Phillips Consulting Tasks Organisations on Future of Work

Phillips Consulting Limited (pcl.), a leading business and management consulting firm in Africa in collaboration with Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce, (NSACC) recently held a webinar to share practical experiences and propose viable solutions for unique future of work and market post pandemic.

According to experts who spoke at the programme, “The “post-pandemic” world of work will continue to evolve. With no clear answers in sight, organisations will continue to search for best-fit solutions to navigate the uncertainty around us. There is no doubt that this will have an impact on our lives.”

The consensus position was that, with little to no information about Africa, specifically the Nigerian business environment, many thought leaders offer solutions suited to advanced economies.

However, differences in everyday realities such as technology adoption, economic strength, demographics, and educational levels affect the pattern of evolution in developing and emerging markets.

According to Head of Advisory- People Transformation, Mr. Joshua Ademuwagun, who delivered pcl.’s perspective on the future of work, he emphasised that people can neither stop nor fight the future of work.

Ademuwagun further advised that organisations should position themselves to ride the wave of change by answering the questions about why, by whom, when, and how we will do work in the future.

Partner Strategy and Operations Transformation, Omorinsola Sofola, who spoke about the pcl. experience and how the firm had evolved to meet the new demands of remote work during the lockdown, mentioned that engaging employees in designing their future workspace created a sense of ownership and identity.

She further cited pcl. ’s Strategic Preparedness Report, stating that organisations need to ensure a culture built on diversity and inclusion. This often involves engaging key staff members, not just executives. She discussed how pcl. had used its Phillips Accelerated Solution Environment (pASE™) to help clients solve culture and community challenges.

Meanwhile, CEO of Spacefinish, Remi Dada, noted that nobody knows the answer to the future of work and that we are all experimenting. “The good news is that we are probably making the correct guesses.”

He pointed out that the future of work is not just about physical buildings but about human and social behaviours.

Speaking on effect of technology in new future of work, Tosin Okojie, VP Financial Planning and Analysis of Andela, revealed that technology is now the trusted intermediary between employer and employee, creating a network effect that has scaled the gig economy and, in the process, made organisations more agile.

In his opinion, Babajide Duroshola, General Manager of M-Kopa reminded everyone that the future of work is borderless, even for the Nigerian market, “We no longer need to have people confined to working in a specific geographical location. With COVID-19 pushing globalisation and allowing for accessible communication and dissemination of information, employees no longer need to be in the same country or time zone.”