The Future of Work and MicroLearning

There are some  big shifts that are underlying  pervasive change - which seems to be manifesting in massive layoffs in the tech sector .

With Meta - Facebook, Amazon , Google and Twitter facing laying off tens of thousands of people . 

There is a shift t

Steve Hatfield, Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Global Future of Work leader, Robin Jones, leader of its Workforce Transformation practice, and Susan Tohyama, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at human capital management (HCM) software provider Ceridian, discussed the ramifications for organizations as they plan for the workforce of the future and  Katherine Noyes, senior writer, Deloitte Insights for CIOs shares some interesting insights 

The nature of work itself is changing. 

“We’re moving from a heavily process-based model to agile teams where people work on specific projects  and work outcomes,” 

AI and technology will replace menial tasks - and the workforce will be flexible - with workers needing to constantly upskill and reskill to be an effective part of a team - enabling them to move around internally and externally in a more agile, dynamic way to meet the needs of the business.

Simon Dewar of BSI Digital believes  this agile hybrid way of bringing together teams to work on specific projects to achieve a specific outcome is the way of the future ! 

Workers need to become life long learners 

Being able to learn how to learn - focussing on the specific skills needed for upcoming organizational projects.

The tool to make this happen, says Simon Dewar of BSI Digital  is  ‘Micro-Accreditations’ With just-in-time skill building. 

“Micro-accreditations,” or short bursts of highly targeted training. Employers are able to tap a broader pool for recruiting. They can use micro-accreditations to teach them on the job. 

They don’t necessarily need to have the experience—just a desire to learn and the ability to learn how to learn 

This paradigm shift is creating a free mindset of both the employee and employer 

Employees

Employees are feeling that they are free agents with Increased flexibility, freedom, and personalized experiences that are more mission- and purpose-driven. 

The price - - less job security 

Employers

 Employers are looking to employ on an as needs basis as - elastic hiring- being able to access a project-based talent marketplace aligning individual skills with projects and company goals and moving employees around within the organization as needed. 

The price - a potential loss of IP from people with a deep knowledge of  the process. 

Welcome to the NEXTTECH revolution says CEO of NEXTTECH Learning - Cassandra Parton 

https://nexttech.edu.au/

https://bsidigital.com.au/

Source . https://deloitte.wsj.com/articles/say-goodbye-to-the-one-size-fits-all-workforce-model-01632160178?mod=Deloitte_cio_wsjarticle2_300x200

IT Leadership Series: Zapper CEO Mike Bryer on building with customers

By IT Leadership Series21 November 2022 

Mike Bryer 

Zapper CEO Mike Bryer says his passion over the past 20 years has been in the delivery of digital and e-commerce experiences to end users.

Many people are familiar with the Zapper brand – it offers contactless payment options in restaurants and at many other points of sale, along with loyalty and rewards programmes.

“My role in the enablement of commerce through digital interfaces – by mobilising teams to efficiently deliver quality experiences – has been one of searching for the best formula to organise and motivate people to produce their best,” he says in this IT Leadership Series interview with TechCentral.

“Driving a minimalist mindset to declutter the experience and simplify the technology stack is key to a successful digital product — and nothing beats talking to your customers for guidance and feedback on what they value.”

TechCentral posed a few questions to Bryer.

What does your company do?

Zapper customers can perform contactless payments via QR codes, and receive loyalty and rewards digitally from Zapper merchants. Merchants can also accept tap-to-pay card payments from their Zapper merchant app.

What do you see as the IT leader’s top priorities in 2023?

Security remains the top priority to ensure customer data is protected and merchants receive their funds. Availability of services 24/7 is critical as customer and merchant expectations are that digital services will always be available. Customer experience is the next priority as this is key in our competitive industry.

What do you most admire in business and why?

Firstly, business models that allow a business to scale without needing a large staff compliment. Secondly, businesses that are able to execute at speed without compromising the integrity of the business or customer service. Finally, as a business grows, maintaining a healthy company culture is a tricky task, so is also something to admire when leaders get it right.

How do you attract and retain talent?

A business needs a strong vision and a sense of why it exists and the customer pain points it aims to solve in order to attract the best talent. Top staff want to be part of something they will be proud to discuss with their family and friends over the weekends. Retaining staff is about listening, engaging and investing in the talent so that your can apply their energy to the most relevant challenges that will stretch them and allow them to learn and grow.

If you could go back and give your 18-year-old self one piece of advice, what would it be?

Make sure you understand where your passion lies and then find the best mentor you can to help you along the way. Set a goal, listen to your mentor, and work hard and smart. Rinse and repeat.

What’s your favourite productivity hack?

Do not multitask – focus and complete one thing at a time. Get really good at prioritising urgent vs important tasks.

What occupation (other than your own) would you like to try?

Professional sports – it seems like an awesome way to spend each day.

Where do you see the technology industry heading in the next three to five years?

We will see the prevalence of AI in products we consume and use every day and not even be surprised by the way in which companies implement AI to learn customers’ behaviours and respond. Blockchain will start delivering real business value. The debate over remote work will settle into a well-recognised hybrid pattern where management and staff no longer arm-wrestle over full remote vs office-bound environments. 5G data speeds will empower industries that previously would be unable to operate in a distributed manner, such as medical surgeries that could be performed by surgeons working from home. IT security will continue to be a running battle between attackers and defenders, where the humans remain the weak link in the chain. Larger premiums will be paid for those engineers with conceptual and execution skills.

What is one book you’d recommend to our audience and why?

Inspired: How to Create Products Customers Love, by Marty Cagan. There is nothing more wasteful than building something that customers do not like using, whether physical or digital. Marty is a Silicon Valley rock star who has codified how businesses should go about solving customer pains in a way that they are part of the co-creation process. This lowers business risk, improving the chances of success, and makes for a far more rewarding way of working.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media - https://techcentral-co-za.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/techcentral.co.za/it-leadership-series-zapper-ceo-mike-bryer-on-building-with-customers/217684/?amp=1

That’s my bro!!!

Simple is Hard

Image credit: Erik Burke

Great advice from Charafeddine Mouzouni

Simple is hard. 

Making the overly complex seem simple is an art that is mastered by the  best UX/UI designers.

If you want people to use your dashboard/product and for it to have traction  - you need to nail The UX and UI 

Keep it simple

Invest in the best UI/UX people.