During the final session of the day, CIPD CEO Peter Cheese engaged in a Q&A session with the conference facilitator, Katie Ledger, exploring the changing nature of work. “I don’t believe we can carry on building the future of work in the ways we have done in the past,” he asserted. “We are truly at an inflection point and HR has a fundamental role to play.”
Cheese’s vision of “creating a future of work that is good for our people” includes providing employees with a variety of ways in which to work. He explained to the audience that the future of work is ‘human’, arguing that it’s time to “stop putting people in boxes” and to think about the changing nature of the workforce.
Cheese asked: “How will diversity, multigenerational differences and digitalisation impact the workforce? How are technology, flexible working, virtual working and the self-employed impacting the working world? We need to consider all these factors and respond.”
He urged business leaders to have an outward focus by keeping up with current trends. “If 40% of today’s organisations can’t fill their roles, what does that tell you? You need to start looking at modern business models, innovate and take on these challenges.”