4. Rethink how you think of jobs

Decreasing tenure and an acknowledgement that business strategy needs to be based around ever-changing talent rosters will require leaders to completely change the way that jobs are structured.

^{4. Rethink how you think of jobs}

You’ll need to design your new roles from the assumption that whoever is doing them will only be staying with you for 2-4 years – and work backwards from this point.

Ensuring faster time to value from your new hires will also be key. Jobs designed with short tenure in mind will also need to be supported by much more tightly controlled onboarding and “bedding in” processes. Skills and learning will therefore have to become a much more prominent part of the HR function, alongside the development of talent pipelines. (And the skills people are able to learn with you will become a key part of the benefits you can offer to talent to bring them on board.)

In line with this, you’ll also need to reorient your benefits to make them more compatible with short terms of service. Rewards for time in role or time with the company will have to go, replaced by performance-based incentives for work on specific projects with much more clearly established targets and expectations.

Although it may feel like a lot more work in the short term, in the long term, taking this approach to building jobs within your organization can help HR position itself as a strategic partner. The role of HR and company leaders becomes less focused on keeping the roles that currently exist filled, and more on developing a strategic forecast of what roles will be needed in the future as your constantly rotating talent roster is progressively replaced over time.

In other words, innovation will increase because it will be more of a necessity than ever.

As the world of work continues to transform rapidly, organizations that move quickly to experiment with new models, learn and adapt will have a massive competitive advantage.

Steve Cadigan
LinkedIn’s First Chief HR Officer,
Future of Work Obsessed,
Board Member, Teacher & Author