Analysts discussed the future of work and emerging trends in IT at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2020 India, between November 23-25. Three key trends impacting the future of work that CIOs should focus on, are the automation of routine work with artificial intelligence (AI), digital dexterity, and hybrid work with a distributed workforce, according to Gartner. Here are the details of these three trends that are very important to be well-positioned coming out of the pandemic.
AI predominates in routine work automation
AI is already an important part of routine work to direct employee focus toward higher value, nonroutine work. According to Gartner, global RPA software revenue will increase by 19.5% in 2021, and continue to grow at double-digit rates through 2024. It means that AI and robotic process automation (RPA) technologies in the enterprise will accelerate and have the potential to automate large swaths of routine work when the duties are fast, known, and repeatable.
In the near future, organizations that embrace a combination of humans and machines complementing each other’s capabilities will enable their employees to perform their jobs more effectively than either human experts or AI-enabled machines working alone.
Digital dexterity will become critical
A strong digitally dexterous workforce will become critical, during the acceleration of digital transformation initiatives. The digital dexterity of the next-generation workforce provides a competitive advantage to organizations. CIOs and IT leaders should focus on expanding the IT charter and work closely with HR leaders to include helping employees rapidly embrace new technology and invest in algorithms and well-structured training programs that identify worker skills and competencies to improve digital dexterity.
“Skills are described as the new currency for talent. They are a foundational element for managing the workforce within any industry. Improved and automated skills detection and assessment allows for significantly greater organizational agility,” said Ms. Choudhary.
Hybrid working with a distributed workforce
In 2020, organizations across the world experienced a sudden surge in remote workers. Remote workers stay connected and engaged in the ‘new normal’ will be more important than it has ever been before. Gartner predicts that 48% of employees will likely work remotely post-pandemic, as compared to 30% in a pre-pandemic world. The hybrid worker population will expand to enable more flexibility of workforce management, both for cost savings and to address temporary absences due to illness or caregiving.
“Post-COVID-19, many employees will want to work remotely more than they did prior to the pandemic,” according to Ms. Choudhary. It means a renewed interest among IT and HR organizations in next-generation remote work platforms which improves time and attendance; scheduling; absence management; and task management for hybrid workers.
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