Hiring for Jobs That Do Not Exist Yet
When I took up the role of being the Chief Learning Officer of Wipro, I was taking up a role that did not exist when I was a student. How do you hire for the future?
Jobs that don't exist ... yet
So many of the jobs that employ thousands simply did not exist a few years back. App Developer was not even a career option even a few years back. New designations often reflect a gap that gets bridged. When The Future Group appointed Devdutt Pattanaik as their Chief Belief Officer, several stopped him to ask what exactly that meant.As new business models and new products and services come up, new designations will come up. These are often jobs that do not have a clear job description. The job will evolve. The employer and the employee must both be comfortable with that level of ambiguity. If a candidate wants a detailed job description of such a role, then by definition, that is the wrong person for the job.
Artificial Intelligence Officer
The heritage brand Levi's Strauss has just done it. They just hired their first artificial intelligence officer. Katia Walsh, who was most recently Vodafone’s chief data and analytics officer, will be their AI Officer. I just told you what previous experience Levi's took a bet on. She has worked on big data, analytics, machine learning and AI, for companies ranging from Forrester Research to Prudential Financial. She will focus on building “data, analytics and artificial-intelligence enablers” that will strengthen the company’s present and future business ventures.
Future Talent Strategy
I am working with a large conglomerate that is looking at the talent they will need to win in the marketplace. They have diverse businesses that operate at varying levels of maturity and play in different markets. Their talent strategy has to match what the business strategy will be. It will get shaped by the geography in which they will operate. Such an exercise often brings out the assumptions that we are not even aware of.The questions you ask could change the direction of the conversation. If you ask, "How do we become the employer of choice for the talent we will need in future.", the answer will be different. If you ask, "How can we access the skills needed in a hyperconnected world." will offer a different set of responses.In APAC, 59 percent of respondents said they have hired for a specific skill set even if there is not an existing role for the candidate. 78 percent said they’re hiring for roles today that didn’t even exist a year ago. Twelve months from now, there will be 3 million jobs in finance and business services.
HR Roles for the Future
I for one would love to have a motivational insights analyst at work.Motivational Insights Analysts: More than twice as many employees are motivated by work passion than career ambition. Yet we know that motivation is a deeply personal process. Two people doing the same job could be motivated by two different needs. These analysts will be able to shape the role, the total rewards system and the feedback process in a manner that makes it meaningful to the employee. It is surprising that we have left the important business of motivating employees to people who usually have no special training in this field. And yet we expect people to stay motivated.
How to hire for jobs that do not exist yet
Here are three ideas:
Build and grow your own talent. Your employees are more likely to succeed than a new hire.
Use critical experiences to analyze what kind of skills they would strengthen.
Plan ahead. Be like that conglomerate that is reimagining HR for 2025.
Korn Ferry on Hiring for Jobs That Don't Exist YetThis post on six HR roles for the future got thousands of views. Have you read it? <click here>