There is a new wave of technologies. After the previous three industrial revolutions i.e., mechanical production (first), mass production (second), and digital (third), a new industrial revolution – Industry 4.0, has been around for a while now. This time, the trends are bending towards automation.

As the Covid-19 pandemic presented the biggest challenges to the world, the automation revolution has been accelerated. Businesses have started embracing the ‘new normal’, reshaping according to the changed reality. They’re adapting to the new fundamentals of operational processes, reimagining the workspace, and with that, upskilling the workforce. The world is transforming digitally and businesses are building resilience.

Is your organization embracing the fourth industrial revolution?

The future is uncertain – Investing in resilience is a necessity!

A workforce of the Future!

Automation is already here, impacting many business operations, reducing repetitive tasks, and helping organizations enable autonomous decision-making processes in real-time. The ultimate goal is to maximize work efficiency and company profits, which Automation and Artificial Intelligence are making possible.

Now, what does it mean for jobs?

No doubt humans have an upper hand when it comes to authenticity and soft skills. However, to keep up with the technologies, the workforce needs to become far superior. Knowledge development and upgrading abilities are the need of the hour. For this, organizations not only have to invest in their workforce’s near-term skills but also focus on the long-term i.e., future-upskilling resilience.

Some organizations do not see automation as a risk to their business, hence, upskilling comes as an afterthought. But let’s talk about the risk to their workforce. According to reports, companies who deprive their employees of upskilling, fail to retain them. Why? Because there is an anxiety of being replaced by automation.

Organizations should invest in workforce development – focus on building resilience, proactively grow their skill sets. This full-scale upskilling can position the business for continued success.

Actions Required by Company Leaders

To capitalize on the potential automation, company leaders need to initiate some actions before adopting new changes:

·         Boost Enthusiasm: Leaders are required to increase satisfaction among employees who have expectations of growth opportunities. They need to show their employees how automation will help them by creating projects and giving the employees the opportunities to see the perks of automation themselves.

·         Lay out plans beforehand: Leaders need to reduce the anxiety by describing their organization’s plans for implicating automation and explain automation-related displacement. There should be a clear roadmap to how it will affect the employees’ current jobs and how they will be trained or upskilled accordingly.

·         Help adapt to change: Leaders should help their employees adapt to the new changes. The employees need to be walked through the demonstrations. They should be provided with the opportunities to try the new technologies out, know their responsibilities for their future-proof careers.

·         Training Sessions: Leaders need to arrange face-to-face training sessions for their workforce. Apart from this, there should be e-learning or online training sessions with peer groups.

The skill gap due to automation needs to be identified as well as acknowledged by the leaders. The right approach towards reducing the gap with upskilling efforts will help the organization align the business operations with its needs and objectives. One would say – future-resilient upskilling is now mandatory for a business’s success!

Encourage PDRs (Personal Development Reviews) but also give your employees ownership and control of their skill development. Allow your workforce the time to learn, without the pressure.

Automation may replace a lot of roles but let us not forget that we will always have a role to play in the organizations. Whether it is creating opportunities, satisfying customers by meeting their demands, or meeting new market trends by new business processes. There is always the scope of the invention.

Embrace Automation – Upskill Your Workforce!

The world is evolving – Learn to evolve with it!

Embrace the emerging technologies and power your workforce with future-resilient upskilling to keep pace.

Real digital transformation occurs when there is a collective alignment of mindsets towards improving the future. Cognixia- the world’s leading digital talent transformation company – is committed to driving this agile mindset and help enterprises future-proof careers of their workforce. Whether it is upgrading your teams in Industry 4.0 technologies or delivering digital-ready talent to hire, Cognixia can help you stay ahead of the tech curve.

Get highly interactive training sessions from a team of industry veterans – customized as per your organization’s needs.