From the far-reaching impacts of the pandemic to technology rapidly reshaping how work gets done, organizations face an urgent imperative to restructure their workforce and bolster their operational resiliency. The complexities of labor market fluctuations and intensifying competition for talent are forcing organizations to rethink strategic management of the workforce for long-term sustainable growth and performance. Highlighting the vital link between workforce optimization and a robust return on investment, our report, “Optimizing Organizations For Today And Tomorrow," investigates the transformative concept of a skill-based work architecture. Created in collaboration with Mercer, this strategic framework aims to achieve organizational efficiency and maximize talent potential.
At its core, this approach emphasizes the alignment of workforce planning with overarching strategic objectives, while navigating the intricate dynamics of labor costs and talent acquisition. This transformative journey not only empowers human resources functions to push beyond conventional boundaries but also equips organizations with the resiliency needed to thrive in a relentlessly evolving business landscape.
Strategic efficiency — adapting to workforce changes
The 2020s witnessed a paradigm shift in work culture. In response, organizations focused on short-term cost reduction, often overlooking long-term strategic workforce planning. Despite the recognition of the pivotal role of employees, businesses struggled to align workforce management with their goals, leading to disruptive restructuring and a lack of integration across different sectors of the organization.
Managing workforce cost and strategic alignment
Strategic workforce optimization aligns staffing with goals, enhances productivity, and ensures engagement. Key considerations for employers include role adequacy, market adaptability, and talent alignment. This demands a skill-based framework, linking critical skills with organizational success.
Three pillars of efficient work architecture
Our work architecture approach provides a central view of the three pillars — or foundational elements — that enable an organization to be efficient: job architecture; value of work, and skills framework.
Overcoming challenges when implementing work architecture
There are some common pitfalls to be aware of when implementing a work architecture: starting without understanding current roles and future needs, failure to balance cost optimization that enables better career management, trying to cover too many use cases at once, prioritizing quick wins over stable infrastructure, and lacking organization-wide buy-in due to a generic framework. The key is to aim for a balanced, relevant, and simplified approach.
A collaborative approach for organizational success
Successful implementation requires collaboration with business and corporate functions to ensure understanding, acceptance, and support from key stakeholders. It’s important to note the need for a flexible yet effective framework, achieved through thorough workshops and considering various use cases. Also, trade-offs are necessary for success, requiring the consideration of all participants' views and needs. HR should oversee the framework's application once integrated across all business and central functions, with ongoing involvement from stakeholders for its maintenance.
Transforming HR Into a Strategic Partner for Organizational Resilience
HR functions often suffer from a bureaucratic reputation, hindering their strategic partnership potential. A streamlined work architecture, aligned with business objectives, can empower HR to make transparent workforce decisions and fulfil its role as a true business ally. In an era of uncertainty and rapid digital evolution, a flexible architecture enables adaptable role definitions, clear skill mapping, fair evaluations, effective learning, and agile structuring. Leveraging this approach beyond HR can identify cost savings, assess job value, and prioritize critical skills, enhancing efficiency today and building resilience for the future.
