The next decade will see more progress than the past century has seen as technology continues to bend and reshape a wealth of industries. This level of transformation requires us to be quick to identify trends and flex our workforce and work processes accordingly.
Here are four exciting trends that provide tech teams and organizations a great opportunity to grow.
The Gig Economy Provides More Opportunity Than We May Recognize
Freelance work is on the rise with a sizable 36% of Americans, nearly 58 million adults, identifying as independent workers.
What’s most exciting about this trend is that it enables organizations to more easily expand or reduce their workforce based on specific company demand while also providing an opportunity for organizations to diversify their teams and ultimately develop more creative and innovative work. There’s a common perception that the benefit of freelance work is purely cost savings, but there’s a real opportunity for organizations to take advantage of this upward trend to both maintain flexible workstreams as well as incorporate diverse thinking.
Low-Code/No-Code Platforms Have Great Potential to Widen the Talent Pool
For decades, there have been limited routes for businesses to implement application development, such as buying apps ready-made from an external vendor or building them from scratch using skilled developers. Today, we’re witnessing a rise in development alternatives that bring coding capabilities to users who may be interested in code, though may not have advanced experience or a formal degree.
Companies can capitalize on this growing trend by dedicating space for the use of no-code/low-code platforms, supporting employee learning and development opportunities surrounding these platforms, ultimately reducing strain on IT departments and leading increased innovation. If you like to learn more about SAP’s free offerings to upskill on low-code/no-code app development, please visit the SAP Learning site.
AI Training Cannot Be Overlooked
While the expansion of artificial intelligence (AI) is not necessarily something new, its continued role in making certain tasks automated will require individuals to be comfortable performing their work alongside AI, solving problems in new ways. Companies can no longer overlook the need to provide AI training for their tech employees. Doing so will unlock essential skills employees need to utilize this advanced technology and allow employees to uplevel their work and spend more time on strategic work.
Navigating the Hybrid Workspace
With a staggering 89% of surveyed adults wanting work-from-home as an option, it is safe to say that hybrid work is here to stay. The hybrid model can offer numerous advantages such as flexibility and cost benefits, yet this model can challenge employees and managers alike as it still hasn’t been perfected.
As hybrid work environments increasingly become the norm, companies must provide tech workers with sufficient training and guidance to navigate this new and constantly changing model. This could look like trainings on setting boundaries while working remotely or setting internal hybrid work expectations as a company, such as when meetings can and cannot be scheduled and how to take advantage of in-person moments or intentional brainstorming and innovation. Even though we’ve been working throughout the last two or more years of the pandemic, it’s important to recognize that the hybrid workplace trend is a specific challenge itself that must be specifically addressed as opposed to letting employees self-navigate.
Technology is rapidly evolving. Simultaneously, the pandemic has witnessed a larger workplace transformation than ever before. In this moment of significant change, we must keep a pulse on how these trends affect both organizations as a whole and their employers, being proactive in offering the learning and development opportunities necessary for employees to thrive.
Sabine Benz is vice president and head of Product Engagement for SAP Learning.
