! How long are you planning to be in the USA? I worry about people relying on technology rather than talking, this is where we lose the possibility of exploring and discussing feelings and explaining if we have been misunderstood.
I have worked in companies where the hearts and minds of staff/contractors/consultants are engaged with and fed positive, constructive and challenging information which leads to buy in and ultimate success for all – staff/contractors/consultants/customers/suppliers and company. Lord Sugar style communication skills come out of the ark (sorry Lord Sugar) and permetuate old fashioned motivation by fear and bullying. My mother used to say you catch more bees with honey than with vinegar! We MUST adapt to changes in the world or die – the open minded and flexible will win the day! The more we can learn from experts the better!
I love the honey analogy, in this increasingly technology driven world we must not forget that people are at the heart of it!