Humanics: A framework for rearchitecting the workforce and workplace of the Future

In response to a common question surrounding the advancement of automation making the human workforce redundant, a tech expert explains how these advances can be used to leverage human potential in the digital age.

1. Mindset - Culture over crisis. Organisations, large and small, need to embrace the digital and innovation culture, and growth mindset. Think Peter Drucker who said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”. Think Kubler-Ross' change curve and the movement that each knowledge worker needs to do from denial to acceptance. This digital disruption is rapidly uprooting the old, creating new business models, transforming talent and shaking up industries. The difference between analog and digital is simply this - the pace of change is rapid, and the change never stops. Organisational culture needs to instil lifelong learning, to be in front of this change.
2. Magnify - Talent over Technology. Organisations need a robust and real-time workforce skill index framework for assessing their workforce on digital and drive skilling in AI, MI, robotics, blockchain, cyber security, and more. For the organisation, it makes far more common sense to train the current workforce and reduce attrition, instead of hiring more employees. In a similar vein, knowledge worker skills are like code-builds that happen almost every minute - frequent upgrades, multiple careers, diverse roles are the norm. And the individuals need to feverishly pursue skill upgrades to make them credible and, relevant in their industries and domains - Data Scientists, Product Incubation Managers, Journey Mappers, Business Modelers, Emerging Tech Specialists and more. Service providers should also create an environment of experimentation where the employees could unleash their creativity. Global organisations have institutionalised digital transformation centres and labs which provides young minds from universities a conducive environment to explore ideas and transform into business outcomes for their global clients.
3. Move - Human over Machine. The human brain is the most sophisticated machine on the planet. Move it to where it belongs. Teach the skills that machines are a long way from mastering. The demand for finely tuned social and emotional skills such as behavioural economics, interpersonal skills and empathy, and the demand for higher cognitive skills, such as creativity, critical thinking, decision making, and complex information processing, will very rapidly grow through the next couple of decades. Organisations need focused programs where they can train digital experts in these important skills. It is not all about tech or the machine. It is about how humans leverage machines, to amplify their own potential.
4. Master - Bridge over divide. Skill-based education is at the core of emerging economy like India. This can be successfully accomplished through collaboration between the IT sector and academia. Educational institutions are better off leveraging an industry-verified framework, created by subject matter experts, to help people skill themselves in new and emerging technologies. There are already many examples today of IT-academia collaboration and this needs to be rolled out across every single city and town, rural and urban. The advantage of this approach is that it prepares potential employees who are 'ready to deploy' in these niche technologies for demand-based hiring, a trend that's making big waves in the IT industry.