2020:
the new
world
of work
Three innovations
that are changing the
global workforce.
mark A. lanfear
contents
page 3
Introduction
page 4
01. Free agency is here
page 6
02. Working with work groups
page 8
03. The virtual workplace
page 10
04. Embracing the new workforce
page 11
Conclusion
2
introduction
There’s been a lot of talk over the last couple of years about what the workforce of
tomorrow will look like. Futurists have focused, perhaps arbitrarily, on the year 2020,
plastering across the Internet thoughts and ideas about how everyone’s concept of a
“normal” day of work will be shattered in just a few short years.
Actually many of these changes are happening already, and, by 2020, companies that fail
mark a. lanfear
to embrace some very fundamental ways in which the global workforce is transforming will
seem as old-fashioned as the rotary telephone.
An evolution of the traditional employer–employee relationship. Professionals banding
together to work in highly technical hybrid groups. Collaboration across continents
where “virtual” is the new bricks and mortar. These are three fundamental workstructure
innovations that will seem as normal in the future as water cooler conversations were in
the 20th century.
This whitepaper, the final of four in the Kelly Services® series on the scientific workforce
of 2020 and beyond, will explore how free agency, hybrid workgroups, and the virtual
workplace are trends that are converging to define how the world’s businesses and
organizations will utilize their most valuable resources—talent—in order to compete more
effectively, both today and tomorrow.
3
01. FREE AGENCY IS HERE
In fields like engineering, IT, and science, highly skilled and experienced
employees are already showing signs that they are less willing to compromise
on location and compensation when it comes to the work they do. This is free
agency supercharged and it could dominate the world’s workforce by 2020.
This trend has actually been developing for close to a decade, but only now has it come to
be seen by futurists as a viable work model for the majority of the world’s workforce. In the
past, if companies saw “free agency” or “consultant labor” as just a gap-filling measure,
today the most sophisticated organizations are seeing it as a forward-thinking strategy
capable of delivering improvements and efficiencies which may add to their bottom lines.
Why should companies investigate free agency as a serious topic? There’s some
proof in the numbers. The Kelly® 2011 Free Agent Survey found that 44% of American
workers across all industries, when asked, classify themselves as free agents—those who
do not have full-time traditional employment with an organization. Internationally, the
percentages are smaller, but growing. Kelly research shows that the free agent population
is now at least 20 to 30% of the entire global workforce. As soon as 2013, there will be
1.19 billion free agents, or about 35% of the worldwide workforce, according to a study by
global research firm IDC.
There are many reasons for this growing trend in employment engagement, and many
experts believe that global economic uncertainty, coupled with the desire for better
work–life balance, is inspiring workers—especially those in highly technical fields—to trust
themselves more than an organization to know what is right for their career progression.
4
These workers know that demand for their skills is high, but they also know that
corporate paternalism is dead. Many will ultimately come to place more value on
working on projects of interest to them with colleagues they respect, and on innovations
that lead to results—with less focus on climbing the corporate ladder.
35%
The challenge for companies will be to embrace through tangible infrastructure and
corporate culture these new workforce models, and to appreciate how it will contribute to
long-term organizational health.
Hiring focused on the person and experiences they possess—not just for the job or
task at hand—will become the lifeblood of the organization and perhaps one of the
most powerful drivers. Free agents are critical components in this equation, and talent
acquisition teams who fail to acknowledge this will see valuable talent go elsewhere.
These factors reinforce what we have theorized for a long time as companies continue to
grapple with the hypercompetitive nature of global business: an organization’s ability to
recruit, engage, and develop talent is a vital indication of its ability to remain competitive
of the worldwide
workforce will be
free agents as soon
as 2013 according
to a study by global
research firm IDC
and relevant. Making free agents an integral part of a company’s strategy will ensure that
the organization is able to engage needed talent.
5
02. WORKING WITH
WORK GROUPS
The formation of hybrid work groups is a natural progression as
the culture of free agency takes hold across the globe.
Concepts such as business colonies, synchronized workforces, and skill-set modules—all
different forms of work groups—can be formed to accommodate any type of work or
project. This represents a profound shift in basic employment structures, where both
companies and individuals are coming together to seek out innovative ways of doing
business that capitalize on mobile workforces and mobile opportunities.
So what are business colonies, synchronized workforces, and skill-set modules?
Business colonies have been defined specifically by futurist Thomas Frey of the DaVinci
Institute as “organizational structures designed around matching talent with pending work
projects. The operation will revolve around some combination of resident people based in
a physical facility and a non-resident virtual workforce. Some business colonies will forgo
the cost of the physical facility completely, opting instead to form around an entirely virtual
communications structure”.
With these business colonies established, they are able to seek work on a project basis
from large companies that are seeking their specific skills. In some instances, according
to Frey, “large corporations will launch their own business colonies as a way to expand
capability without adding to headcount” and could possibly even use these colonies
or “experimental assignments best performed outside of the cultural bounds of
existing workflow”.
6
Similar to business colonies, synchronized workforces and skill-set modules are loosely
defined as pockets of talent that are considered a critical asset to an organization, but
are not necessarily needed throughout the entire process of a project. Companies might
employ these workforces with other pockets of talent in a different part of the country or
on an entirely different continent. All work on different aspects of the same project, helping
companies save not only money, but time in the wake of global competition that continues
to demand that products are developed smarter and faster.
Ultimately, these hybrid work groups can all mean very different things to different
Some business
colonies will forgo
the cost of the
physical facility
completely, opting
instead to form around
an entirely virtual
communications
structure.
organizations. But at the most basic level, these concepts are about engaging the right
talent in the right place at the right time—regardless of a company’s physical location. They
are about banishing the cubicle and fixed schedule. And they are about embracing the
evolution to a workplace model independent of traditional employment constraints.
These concepts are about fulfilling the needs and expectations of both organizations
and the people who work for them, because the best human capital is now among the
most valuable resources in the world.
7
03. THE VIRTUAL
WORKPLACE
With free agency and hybrid work groups in play, the virtual
workplace could be a dominant model in the year 2020 and beyond.
This could be especially true and influential in the science industry,
where the days of the insular workplace are over, and a culture of
virtual work is helping companies gain a competitive edge.
As knowledge sharing continues to gain traction, and as vital economic resources continue
to constrict at scientifically focused companies both large and small, the expertise of others
outside a particular organization, and the ability to work across continents within a virtual
model, will become a more and more important factor for reaching business goals.
As a result, virtual scientific networks are already cropping up all over the Internet.
ResearchGate.net is one such network, which has gained popularity over the past year for
its ability to easily connect scientists, allow them to answer questions from peers, share
research papers, and find collaborators for future projects. Essentially, it is a mash-up of
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for the science world where scientists can share their photos
and profiles, as well as their work with colleagues around the globe. Since ResearchGate’s
inception in early 2011, membership has grown to more than 1.3 million users, and about
one million publications have been shared so far in a notable example of the traditional
scientific journals being bypassed as an avenue of publication.
As the popularity of these virtual networks grows in the scientifically oriented, and many
other technical industries, it will become even more apparent that nearly all work of the future
will have factors that may be virtual. That is, the global workforce and therefore business
economy is now more “borderless” than in the past, and there is a growing acceptance
that work can happen anywhere regardless of brick and mortar or company location.
8
It’s worth noting that the independent nature of today’s working world is being fueled in no
small part by innovative social communities and the collaborative nature of technologies (i.e.,
virtual networks) that continue to evolve, according to the 2012 independent work report
by MBO Partners. This will make a company’s understanding of these networks all the more
critical, and their ability to take advantage of them with regard to building a customized
and flexible workforce model critical as well. With the proliferation of collaborative cloud
computing tools and the types of social networks discussed above, it is inevitable that the
professionals that scientific companies need will be tapping into these networks to find the
projects and teams they would like to work with.
As the popularity of
these virtual networks
grows in the scientifically
oriented, and many
other technical
industries, it will become
even more apparent that
nearly all work of the
future will have factors
that may be virtual.
Companies will have to be engaged and “at the table”, when the moment presents itself in
order to locate expert talent as the proliferation of these work-related social communities
allows free agents to find the best jobs, create teams and partnerships, and support
professional development.
9
04. EMBRACING THE
NEW WORKFORCE
Scientifically focused corporations working within the constraints
of traditional employment may find it challenging to take on these
innovative aspects of the workforce of the future.
In fact, utilizing free agency, alternative and hybrid work groups, and the power of virtual
networks may still seem like a completely novel concept despite how fast workplaces across
the globe are changing.
But the very nature of the science industry itself, and how it continues to change to meet
economic realities, might well be the driving force behind companies taking a more strategic
approach to their workforce solutions in the future. Some of the most obvious changes
have come about because of pure economics. Practically everyone is being challenged
to do more with less. Particularly within the science industry, increased challenges in the
development of drugs and other products are influencing how companies conduct business
and control costs at practically every step in a particular process. A scientific company’s most
important projects, it could be argued, are now often likely to be conducted on a micro, not
macro, level.
Companies as a result must take the necessary steps to adapt their work workforce
solutions according to these challenges:
1. Identify strategic versus transactional processes within your company. What activities are
core, but yet could still be interwoven into strategic workforce solutions? Which tasks
and process, transactional, strategic, core or ancillary be done on a project basis? Assess
your workforce, and figure out how specifically-skilled free agents could efficiently and
effectively contribute to your operations by applying their specialized knowledge.
2. Do a cultural and sociability audit. Is your company on board with the workplace reality
of the future? Extreme competition for talent is dictating that companies must be able to
meet workers’ expectations in radically different ways and be open to different types of
hybrid work groups. Are you willing to nurture new ways of working in order to attract and
retain the best employees?
3. Engage a strategic partner that can help your organization build a better workforce
strategy. Going it alone can be daunting. Look for partners that already have the expertise
and experience to secure the right talent at the right time for the right processes.
10
conclusion
It may not be a matter of if but when these aspects of the
evolving world of work will reach the workplace and drive a
shift that will change the workforce as we have known it. The
concepts of free agency, hybrid work groups, and the virtual
workplace are three of the major challenges companies must
prepare for in order to increase their likelihood of continued
success, to attract the best talent in the future, and to maintain a
competitive edge within the vast and complex global workforce.
Want more information?
This white paper is part of the Kelly Scientific Resources series The Scientific Workforce of
2020 and Beyond. Download this and other papers in the series at kellyscientific.com today.
References:
1.“Free Agent Survey”, Kelly Services, Inc. 2011
2.Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2009-2013 Forecast. International Data Corporation. www.idc.com
3.“Business colonies: A study of structure, organization, and the evolution of work.” Davinci Institute.
www.davinciinstitute.com
4.Lin, Thomas. “Cracking Open the Scientific Process.” New York Times. January 16, 2012.
5.“MBO Partners 2012 Independent Work Predictions.” Report. December, 2011. www.mbopartners.com
11
About the Author
Mark Lanfear is a global practice leader for the Life Science vertical at
Kelly Services, a leader in providing workforce solutions. Mark has overseen teams
of scientific professionals around the world for almost two decades. He has held
leadership roles in two of the top three scientific workforce solution companies and
three of the world’s top 20 Biopharmaceutical corporations. He is a featured speaker at
many of the Life Science’s industry conferences, as well as a university instructor.
In addition, he is a published author in industry periodicals.
About Kelly
Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a leader in providing workforce solutions. Kelly
offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing
on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Serving clients around the globe, Kelly
provides employment to more than 550,000 employees annually. Revenue in 2011 was $5.6 billion.
Visit www.kellyservices.com and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter.
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For more information, please visit kellyservices.com/Global/Science
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