During the past decade, South African organisations have increasingly invested in technology but under-invested in finding the intersection between humans and technology.
Over 94% of surveyed company executives admitted to not being ready to reskill their workforce to help them remain competitive for the fourth industrial revolution (4IR).
This is according to Deloitte’s10 annual 2020 Global Human Capital Trends report, titled: The Social Enterprise at Work: Paradox as a Path Forward.
The report highlights ways to create a level of sustainability within social enterprises, by finding the intersection between humans and technology and defining the core attributes that need to be embedded in the organisation to create and sustain that integration.
The report findings, released during a webinar yesterday evening, are based on a survey of approximately 9 000 respondents in 119 countries.
The local research reveals SA’s social enterprises are faced with challenges in the integration between technology and humanity, particularly at a time when the well-being of humans is in the spotlight, as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Enterprises are forced to consider how to resolve the seeming paradox of remaining distinctly human in a technology-driven world.
The need for reskilling is unsurprising as the influx of 4IR technologies in SA continues to rapidly change and shape the way in which jobs are done today, causing a constant shift in and demand for new skills and capabilities.
South African employees, notes the report, are expecting their organisations to help them keep their skills and capabilities up to date; however, most local organisations are not ready for this trend.
A total of 40% of South African respondents said they are not confident in their human resources department’s ability to make the needed changes to upskill their workforce, and an additional 30% said they were only somewhat confident.
A social enterprise is described in the report as an organisation whose mission combines revenue growth and profit-making with the need to respect and support its environment and stakeholder network, and has grown from an intriguing new concept into a concrete business reality.
“COVID-19 has created urgency around workforce reinvention and it is clear that while organisations have doubled down on investments in technology over the past decade, many have significantly under-invested in how humans adapt to and embrace new ways of working,” said Pam Maharaj, Deloitte Consulting Africa human capital leader, during the webinar.
“Integration between technology and humanity will enable lasting value and provide workers with an increased sense of belonging and well-being. In fact, almost half of this year’s respondents categorised their organisation’s purpose as broadening extensively to include all stakeholders, including the communities they serve and society at large,” says Maharaj.
Based on the research, the three characteristics that need to be embedded into a social enterprise’s DNA to help them prepare for the future are: purpose (deepening the mission and values connection among teams and individuals), potential (tapping into workers’ capability to contribute in new ways) and perspective (making bold decisions at a time of persistent change).
Each requires significant shifts in workforce strategies and programmes, offering a clear path that organisations can follow to enable them to recover and thrive beyond COVID-19.
Reskilling for reinvention
Going into 2020, the South African economy has faced slow growth and credit downgrades, as well as the unprecedented burden of the COVID-19 outbreak, notes Deloitte.
Some 74% of South African organisations said reskilling their workforce is important or very important for their success over the next 12 to 18 months, but only 6% say they are ready to address this trend.
Globally, organisations are finding it challenging to navigate through the fast-changing skills landscape, and this is not any different for South African organisations, according to the survey.
Around 56% of South African respondents stated that between half and all of their workforce will need to change their skills and capabilities in the next three years.
South African organisations also report being only 22.23% ready to use algorithms to influence decisions, making only 24% ready to manage the impact of automation on the workforce.
Furthermore, only one-quarter of these organisations felt they were ready to use artificial intelligence (AI) and data to monitor individuals and the workplace, while 74% of organisations report they are not ready or only somewhat ready to address the ethical issues relating to the design of jobs for climate and sustainability.
Maharaj added: “While renewing workers’ skills is a tactical necessity, reskilling alone may be a strategic dead-end. South African organisations should not only reskill their workers, but also focus on building the inherent capabilities humans need to be resilient and adaptive. Economies are shifting from an age of production to an age of imagination, driven by creativity and uniquely human capabilities.”
Added to this, several ethical concerns are top of mind in today’s organisations as the nature of work evolves. A resounding 91% of this year’s South African respondents believe the future of work raises ethical challenges − but only 31% have clear policies in place to manage these challenges.
The survey suggested it would be up to organisational leaders to initiate and lead the dialogue around tech-related ethical concerns and the alternative workforce. Such challenges could include AI inaccuracies and guarding how machines affect workforce behaviour and interaction.
“In a post-COVID world, purpose, potential, perspective and possibility are no longer future-focused aspirations, but the reality of the here and now. Organisations face a choice between returning to a post-COVID world that is simply an enhanced version of yesterday, or building one that is a sustainable version of tomorrow. As technology and human capital converge, it’s time for organisations to make people feel connected, increase engagement and improve productivity,” concluded Maharaj.
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