By Nilesh Gaikwad – Country Manager at EDHEC Business School, France
More than 6months back the world went into a Lockdown. An improving recovery rate and flattening of the curve has allowed countries to open economic activities in a staggered manner. If the trends are to be believed, we are getting closer to procuring that elusive vaccine. So, what’s next? Do we go back to pre-March era or will there be a lasting impact on the way we conduct business?
Experts believe that Covid19 has completely overhauled business processes in some industries while expediting existing changes in a few. With office goers returning to workplaces, ‘working remotely’ is being seriously considered by some industries, especially those that saw a smoother transition. In such cases, we could see an accelerated shift towards gig economy – something that is prevalent in Australia. Performance & KRA-mapping will need a relook.
Employee experience has evolved the most in past few months. Employers have extended their roles from being job-providers to impacting the emotional well-being of their employees. A shift towards ‘working remotely’ has effected use of technology to monitor day-to-day activities like virtual clocking, monitoring internal discussion forums, usage of work systems etc. In a way, the employee-employer relation has become more personal in nature.
As with every recession like event, there is bound to be realignment of top recruiting firms and industries. Professionals need to diversify their skills in order to stay relevant. Similarly, organizations will look to pivot/diversify or invest in developing markets to tap opportunities and mitigate risk. While sectors like aviation, hospitality & tourism continue to decline; new-age sectors like eCommerce, OTT services, IT services etc. have risen sharply. In fact, IT services could very well invade the legacy spaces of marketing & sales. Let us look at some of the sought after job roles in coming years:
Big Data, IoT & Analytics: Covid19 has fueled the next phase of digital revolution. Companies are increasingly working towards full-scale automation. Learning about Big Data & Machine Learning are a good starting point. This has led academicians to develop programmes in fields of Data Science. In fact, even EDHEC Business School which teaches core business modules, has introduced a hybrid Data Analytics & Artificial Intelligence programme that emphasizes on acquiring programming skills as well as their applications across wide range of domains. IoT is developing into a significant domain and will command multi-tiered job opportunities in coming years. The applications of Big Data in field of Finance & Risk Analysis are vast. Finance enthusiasts are taking up learning of programming languages like R & Python. New-age professionals should evolve their competencies accordingly.
Digital Marketing: The fear of contagion has brought Print media to its knees. Thanks to tablets and palm sized smartphones, readers have moved to ePaper and other digital mediums to get their dose of news and entertainment. Thus, innovation & recruitment in field of Digital Marketing will continue to unfold. Many organizations – especially from Luxury industry, who swore to never go digital have also been forced to adapt. Thus, providing the ‘premium’ experience of in-person shopping has become a key puzzle to be cracked. Furthermore, a big cut in the comparable capital expenditure will further bolster the CMOs decisions in going digital.
Cybersecurity & Governance: Providing adequate data confidentiality & privacy through remote working applications & systems has turned Data Security into a key essential for all organizations. Profiles like Chief Information Officers and their subordinate hierarchies will see an increased demand over the next years. Moreover, training one’s employees in security protocols, vetting backgrounds of prospective employees, securing confidential data etc. will remain the key Learning & Development topics within organizations against cybersecurity threats.
CSR & Sustainability: The threat of climate change is real. While governments are transitioning towards low carbon economies, private sectors professionals are tasked with creating profitable and sustainable business growth. Moving forward, the business world will be expected to incorporate environmental, governance & social factors within financial & risk analysis. Organizations are pledging increasing number of projects under their CSR purview. Even though today the field remains unorganized, in next few years we will see formalizing of profiles and establishment of Sustainability as a way of life across industries.
