Global human capital management (HCM) consultancy, Smart WFM announced the launch of company founder and CEO Jarrod McGrath’s book, The Digital Workforce 2nd Edition.
Leveraging insights from business and human resources leaders worldwide, the book demonstrates a five-step workforce method to maximise the value of people in business.
The Digital Workforce 2nd Edition
The Digital Workforce features interviews with T2 Tea Global People Director Georgegina Poulos, Aron Ain, CEO of UKG, Australian Payroll Association CEO Tracy Angwin, and Leapgen CEO Jason Averbook, among other business, HCM and HR leaders.
The book highlights the importance of trust and transparency, wellbeing and people experience playing a larger role for CEOs and CHROs.
“Executives want to understand what their workforce will look like and make them tick post pandemic, and that needs to go beyond the flexibility buzzword,” said McGrath.
“There are deeper, more difficult to measure ideas leaders need to get across to connect with a modern workforce, such as trust and transparency.”
“These are relevant – people may trust some parts of their working experience and not others. To make it holistic, transparency must extend to areas like diversity and inclusion, and emerging technologies such as AI which are causing fear over people’s role in the workforce.”
The importance of wellbeing is highlighted in the book, with a traditionally narrow focus impeding organisations from leveraging technology and their environments to promote wellbeing, whether it’s physical, mental, social, financial, intellectual and emotional.
Georgegina Poulos believes people should be the highest priority. “I think the focus on mental health, wellbeing, the real self, the whole self, will continue into the future.”
“The office was a place to go to work; its four walls provided a physical space entirely devoted to work.” Now, the home has become the gym, the office, the movie theatre, the kids’ playground, the hospital, the kitchen, the restaurant, you name it,” she said.
“We need to focus on redefining the boundaries of the home and work within this flexible environment, and how they come together to support wellbeing as well as business success.”
Jarrod McGrath’s recommendations
The Digital Workforce recommends meeting workforce demands for longevity.
Organisations need to recognise that people are their lifeblood, and with that comes the responsibility to incorporate their people’s values into the impact the organisation has on the environment, the economy, their families, and the world around us.
“I think people want to work for a place that makes a difference – not just inside the company walls, but also in the broader community. Their own expectations are they want to make a difference in their communities and the world,” said Mr Aron Ain.
“Social tools make that much easier to do. It’s impacting philanthropy, it’s impacting volunteerism, it’s impacting how people spend their time.”
To help businesses adapt to the digital hybrid workforce of today and the future and to ensure investments in workforce management (WFM) initiatives are valuable, the book provides a five-step workforce method: Align, Prepare, Track, Implement, and Measure.
“This book is about changing the way we think about the workforce, creating workforce initiatives that work, and not only understanding people’s passions, but weaving those passions into the very fabric of the organisation,” said McGrath.
“As we reset how we live, work and interact, its time to change our approach and create more successful organisations that have people at the epicentre of everything they do.”
The Digital Workforce 2nd Edition is available to order now in print, virtual and audio copy via Amazon, Booktopia, Barnes & Noble, Audible and directly from Smart WFM.
A percentage of book sales will be donated to Indigenous education as part of Pledge 1%.
