The world of work is changing rapidly – but South African companies just aren’t responding fast enough to the rapidly shifting trends, which means they’re losing out on major opportunities to grow and capitalise on rebounding markets and economies around the world, says Brett Parker, MD of SAP Southern Africa.
That’s the bottom line of the recently-released Oxford Economics Workforce 2020 study, which found that at a time of tremendous change in the workplace, many businesses are struggling with managing talent, cultivating leadership, encouraging learning, and understanding their employees.
By 2020, we’ll see multiple generations working together, with different skills, experiences, habits, and motivations. Growing numbers of these workers will be freelancers and contractors, rather than full-time employees. Fully 80% of South African companies say they are increasingly using consultants – but only 27% believe that this requires changing HR policy.
The study, which was commissioned by SAP, highlights the top trends affecting South Africa’s workforce. Topping the list is the number of so-called millennials entering the workforce (59%), followed by the globalisation of the labour supply (54%) and changing work models (43%). Surprisingly, one of the top challenges is finding enough employees with base-level skills (40%).
Ironically, at a time when there’s more technology in the workplace than ever before, like analytics and cloud-based computing, there simply aren’t enough skills to use it properly. The study found that less than half (42%) of South Africa employees get ample training on workplace technology – and less than a third (31%) actually get access to the latest technology.
What do these findings mean? Fact is, the current need for technology skills like data analytics, cloud, mobile and social media is only going to grow in future. This means that both employees and businesses alike stand to benefit from better training and education opportunities.
We simply don’t have enough people with the right skills today, but the answer is not necessarily to go out and find them in an increasingly competitive global market: we need to spend more time and money in developing the talent we already have within the organisation. We should be “growing our own timber”, so that when an employee resigns, someone from within will be ready to take over – but this is not happening enough.
The study also points to a crying need for leadership development in South African businesses. Both executives and employees agree that in general, leadership is lacking, and local companies are not doing enough to develop the next generation of leaders. Why does this matter? 44% of executives say their companies’ expansion plans for growth markets will remain limited unless the right leadership is in place.
It’s not through a shortage of talent, either. There’s a veritable flood of bright, motivated millennials coming through the ranks – and they’re not as disruptive as some would have us think. We read much about how millennials are different in their use of technology, social networks and attitudes toward work, but the Workforce 2020 study shows they are surprisingly similar to their non-millennial co-workers when it comes to workplace priorities.
Compensation is viewed as an important benefit for both millennials (60%) and non-millennials (65%); both millennials (39%) and non-millennials (33%) prioritise the meeting of their income goals.
Another worrying trend to emerge is the fact that many South African employees are concerned about their jobs. They feel that there are not enough opportunities for advancement in their careers, that their positions are either changing or becoming obsolete and that the staffing levels at their companies are not adequate.
Although executives in South Africa may realise they need to manage diverse, mobile, multi-generational employees, this report shows they don’t have the structure, strategy, culture, and resources to do so. The gaps between workforce needs and company capabilities are tremendous.
It’s not all bad news, though. A significant percentage of companies offer the rewards and compensation that employees actually value. The research highlighted the factors that help foster employee loyalty and engagement within their companies, including higher compensation, more comprehensive benefits, and assigning mentors to staff. Not surprisingly, more than half of employees polled say higher compensation would increase loyalty and engagement with their current job.
What’s clear is that in the next six years, every business in South Africa will need to find new ways of working, communicating, collaborating, and innovating. And it’s not just millennials changing everything – it’s all of us. But we’ll need to respond quickly to make the most of our opportunities.
