The changing nature of jobs and its effect on the role of the HR practitioner

I've been contemplating on the changing nature of jobs in the 21st century, especially since I'm still transitioning to an HR role. I immediately thought of my recent assignment for my Masters in HR, where I had to discuss this very issue and debate on the key drivers. I had a re-look at my assignment and have taken the liberty of summarizing some aspects in this blog post. 

In the last fifty years, there has been a dramatic shift in the nature of skills, production, performance and competitiveness. Work skills and jobs have been influenced and reshaped by industrialization, lean manufacturing, technology, computing, global competition, connectivity, shifting consumer demand and the economic recession.

Globally, postal workers are out of jobs because of email, book publishers are struggling thanks to e-books and self-publishing, secretaries are out of work as senior executives multi-task on computers; even as CIOs have a less secure future in companies who use cloud computing and software as a service models. Many traditional back-office jobs were outsourced to developing countries years ago, though newer technology models like crowd-sourcing and crowd-funding are bound to affect even these job patterns. We still don’t know what effect the growing popularity of 3D printing will cause, but the very fact that it has been used to demonstrate printing your 3D gun while NASA is exploring using 3D printers to print food from powders and digital recipes for astronauts suggest even more evolution/change in skills, production, performance and competitiveness, because of technology.

How we think about work, what defines work and the skills we need to be productive in the future, continue to evolve. Our very concept of what constitutes skill is changing, along with production, performance and competitiveness. Even as the job landscape shifts, we are seeing traditional skills being downsized, disrupted or dis-intermediated by technology and new consumer demand. Companies and HR practitioners are confused whether they should invest in the skills of their employees for productivity or use deskilled labour for greater profit margins. The economic recession that began in 2009 has led to greater unemployment among low and medium skill jobs around the world and greater appetite for lower cost goods and services.

I too have been personally affected by this changing landscape. For over ten years I have been a Senior Tours Consultant working for a major travel company. In my earlier years, customers came to us for holiday advice and travel booking. Customers took our advice seriously and we formed bonds of friendship. Not any more – now customers come to us with printouts from Booking.com, Expedia, Priceline etc. and demand to know how they are getting better deals and quicker information themselves. They view us with suspicion and refuse to pay a single dirham more than their favourite website. Despite our best efforts to provide a superior customer experience, if we cannot compete on the price front , I can see the writing on the wall.

As HR practitioners, we need to make sense of this shifting landscape. It falls under our mandate that we look at future skills in demand, the key drivers for the changing skills market and whether our organization’s competitiveness should come from investment in the skills of our employees or from deskilled labour. 

I have no doubt that technology has dramatically affected our lives and work skills. It is all pervasive especially for medium and high-skilled workers who use computers, social media, smartphones, tablets and the Internet for their personal and business life, while companies will continue to leverage technology for manufacturing, efficient supply chain and the delivery of more efficient services and products. More than consumer demand or the other three drivers, I think technology is currently the most significant driver for new and high skills in our present day and age.

So that's one more reason for me to be up to speed with my own skills in technology. Thankfully, I've made a start with MyPB (personal branding course) from Leicester and am mastering the necessary skills in social media and networking. I've still got a long way to go, but at least I've started. 

What is your true calling in life?

Even 10 years into my current job, I still think I joined the sales line accidentally and wonder where my actual calling is. Let me explain:

I work as a Travel Consultant in the Tele-Sales Department of a leading airline in the UAE. When I was appointed, the messages and congratulatory calls from friends made me feel on top of the world. I was working for one of the leading companies in the world. But was this my true calling?

Ten years down the line, in the course of stepping out to work every day- on warm mid-mornings or on hot, mid-day afternoons, has made me reflect on a host of things happening in my life. Glance at any leading news daily and you will notice the ads for Telesales jobs beguiling you with lines like:-“Charm your customer’s sock off!” and “You will never be the same again “ etc.

To really be able to exert your charm is easier said than done. With customers’ attitudes ranging from the gentle and polite to the pompous and down-right rude, the line given in the second ad, proves to be right – work at a Call Center and you will never be the same again!

The old saying, “The years teach much that the days never knew” is a truism indeed. For when I ask myself the question : Have I been able to develop intellectually or gain in maturity over these years? The answer is - Oh yes- in a myriad of ways. With your nerves getting the same dose of medicine I have learned not to blow my top, but to be more patient and understanding of the customer’s needs and his/her temperaments too. I have learned to pick up on the nuances of people’s tones, and wrap up all business calls without a trace of annoyance in my tone of voice.

 Many a times, using a little bit of good humour and diplomacy with my team-mates, has gone a long way in converting what could have been otherwise, explosive situations. In my daily art of living, both on the home-front and in the work-territory I’ve found my most tenacious emotion is “hope”. Yes, hope resounds in my heart, making me anticipate favourable  situations at all times.

The naivety of my earlier years has been replaced by a mind that studies and analyses problems in a more critical manner. I’m not one who likes to begin a conversation- I’m a good listener. But, there have been times when subtle signs from others helped me to realize that.

Finally, focusing on the most important reflection of mine- if I had to choose, would I choose this career again? I think not – though I have gained a lot of experience in dealing with people from all walks of life, if career progression does matter, one needs to look and plan at moving forward. For this, I have taken the first step - improving my academic qualifications. With time things will change. I remain hopeful. 

Reflections on Leicester Award for Employability Skills - Personal Development and Online Networking (whew, what a name!)

I've been doing more thinking than writing recently. I was quite prolific (I think) with my first four posts on this blog with a gap of a few days between each of the first four posts. This fifth one has a massive gap of 23 days.

One possible reason is because my first four posts were mere rants/raves which I liken to streams of consciousness..I just thought, felt and typed whatever came to my mind at that time. This fifth post and probably my sixth and seventh needs to be different. I now need structure: background, reflections, less descriptive and more reflective and a word limit. I can write more than 500 words but not less.

Does structure constrain me?

YES, it does..which is why it's taken me 20 days to start writing.

I've always thought of myself as a creature of rules and order, but now that I've been critically analyzing myself, I realize that I've compartmentalized myself. I'm a creature of habit and order and structure when it comes to work. I prefer to know my duties, hours of work, the scope of my work and have a ready manual to refer to. And yet, outside work, I seem to prefer a non-structured day. I would hate to schedule regular times for reading, TV, exercise, or play with the kids - though I do make an exception for my higher studies, which I tend to keep for after everyone's gone to sleep.

So where does my blogging fit in? Should this be structured time or whenever the blogging mood hits me? Hmm, this is a tough one...my first four posts were written at odd times when the mood struck me. This one is being written during my study hours in the early parts of the morning. That gives me a clue. This blog post is more study than recreation, which is why I'm having such a difficult time writing it. And to think that I have to compulsorily write two more after this?

Yes, dear reader. I'm currently doing a Summer course from Leicester University. It's called Leicester Award for Employability -Personal Development and Online Networking (I think).  The best part of this course is that it's gratis. As in free, on-the-house, without charge. The worst part is that I have to write three blog posts and this is one of them! But allow me to explain further before you think I'm on a rant.

I'm currently doing an MSc in HR from Leicester. I've done two years and have another year to go. Thankfully, I don't intend (for now, at least) to blog about it, because I've spent hundreds of hours reading material and doing assignments that even my husband doesn't want to hear about. Anyways, about two months ago while working on an MSc assignment I got an invite from Leicester asking me if I was interested in a Summer course with that longish name above. I didn't understand much about the course except for two words: employability and free! Two words that most human beings desire. I jumped at the offer and I'm halfway through the course even as I type this assignment, err, bog post, sorry..blog post.

I'm still not sure what to call the course, firstly because it has such a long name and secondly because I don't know too much about the award aspect. On the blackboard, it's called the ONE course which stands for Online Network and Employablity , but having done half the course so far, I prefer to call it  MyPB or 'My Personal Branding'. The course takes about 3 months, is completely online and comprises three units:
1. Defining my personal brand (done)
2. Social media for employability (doing)
3. Creating an effective online presence (to be done)

Assuming I complete this course, I get a certificate (I guess that's the award) and it will appear on my academic transcript. But more importantly, I have been coaxed and dragged into the world of social media for networking and getting that new job in HR.

Without going into too many details, I now understand the importance of being in charge of my own digital footprint. Thanks to MyPB, I am now much more aware of social media and have begun using and experimenting with Twitter, LinkedIn and this blog. Earlier I thought a widget was some kind of screw or too. I still don't know what it is, but I've used it to link my Twitter account to my blog!

I've learnt so much about myself through psychometric testing, while defining my personal brand.
I'm beginning to realize the importance of a social media presence for me to be employable! To get that dream HR job. I'm also realizing that it would be useful to check a candidate's digital footprint as an integral part of the recruitment process.

So, there's plenty that I've learnt and would you believe it, I've finally written this blog post! More than 800 words and they kept flowing. I had better keep the rest of my learning experience for my next few posts. Cheers for now.