Deloitte Advises Corporates to Embrace Workplace Flexibility for Talents Retention

Dike Onwuamaeze

The Deloitte has advised corporate organisations to embrace work flexibility that would allow employees operate seamlessly from diverse locations in order to attract and retain technical and skilled talents.

These views were expressed in Deloitte’s 2023 “Global Human Capital Trends Report: New Fundamentals for a Boundaryless World,” which stated that “for Nigeria in particular, the consistent rise in Consumer Price Index (CPI) and other dwindling factors of the economy are making many young Nigerians relocate in search of greener pastures.”

Deloitte added in the report that many workers now consider where to work as part of their fundamental human rights. According to the Human Capital Leader, Deloitte Germany, Maren Hauptmann, “many workers now consider the ability to determine where they complete their work, whether in the office, at home, or elsewhere, to be an inalienable right.

“They see this as one of the best opportunities to co-create the future of work with their organisation’s leaders and to see those statements of trust in action.”

Following the release of the report, the Deloitte’s Human Capital Leader, West Africa, Mr. Joseph Olofinsola, affirmed that “work has now evolved to mean how people access capabilities across the broader talent ecosystem, curate personalised and elevated experiences for the full workforce, and engage them for impact.”

The report added that the growth in worker’s agency and technology has continued to accelerate, and organisations should challenge the idea that limited workplaces to designated physical locations.

Even though work today is primarily defined by jobs and descriptions of specific tasks, many are beginning to see this as an outdated notion.

Findings from the Deloitte’s skills-based organisation survey, showed that only 19 per cent of executives and 23 per cent of workers said that work is best structured that way.

According to the Principal and Lead for Deloitte’s Workforce Transformation Practice, Mr. Michael Griffiths, “while jobs remain the primary way we define work, they are not the only way. Strict job definitions can limit workers’ and organisations’ abilities to innovate and be agile In the face of disruption.

“By moving to a skills-based approach, organisations can unlock their workforce’s full potential and create a workplace where people have more choice, growth and autonomy in their careers.”

The report noted that with the changing idea about what would make teams most effective; organisations are currently seeking ways to change how work is organised and how it is inclusively accessible.

Results from the survey as stated in the report, indicated that only 20 per cent of respondents believed that their organisation “is very ready to tackle the challenge, representing the largest readiness gap of all trends surveyed.

 But the report stated that if organisations would decide to address this gap urgently, there would be an unleashing of worker-potential to drive tremendous value, making their teams more likely to innovate and improve processes to maximise efficiency.

The Human Capital Practice Leader, Deloitte U.K., Ms. Kate Sweeney, argued that “organisations around the world are seizing the opportunity to elevate skills well beyond the  ‘functional’ or ‘technical,’ and are now focusing on building the critical workforce capabilities that will enable their people to navigate near-constant change and disruption.” 

According to the Principal and Global Future of Work Leader, Deloitte Consulting LLP, Mr. Steve Hatfield, “to be successful in this new world of work, organisations must abandon the idea of complete control and co-create with workers to shape the new rules and boundaries that will define how they operate.”