CIPD’s Festival of Work tackles the biggest issues in the world of work

This week’s blog has been inspired by our attendance at CIPD’s inaugural Festival of Work.

The festival brought together the ‘Learning and Development Show’, the ‘HR Software and Recruitment Show’ along with the new and exciting ‘Future of Work Show’.

Over 130 speakers from all industries and sectors took part which gave us the opportunity to build our own unique learning experience by choosing topics of interest through case studies, masterclasses, skills sessions and interactive panel discussions.

Some food for thought…

• We currently have the highest employment rate since records began in 1971 BUT the quality of jobs on offer is dropping
• The female employment rate is currently at a record high of 71.4%. 1.2 million more women are working full-time than before the economic downturn in 2008
• 65% of children entering primary school today will ultimately end up working in completely new job types that don’t yet exist

(Stats from Kelly Tolhurst, the MP for Rochester and Strood, and minister for small business, consumers and corporate responsibility)

Get closer to technology!

The opening keynote speaker was Garry Kasparov, the former World Chess Champion & Chair of the Human Rights Foundation.  He was famously beaten by IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue in 1997 – a win seen as symbolically significant, a sign that artificial intelligence was catching up with human intelligence.  Garry spoke about the role of human creativity in the world of work and how we must work together with technology in the future.  For every role that will be made redundant by machines, a new one will be created for humans to work more closely with technology. Humans will still be central in the future of work!

Latest messaging on flexible working:

A case study from RBS on flexible working showed:

• Positive links between flexible working, engagement, wellbeing and retention
• The key is TRUST between line managers and team members
• The benefit of having supportive managers willing to invest time to make it work
• Good quality discussions with team members is best foundation for success
• Maximising the use of technology so all roles can be done as flexibly as possible
• Beware of ‘always-on’ culture and being too remote

Tips on inclusion:

To create a more inclusive organisational culture, 3 factors are necessary:

1. ‘Leaders’ – getting leaders onboard. They are crucial as they role model behaviour.
2. ‘Open’ – being open to learning, open to people being different and open to people having different approaches
3. ‘Environment’ – create an environment where leaders can role model different behaviours and demonstrate their openness