50% of India’s business leaders unsure about future of work, cost pressures biggest impediment: PWC
Half of India’s business leaders are uncertain about the future of work, according to a survey by PwC India. The survey found that five out of 10 leaders believe there is a need to plan for multiple possible futures of the workplace and workforce, but fear of setting a precedent and cost pressures prevent them from taking action.
The survey also highlighted a key difference between Indian leaders and their global counterparts. While global leaders focus on identifying the skills workers will need in the face of rapid technological advancements, Indian leaders struggle with providing infrastructure, physical working environments, and technology to enable their workers to perform at their best.
According to the report, Indian leaders face multiple inhibitors to progress, including lack of systems and data, competing investments or priorities, cost pressures, and organizational culture. In contrast, global leaders cite lack of leadership capability as a larger impediment.
The report also emphasized the importance of equipping the workforce with the necessary skillsets to utilize technology effectively. It suggests that Indian leaders prioritize skill identification to ensure that technology investments yield returns.
In terms of the future of work, the report suggests that Indian leaders should tap into talent virtually in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities and leverage the gig economy.
Nearly half of respondents, or about 48 percent, in a survey believe it is important to identify the potential risks associated with replacing human work with technology. However, the survey found that many are hesitant to establish a culture of transparency within their organizations.
Furthermore, 54 percent of leaders acknowledge the significance of identifying necessary skills, but they are reluctant to take action due to competing priorities.
The survey, conducted with the participation of nearly 4,000 business and HR leaders from organizations across diverse sectors in 26 territories, included 210 leaders from India. The resulting report highlights six “no-regrets” moves identified by Indian leaders to prepare for the future of work, along with six imperatives identified by PwC India to overcome workforce challenges and ensure the long-term viability of organizations.
These no-regrets moves and imperatives are as follows:
1. Anticipate and plan for the future: Recognize “prioritising and sense making” as a critical organizational capability for driving investment decisions.
2. Build trust in the organization: Embrace a workplace concept that focuses on a “workplace of the people” rather than a “workplace for the people” to foster trust.
3. Optimize workforce productivity and performance: Leverage technology to enable enhanced productivity and performance, while management fosters a culture that supports productivity.
4. Enable the skills of the future: Prioritize culture as a competitive advantage to prepare for the skills required in the future.
5. Prepare for and deploy technology with humans in mind: Focus on human-led, technology-enabled approaches to work.
6. Build the ability to rapidly access and deploy talent: View organizations from the perspective of the “skills and capability age.”
Chaitali Mukherjee, Partner and Leader at PwC India, emphasized the changing nature of workforce challenges. Previously, these challenges focused on organizational design, capabilities, and culture. However, in the present, the challenges are more employee-driven on both a global and local scale. Mukherjee emphasizes the need for organizations worldwide to prioritize leadership capabilities to drive necessary changes and achieve significant progress in their businesses.
