Future-proofing work: skills for success

When technology analyst Gartner asked business leaders how they envisaged the post-pandemic work landscape, 82% said they would allow remote working some of the time and 47% said that they would let employees work remotely all the time.

The exact proportions will vary company by company – but what is clear is that the widespread shift to a more digital way of working which has been accelerated by COVID-19 means that the nature of work will continue to change dramatically; so will the workforce, so will the workplace.

It now seems inevitable that there will be a more hybrid workplace that melds the virtual and the physical - home and office. Workers will need to be adept in using digital technologies, and somewhat more self-sufficient in terms of managing their technology and directing their professional development.

Successful leaders meanwhile need to find ways to encourage the best from their people and to resist the urge to micro-manage.

Iress chief technology officer Andrew Todd says; "The fundamentals of good leadership will not change. Challenges will present in new and different ways, and this might change how and where leaders focus. Leaders will need to enhance their ability to connect with their people. Clarity of strategy, messaging, and ensuring alignment across teams will be more important than ever."

When it comes to finding the digital skills that underpin the business, Todd stresses that; "This is not only about aptitude and analytical capability, which is clearly important for an engineer. Some of the most important attributes are cultural and these need to come together seamlessly.

"When you get to a certain scale as an organisation  you need people that can work together, communicate, collaborate and organise. Having a diverse background and culture help that."

The best results he says comes from finding the right people (based on their behaviours and values, not just their experience), ensuring they are properly resourced, and then having strong leaders set the direction for the entire enterprise.

Todd says; "Those in leadership roles must lead, not manage. Leaders must be able to focus themselves and their people on strategic outcomes rather than activity, and while this is one of the fundamentals of good leadership, a lack of strength here will become visible in a remote-first environment. Those that micro-manage, have led a low-trust environment, or use a heavy 'gating' process to get things done will suffer. 

"Essentially, leaders create propositions and must market and sell and deliver those propositions - either internally or externally."

One of the propositions from Iress's own leaders is to work with industry partners to pioneer new pathways to expand the skills base – including calling on the Australian government and leading technology employers to design and implement a technology apprenticeship scheme.

Along with REA Group, SEEK, MYOB, Slack and Catapult, Iress has signed an in-principle agreement calling for a scheme providing an alternate career path for people interested in a technology career without the need to first complete a university degree. The scheme is modelled on Iress' UK experience and would involve both on-the-job training and vocational education - tapping into a rich new source of tech talent. 

Todd says that the UK experience has netted benefits for both the company and the 20 or so apprentices it has steered through its program, the majority of which are now in full-time technology roles at Iress. He's hopeful something similar can be established in Australia.

"Bringing new talent into the industry is important so that we can build, mould and develop people for the organisation and the industry."

What skills do you need? Are you interested in learning more about the IT apprenticeships?