Cracking the code on digital talent: analogue vs. digital

Prof. Dr. Salvatore Moccia
Editor-in-Chief

Last week, I was in Nanjing for the “The Eleventh International Symposium on Multinational Business Management — Digital Intelligence, Corporate Transformation, and Strategic Human Resources Management.” Along with many companies, more than 300 researchers were there, including two Nobel Prize winners. We reflected, over the course of two days, on the importance of digital transformation and, especially, the need to cultivate digital-talent and design new tools and best practices to manage human resources in this new era.

Businesses worldwide are facing a new set of challenges, attending the rapid development of digital technology, from coping with accelerating technology development, environments of heightened competition, new market identification, restructured work processes and modes, and new stakeholder demands. Failure to adapt to these changes poses an existential threat to existing organizations.

Firms embracing and developing digital transformation will gain competitive advantage in the new business environment.

To successfully transform in the digital era, organizations must be agile, innovative, and adaptable. Digital transformation of industry is no longer optional, but essential for businesses if they are to remain competitive. According to a European investment Bank (EIB) study, digitalization is associated with better business performance, across metrics of productivity, management practices, innovation, growth and provision of higher-paying jobs.

Digital transformation is often credited with reducing costs – due to a better use of technology or process improvement – but its benefits are certainly not confined to cost reduction. Digital transformation also involves a process of creating new business models that adapt to a digital environment. In fact, we should also recognize that a company’s digital approach can have a huge impact on the nature of the job, the different types of jobs, or the way people are managed. Thus, there is a need to develop new human resource strategies for talent management in the digital age.

Analogue Vs. Digital.

In short, going back to the topic of the Symposium at Nanjing University, as the acceleration of digital transformation continues, it is virtually impossible to imagine a business reaching its full potential without a robust and resilient base of digital talent. Even as more tech talent becomes available, demand for this mission-critical segment of the workforce is likely to only intensify.
The organizations that will succeed at attracting, retaining, and amplifying the overall impact of digital talent are those that will develop a refined understanding of what the ‘talent’ really wants—and find innovative ways to deliver it. Hence, it is imperative to understand that “digital companies” cannot be managed with old tradition “analogue HR techniques and tools”. New HR tools and practices should be analyzed, tested and introduced.

Among new best practices, we will find that:

• Focus will shift from “managing the work of people” to “managing for performance”.
• Workers will no longer be viewed as “employees” but rather as “partners”; they will be seen, not as “subordinates,” but “associates” who must be persuaded rather than ordered.
• Empowering others and seeking inclusiveness will achieve the balance between change and continuity.

And more will come…for sure…the only constant is the change…especially now…

Ready for that?
Next time more!