2020: the new world of workThree innovations that are changing the global workforce.

Mark a. lanfear

IntroductIon

2 | 2020: the new world of work

there’s been a lot of talk over the last

couple of years about what the workforce

of tomorrow will look like. Futurists

have focused, perhaps arbitrarily, on the

year 2020, plastering across the Internet

thoughts and ideas about how everyone’s

concept of a “normal” day of work will

be shattered in just a few short years.

Actually many of these changes are

happening already, and, by 2020,

companies that fail to embrace some very

fundamental ways in which the global

workforce is transforming will seem as

old-fashioned as the rotary telephone.

An evolution of the traditional employer–

employee relationship. Professionals banding

together to work in highly technical hybrid

groups. Collaboration across continents

where “virtual” is the new bricks and

mortar. These are three fundamental

workstructure innovations that will seem

as normal in the future as water cooler

conversations were in the 20th century.

This whitepaper, the final of four in the Kelly

Services® series on the scientific workforce

of 2020 and beyond, will explore how free

agency, hybrid workgroups, and the virtual

workplace are trends that are converging

to define how the world’s businesses and

organizations will utilize their most valuable

resources—talent—in order to compete

more effectively, both today and tomorrow.

This trend has actually been developing

for close to a decade, but only now has it

come to be seen by futurists as a viable

work model for the majority of the world’s

workforce. In the past, if companies saw

“free agency” or “consultant labor” as

just a gap-filling measure, today the most

sophisticated organizations are seeing it

as a forward-thinking strategy capable of

delivering improvements and efficiencies

which may add to their bottom lines.

why should companies investigate free

agency as a serious topic? there’s some

proof in the numbers. The Kelly® 2011 Free

Agent Survey found that 44% of American

workers across all industries, when asked,

classify themselves as free agents—

3 | 2020: the new world of work

01. free aGencY IS hereIn fields like engineering, IT, and science, highly skilled and experienced employees are already showing signs that they are less willing to compromise on location and compensation when it comes to the work they do. This is free agency supercharged and it could dominate the world’s workforce by 2020.

those who do not have full-time traditional

employment with an organization.

Internationally, the percentages are smaller,

but growing. Kelly research shows that the

free agent population is now at least 20 to

30% of the entire global workforce. As soon

as 2013, there will be 1.19 billion free agents,

or about 35% of the worldwide workforce,

according to a study by global research

firm IDC.

There are many reasons for this growing

trend in employment engagement, and

many experts believe that global economic

uncertainty, coupled with the desire for better

work–life balance, is inspiring workers—

especially those in highly technical fields

—to trust themselves more than an

organization to know what is right for their

career progression.

these workers know that demand for

their skills is high, but they also know

that corporate paternalism is dead. Many

will ultimately come to place more value on

working on projects of interest to them with

colleagues they respect, and on innovations

that lead to results—with less focus on

climbing the corporate ladder.

The challenge for companies will be to

embrace through tangible infrastructure

and corporate culture these new workforce

models, and to appreciate how it will

contribute to long-term organizational health.

Hiring focused on the person and experiences

they possess—not just for the job or task

at hand—will become the lifeblood of the

organization and perhaps one of the most

powerful drivers. Free agents are critical

components in this equation, and talent

acquisition teams who fail to acknowledge

this will see valuable talent go elsewhere.

These factors reinforce what we

have theorized for a long time as

companies continue to grapple with the

hypercompetitive nature of global business:

an organization’s ability to recruit, engage,

and develop talent is a vital indication of its

ability to remain competitive and relevant.

Making free agents an integral part of a

company’s strategy will ensure that the

organization is able to engage needed talent.

4 | 2020: the new world of work

Concepts such as business colonies,

synchronized workforces, and skill-set

modules—all different forms of work

groups—can be formed to accommodate

any type of work or project. This represents

a profound shift in basic employment

structures, where both companies and

individuals are coming together to seek

out innovative ways of doing business that

capitalize on mobile workforces and

mobile opportunities.

So what are business colonies,

synchronized workforces, and skill-set

modules? Business colonies have been

defined specifically by futurist Thomas Frey

of the DaVinci Institute as  “organizational

structures designed around matching talent

02. workInG wIth work GrouPSThe formation of hybrid work groups is a natural progression as the culture of free agency takes hold across the globe.

with pending work projects. The operation

will revolve around some combination of

resident people based in a physical facility

and a non-resident virtual workforce. Some

business colonies will forgo the cost of

the physical facility completely, opting

instead to form around an entirely virtual

communications structure”.

With these business colonies established,

they are able to seek work on a project basis

from large companies that are seeking their

specific skills. In some instances, according

to Frey, “large corporations will launch their

own business colonies as a way to expand

capability without adding to headcount”

and could possibly even use these colonies

for “experimental assignments best

performed outside of the cultural bounds of

existing workflow”.

Similar to business colonies, synchronized

workforces and skill-set modules are

loosely defined as pockets of talent

that are considered a critical asset to an

organization, but are not necessarily needed

throughout the entire process of a project.

Companies might employ these workforces

with other pockets of talent in a different

part of the country or on an entirely different

continent. All work on different aspects

of the same project, helping companies

save not only money, but time in the wake

of global competition that continues to

demand that products are developed

smarter and faster.

Ultimately, these hybrid work groups can

all mean very different things to different

organizations. But at the most basic level,

these concepts are about engaging the

right talent in the right place at the right

time—regardless of a company’s physical

location. They are about banishing the

cubicle and fixed schedule. And they

are about embracing the evolution to a

workplace model independent of traditional

employment constraints.

these concepts are about fulfilling

the needs and expectations of both

organizations and the people who work

for them, because the best human capital

is now among the most valuable resources

in the world.

5 | 2020: the new world of work

03. the VIrtual workPlaceWith free agency and hybrid work groups in play, the virtual workplace could be a dominant model in the year 2020 and beyond. This could be especially true and influential in the science industry, where the days of the insular workplace are over, and a culture of virtual work is helping companies gain a competitive edge.

As knowledge sharing continues to gain

traction, and as vital economic resources

continue to constrict at scientifically

focused companies both large and small,

the expertise of others outside a particular

organization, and the ability to work across

continents within a virtual model, will become

a more and more important factor for

reaching business goals.

as a result, virtual scientific networks are

already cropping up all over the Internet.

ResearchGate.net is one such network, which

has gained popularity over the past year for

its ability to easily connect scientists, allow

them to answer questions from peers, share

research papers, and find collaborators for

future projects. Essentially, it is a mash-up

of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn for the

science world where scientists can share

their photos and profiles, as well as their

work with colleagues around the globe.

Since ResearchGate’s inception in early

2011, membership has grown to more than

1.3 million users, and about one million

publications have been shared so far in a

notable example of the traditional scientific

journals being bypassed as an avenue

of publication.

As the popularity of these virtual networks

grows in the scientifically oriented, and many

other technical industries, it will become

even more apparent that nearly all work

of the future will have factors that may be

virtual. that is, the global workforce and

therefore business economy is now more

“borderless” than in the past, and there is a

growing acceptance that work can happen

anywhere regardless of brick and mortar or

company location.

It’s worth noting that the independent nature

of today’s working world is being fueled in no

small part by innovative social communities

and the collaborative nature of technologies

(i.e., virtual networks) that continue to evolve,

according to the 2012 independent work

report by MBO Partners. This will make a

company’s understanding of these networks

all the more critical, and their ability to take

advantage of them with regard to building

a customized and flexible workforce model

critical as well. With the proliferation of

collaborative cloud computing tools and the

types of social networks discussed above, it is

inevitable that the professionals that scientific

companies need will be tapping into these

networks to find the projects and teams they

would like to work with.

Companies will have to be engaged and

“at the table”, when the moment presents

itself in order to locate expert talent as the

proliferation of these work-related social

communities allows free agents to find the

best jobs, create teams and partnerships, and

support professional development.

6 | 2020: the new world of work

04. eMBracInG the new workforceScientifically focused corporations working within the constraints of traditional employment may find it challenging to take on these innovative aspects of the workforce of the future.

In fact, utilizing free agency, alternative and

hybrid work groups, and the power of virtual

networks may still seem like a completely

novel concept despite how fast workplaces

across the globe are changing.

But the very nature of the science industry

itself, and how it continues to change to

meet economic realities, might well be the

driving force behind companies taking a

more strategic approach to their workforce

solutions in the future. Some of the most

obvious changes have come about because

of pure economics. Practically everyone

is being challenged to do more with less.

Particularly within the science industry,

increased challenges in the development

of drugs and other products are influencing

how companies conduct business and control

costs at practically every step in a particular

process. A scientific company’s most

important projects, it could be argued, are

now often likely to be conducted on a micro,

not macro, level.

companies as a result must take the

necessary steps to adapt their work

workforce solutions according to these

challenges:

1. Identify strategic versus transactional

processes within your company. What

activities are core, but yet could still

be interwoven into strategic workforce

solutions? Which tasks and process,

transactional, strategic, core or ancillary

be done on a project basis? Assess your

workforce, and figure out how specifically-

skilled free agents could efficiently and

effectively contribute to your operations by

applying their specialized knowledge.

2. Do a cultural and sociability audit. Is your

company on board with the workplace

reality of the future? Extreme competition

for talent is dictating that companies must

be able to meet workers’ expectations in

radically different ways and be open to

different types of hybrid work groups. Are

you willing to nurture new ways of working

in order to attract and retain the best

employees?

3. Engage a strategic partner that can help

your organization build a better workforce

strategy. Going it alone can be daunting.

Look for partners that already have the

expertise and experience to secure the

right talent at the right time for the right

processes.

7 | 2020: the new world of work

concluSIonIt may not be a matter of if but when these aspects of the evolving world of work will reach the workplace and drive a shift that will change the workforce as we have known it. The concepts of free agency, hybrid work groups, and the virtual workplace are three of the major challenges companies must prepare for in order to increase their likelihood of continued success, to attract the best talent in the future, and to maintain a competitive edge within the vast and complex global workforce.

referenceS:1. “Free Agent Survey”, Kelly Services, Inc. 20112. Worldwide Mobile Worker Population 2009-2013 Forecast. International Data Corporation. www.idc.com3. “Business colonies: A study of structure, organization, and the evolution of work.” Davinci Institute. www.davinciinstitute.com 4. Lin, Thomas. “Cracking Open the Scientific Process.” New York Times. January 16, 2012.5. “MBO Partners 2012 Independent Work Predictions.” Report. December, 2011. www.mbopartners.com

want more information?

This white paper is part of the Kelly Scientific Resources series The Scientific Workforce of 2020 and Beyond.

Download this and other papers in the series at kellyscientific.com today.

EXIT

This information may not be published, broadcast, sold, or otherwise distributed without prior written permission from the authorized party. All trademarks are property of their respective owners. An Equal Opportunity Employer. © 2012 Kelly Services, Inc.

aBout the author

Mark Lanfear is a global practice leader for the Life Science vertical at

kelly Services, a leader in providing workforce solutions. Mark has overseen

teams of scientific professionals around the world for almost two decades.

He has held leadership roles in two of the top three scientific workforce solution

companies and three of the world’s top 20 Biopharmaceutical corporations.

He is a featured speaker at many of the Life Science’s industry conferences, as

well as a university instructor. In addition, he is a published author in industry periodicals.

aBout kellY

Kelly Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: KELYA, KELYB) is a leader in providing workforce solutions. Kelly

offers a comprehensive array of outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing

on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Serving clients around the globe, Kelly

provides employment to more than 550,000 employees annually. Revenue in 2011 was $5.6 billion.

Visit www.kellyservices.com and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter.

Download The Talent Project, a free iPad app by Kelly Services.

Our science specialty places professionals to a broad spectrum of industries, including

biotechnology, chemical, consumer products, biotechnology, chemical, consumer products,

cosmetics, environmental, food sciences, medical/clinical, pharmaceutical, and petrochemical fields.

For more information, please visit kellyservices.com/Global/Science