The talent landscape has seen a major shift in the past few years with employees getting more demanding. To be the employer of choice for the workforce of the future, organisations must adapt to the changing preferences of the new-age workforce.

The future workforce believes in driving meaningful outcomes and expects organisations to give them the freedom to be themselves and trust them to get the job done.

Amit Prakash, CHRO, Marico Limited, says monetary benefits and job security are not enough to motivate this generation, which rather prioritises better work-life balance, mental well-being, and purpose-driven roles while weighing their opportunities.

"The workforce of tomorrow is mindful of the kind of companies they want to be associated with, one who respects individuality, have significant sustainable impact, ensures flexibility and support them in their own purpose towards society," he adds.

In an interaction with People Matters, Prakash shares the top talent trends that will be fundamental for any organisation to create a future ready workplace.

Upskilling: The key to building the workforce of tomorrow

The need for upskilling and reskilling of employees is more pressing than ever in today's rapidly changing economy. With technology and globalisation transforming the workplace at an unprecedented rate, organisations must ensure that their employees have the right skills to stay ahead of the curve.

Organisations that invest in upskilling and reskilling their employees will be well-positioned to compete in the global economy. For instance, we offer a variety of online learning programmes that enable our members to upskill and reskill for their roles and prepare them for the changing landscape of work, thus grooming them into leaders of tomorrow.  As a result, we have observed better engagement and work productivity among our employees.

Career breaks are not end of your career path, but rather can lead to a re-energised career growth

We recognise that the new-age workforce envisions their careers very differently.

Simultaneously, the current family dynamics also have seen a major transformation along with the evolving role of a caregiver.

While for some career breaks may arise out of different life stages or family needs, for others, career breaks may mean a chance to pursue their passions.

The noteworthy point is that the corporates of tomorrow need to respect the choices and celebrate the individuality of the modern Indian workforce. Therefore, we at Marico Limited, decided to break the stereotype by introducing Phoenix, a gender-neutral second career programme that aims to cater to the talent aspirations of anyone who has taken a minimum one-year career break, without deep-diving on the reason for their break.  

Work productivity vs working hours

In the past year, we have seen a shift in corporate culture towards prioritising work output over work hours.  Along with offering more flexible work models and remote work options, organisations have also started prioritising their employee’s work productivity over their work hours.

The new-age talent expects their organisation to trust them to deliver outcomes to the best of their abilities, instead of over-monitoring them. As more companies have started acknowledging this, we can expect more businesses to focus on building the right capabilities and aiding distinct growth opportunities for their employees to explore their full potential instead of calculating their work hours.

For instance, at Marico, we have never monitored the attendance of our members in the past 32 years. Even during the pandemic, we made sure that we followed the same ethos, and we found that our member productivity and efficiency increased despite the lack of physical presence.

Future workforce dedicated to contributing towards mankind and environment 

Purpose-led goals act as catalysts to improve productivity, enhance engagement and provide job satisfaction. The future workforce believes in driving meaningful outcomes and expects organisations to give them the freedom to be themselves and trust them to get the job done.

Companies need to motivate their members by supporting their individual purpose over and above chasing profits.

At Marico, we encourage members to decide their own goals and help them carve the development paths. We understand that the definition of success is different for each resource, as an organisation, we attempt to understand individual purposes, and mentor them towards achieving it.

We have thus charted a refreshed TVP - “Go Beyond, Grow Beyond and Be the Impact” to keep our organisation contextual to the evolving talent aspirations. We observed that there is greater representation of younger minds in driving sustainability initiatives. As an organisation, we enable members to ‘live their purpose’.

Diversity a prerequisite to trigger innovation

Diversity and inclusivity have become an essential component to achieve business excellence. We strongly believe that the diverse background, expertise and perception of multi-cultural and multi-generational workforce spurs innovation and enhances productivity.

Furthermore, employees are inspired when their company encourages them to ‘be themselves’ and respect their individuality. Right from their opinions to their sexual orientation, and even their learning and development needs to achieve both personal and professional goals.

We recently revamped our diversity and inclusivity policies and established the Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) Council with an aim to curate a culture where diverse perspectives across levels are equally heard and valued.