Quentin Clark is a managing director at General Catalyst, leading enterprise investments in next-generation products and solutions.
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Today’s employees have a bigger seat at the table, a stronger voice than ever before and an unprecedented ability to create their own unique career paths. The modern enterprise has an incredible opportunity to embrace this new level of agency and close the gap between firm productivity and employee fulfillment.
Let’s unpack what it takes to get there.
Rethink outdated processes for modern work.
From the Industrial Revolution through the 21st century, new waves of labor, consumerism and employment boomed, but workforce agency remained limited. A select handful of innovators and industries set a finite number of jobs for everyone else to slot into (like a giant Pachinko machine).
Looking back, the lack of workforce agency makes sense. Work was so closely tied to location (textiles in the South, motor parts in Detroit, banking on Wall Street, tech in Silicon Valley), limiting the number of viable job opportunities to reasonable travel distance. At the same time, the kind of work being done lent itself to a rigid organizational design. Consider a factory floor: It’s impossible to operate without hierarchy and structure because the work itself is linear. But that linear thinking has persisted far too long.
Now we’re in an era of digitization. The nature of what is being manufactured is different, and so is the nature of our work. If you look at software, retail or computer science, the work no longer requires a linear production process. It’s no longer practical to orient your work around the process; you have to orient the process around your work.
Embrace a skills-centric talent model.
The modern employee has more say and sway than ever and the power to work any job, anywhere. To avoid losing out on critical talent, companies must abandon the linear, ladder-rung trajectory. I believe it is outdated and doesn’t work anymore.
Focus instead on helping employees gain new skills, pursue multi-phase careers and work in a way that is compatible with their home life. It is a win-win: Your company gets a happier and more productive employee, and the employee gets more fulfillment from their work. Remember, people are the core of every business; they support your partners, grow and satisfy your customer base and drive all outcomes for your stakeholders.
Today’s talent pool is full of energized, empowered and highly capable people. Explore new ways to attract and develop their skills, both in and out of your organization. More than 70 million workers in the U.S. are STARs (skilled through alternative routes outside of four-year degrees) with suitable skill sets to do more highly valued or paid work. Unfortunately, 41 million are still trapped in low-wage, immobile work. At a time when most work can be done anywhere by talent around the world, finding a way to reach and prepare this talent to be successful will be critical to an enduring talent strategy.
The modern workforce is louder than ever. Companies must listen.
For the first time in a generation, workers are sharing their opinions loudly. They are fueled by a tighter labor market, more ownership via retail equity trading, a general shift to embrace activism and unprecedented access to information and influence via social media.
Companies need to participate in the conversation, which starts with committing to making real progress on representation, equity and inclusion. The incoming generation of the workforce is full of young professionals who are enthusiastic about voting on these issues, not just raising them. That’s why a simple statement doesn’t cut it these days, as employees need and expect a leader who stands for—and does—what is right, both internally and externally.
There are plenty of ways to steer your company in this direction. For example, develop more systems, tools and processes to help employees feel understood and valued, and put empathy at the core of all management practices. Empathy-based management can come from recurring one-on-one check-ins, dedicated time during the work day to talk about “life” or fostering a company culture where co-workers become friends with one another and have a built-in support network.
All of these tips can help your company foster long-term workforce resilience. The key is not just performance (“Will my employees get something done?”) but also making the most of today’s workforce agency. The modern workforce has the option to “volunteer” their services elsewhere. But if your organization embraces the modern enterprise to become a place of fulfillment and purpose, you and your employees will feel inspired to achieve more together.
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