“Making Sense Of Change: Corporate Jobs And Skills Post Covid”

Until recently, the term ‘post-apocalyptic world’ was limited to a subgenre of science fiction, in which the world as we have known has collapsed or changed beyond belief due to a catastrophe. Come 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic and we realised that the apocalypse was very much here, changing we’ve known and understood so far, beyond recognition. Not the one to give up easily, Corporate India is changing its game plan even as it takes stock and prepares to grapple with the ‘new normal.’ Here’s catching up with the corporate honchos to put the spotlight on the question: “what is the future of work in a post-COVID world in terms of both the job scenario as well as the necessary skill sets?” The answers and analyses are as varied as they are interesting and incisive. Corporate Citizen takes note

“Brands have to be present online and stand out from the crowd of competitors”

Mallika Agarwal
- marketing manager, Hats Off Digital Pvt Ltd

It goes without saying that marketing has moved towards digital platforms. In fact, digital marketing has found the big jump it was looking for. Most of the jobs in marketing are coming from digital space now. Hence, the need for skilled professionals with the ability to think on their feet and take challenges head-on.

Brands have realised that they have to be present online. There has been a lot of focus on building websites to help brands make a name for themselves. During COVID, people were unable to step out and newspapers were not being printed. This has naturally put emphasis on digital marketing as opposed to traditional marketing. Brands have taken to social media to let consumers know they’re in the market. However, it’s not enough to be present, brands have to stand out from the crowd of competitors. The future of a brand on social media will depend upon the creativity of the social media manager, their problem solving ability and constantly reassuring the customers of the value of the brand.

The job roles that will see a rise in the future are those of social media managers, graphic designers, app developers and website developers amongst other profiles.

“Practices across recruitment to employee engagement and collaboration will need to be revisited”

Aloka Parulekar
- senior member, HR Team of CACTUS GLOBAL

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way the world defines work and workspaces. Employers are no longer bound by traditional hiring practices of in-person interviews and considerations like losing candidates whose roles demand relocating to a different city or candidates’ preferences of working from the office versus working from home. These changes will come to the fore fully once the dust settles.

Employers will have a wider talent pool and value propositions will be redefined to accommodate effective virtual working and integrating with the organisation in this new evolving culture. Technology will be the lifeline of the organisation. Many employers will actively explore new avenues in the technology space and seek out new talent to meet the surfacing demands of this new landscape. Practices across recruitment to employee engagement and collaboration will need to be revisited. While the skill set required for existing roles may not change drastically, employers will now look for soft skills to gauge culture fitment, technology adaptability, and mental preparedness to collaborate virtually. Employers will also gauge factors like stability, flexibility, and purpose differently and candidates will have to highlight these aspects more prominently. Employers will, in turn, rebuild their value propositions to showcase their evolved work philosophy, culture, and ecosystem.

“Self-motivated staff will be the biggest asset. Hire character and train skill”

Dr Chinmay Bhosale
- senior corporate lawyer & managing partner, SRB juris

I will divide my answer into three points. They are as follows :

1. Job market scenario during this COVID-19 crisis period

Unfortunately both the skilled as well as unskilled job markets are terribly hit by the COVID-19 crisis. The fact that non-performance is not the bar to determine the laying off, is more disturbing to the public at large which is also resulting in a lot of mental trauma and stress with many needing formal psychological help. In India, on an average 95 per cent of the businesses do not have more than a month’s surplus and hence most of them had little option but to lay off people. However, with the economy slowly moving into motion, there is some improvement on that front. Having said that, few industries like Health & FMCG have seen a reasonable rise in hiring.

2. New skills in demand as ‘how we work’ is going through drastic change

Self-motivation is the biggest skill which is required now. Since most of the businesses are going through a phase of survival, the community feeling of the company to be self-motivated to survive and come out of this situation is the biggest plus currently. Also, since maintaining lean teams has become a necessity due to financial constraints, it has become impractical to have additional staff just to motivate the existing workers. Self-motivated staff is the biggest asset currently. As they say, hire character and train skill. This has never been more relevant before.

3. Future of work

In the foreseeable future, workplaces will be focused on sustainable work. Leaner and more efficient staff members, office spaces catering only to necessities and not splurging on the vain trappings of a ‘bigger office’, and taking up work mandates which can practically be serviced will be the future of work. People, as well as organisations, have started valuing necessities as well and hence sustainability in all fronts will be the mantra. This might also give rise to a culture of permanently working from home for a sizeable population.

“Technology, novelty and speed of execution will be the core differentiators”

Sanjay Jha
- CHRO & Sr. VP Business Development & OEM Relations, Mahindra First Choice Wheels Ltd

Our recent time has been replete with disruptions, largely due to technology. COVID-19 has just put the disruption process on steroids. It has reset the new normal for the future of work and future skills requirements. By the way, the future is not going to be far away from now. It is coming only closer and closer with time.

In a world where remote ways of transaction and interactions are going to stay good for safety, speed and ease, work location will not remain a constraint. A skilled person, staying in any nook and corner of the world, having an internet connection, will be able to work for an organisation on full-time or part basis as a permanent employee or a freelancer. The workplace will become a virtual place with a diverse culture. One will have options to start or restart the career from any point of time in one’s life. Hence, organisations would prefer to have a few generalists for permanent roles but many specialists for temporary roles. In highly disrupted worlds the mortality rate of organisations will increase. To reverse its entropy, an organisation would strive to be more and more:

• Physically and psychologically safe
• Highly responsive
• Strong ability to quickly pilot and scale up new ideas
• Synergistics with the stakeholders of its ecosystem
• Hydra-headed and keep inventing itself

Organisations will start operating more and more as a platform to give customer end-toend virtual and individualised experience. Technology, novelty and speed of execution will be the core differentiators.

In such time, one will be required to be highly mindful to live and learn in the moment. People will be required to invest in continuous learning and acquire mastery in a few of them. Digital literacy will become basic requirements. Owing to a continuously discontinuous environment one will be required to be highly observant, patient and resilient. They would like to work in a purpose- driven organisation, where they’ll have autonomy and opportunity to work in larger than life work.

“People who would not have dreamt of outsourcing work to India are doing so because the luxury for bias would pinch their pockets”

Rakesh Ramchandani
Vice President-Alliances and Digital, Cybage, Pune

Being a part of the IT sector, as knowledge-centric an industry as can be, the question of jobs and skills in the post-COVID-19 world is a pretty relevant and pertinent one.

Prima facie, it is clear that business isn’t good. Some sectors are particularly in a bad way, travel and hospitality being prime examples. However, the opportunities are hidden amidst the challenges and it’s up to us to optimise their potential: more on that in a bit. The “new normal” as it is called has seen the emergence of certain products and services and the exit of certain other categories. Take for instance, the huge success of digital retail, there’s no arguing the fact that it is both the present as well as the future. Similarly, certain products are in demand like never before: laptops, microphones, certain categories of medical equipment, included. The way we dress has changed: instead of high end formal attire, people would want to look at casual chic to comfortably work from home. Needs evolve with the dynamics of the surroundings. The human tendency is to accept and adapt the most change within three to six months. Take the airline industry for example; passenger traffic may have changed but freight and cargo are on the rise given the need for the door to door deliveries. Online training is another emerging sector as is the need for competent trainers and app developers.

Real estate is another sector of change: the need for huge office spaces is likely to change if most teams work from home.

When it comes to IT, the post-COVID-19 realities are a boon in disguise. People who would not have dreamt of outsourcing work to India are doing so because the luxury for bias would pinch their pockets. So now, we have to step up to the plate. Naturally, the question would arise: what kind of skills will be in demand? To that, my answer is that while core skills will remain the same, the focus will also be on soft skills. Given that teams are working remotely, no more can each member leave it to the team leader or project manager to answer the client: they will have to do it themselves. Naturally, the ability to articulate a point, maintain their poise and stand their ground will make a difference. Attitude, self-discipline and work ethos will make a difference.

One bit of good news is that no more will youngsters from tier II and tier III cities have to make a beeline for the overcrowded environs of tier I cities, with the help of a reliable net connection and decent work ethic, they will be able to succeed from their own backyards. This, in turn, will give the overloaded infrastructure of bigger cities the much needed breathing space.

Over and above IT, I predict that given the surge of new products, design thinking will be a brilliant space for change. How you apply design to build products and experiences that are customer-friendly, precise and effective is the new question.