Managing tomorrow’s people - The future of work to 2020

Organisations operating in today's world are facing some of the greatest people management challenges in the history of business: the talent crisis, an ageing workforce in the western world, the rising demands for global worker mobility as well as the organisational and cultural issues emerging from the dramatic pace of change in the past ten years. But how will these changes impact businesses over the next decade, and what other social, economic, environmental and demographic factors will have an impact on the world of work?

Michael Rendell, partner and leader of Human Resource Services, talks about the challenges of managing tomorrow's people.

A team from PricewaterhouseCoopers used scenarios methodology to think about these issues and the impact on future of people management. We also conducted a global survey of 3,000 'millennials' from the US, China and the UK who represent a generation just joining the workforce, to test their views and expectations on the future of work.

Our research has uncovered three key themes:

• business models will change dramatically
• people management will present one of the greatest business challenges
• the role of HR will undergo fundamental change

We have mapped these themes around three possible worlds of the future, in which several key themes have emerged:

Corporate is king: the Blue World

In this world…

• Big company capitalism rules
• Organisations continue to grow bigger
• Individual preferences trump beliefs about social responsibility

Companies care: the Green World

In this world…

• Social responsibility dominates the corporate agenda
• Concerns about demographic changes, climate and sustainability become the key business drivers

Small is beautiful: the Orange World

In this world…

• Companies begin to breakdown into collaborative networks of smaller organisations
• Specialisation dominates the world economy

If these worlds coexist in 2020, the question for business is; where are you now, where do you think you are heading and what do you need to do to create a change ready, people ready business capable of success in tomorrow's world?.

Find out more: download our report 'Managing tomorrow's people'