Disruption: Rethinking your employees’ jobs

One of the fundamentals of an entrepreneur is her or his ability to create jobs and creating jobs she or he will have employees. This 2017, the World Economic Forum thinks it’s time job creators changed their approach to “job retaining” to “job rethinking.”

The reason is simple, disruption. In an article published in collaboration with Business Insider, the World Economic Forum (WEF) noted that: “Fundamental shifts in society are upending the current nature of work. With automation and artificial intelligence already permeating nearly every sector of the economy, disruption is happening at an accelerated pace.”

Therefore, it is important that entrepreneurs move “the policy discussion away from job retraining towards job rethinking.”

Some strategies offered included:

Updating policies to reflect the changing composition of the workforce

According to WEF, workforce is significantly more diverse currently and this will continue in the future. This means that “women will continue to make up a larger portion of the workforce, and the racial and ethnic makeup of the workforce will change,” among others.

Therefore, it is wise that entrepreneurs begin to look at these changes, as they “shift the fundamental needs of employees, and subsequently, the way employers should respond.” This suggests, therefore, that employees need to update their policies to reflect changes in workforce populations. “Flexibility,” WEF said, “will be critical.”

Building “equitable business development programmes”

In order to build a strong workforce, entrepreneurs need to view equity as critical building blocks. “Policies that promote equity in areas such as health and education often have positive effects on economic growth,” WEF said, adding that “Likewise, policies that address marginalized groups reduce political conflict and strengthen public institutions and social organizations, feeding into a virtuous cycle of growth.”

Another important recommendation from the body is investing “in digital and physical infrastructure that supports the workforce of tomorrow,” adding “investment in reliable, high-speed internet and expanded broadband services is critical to supporting a competitive workforce.”