Today’s interview is with Anthony Abbatiello, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and the Human Capital practice’s Digital leader. He joins me today to talk about Deloitte’s newly released annual Global Human Capital Trends Report (2018), some of the trends that emerged from the report and what they mean for leaders and entrepreneurs looking to build a business intent on delivering a great customer and employee experience.

This interview follows on from my recent interview – You don’t need more than 3 or 4 quality data points to deliver a personalised customer experience – Interview with Jonathan Lacoste (co-founder and President) and Ben Cockerell (VP of Marketing) at Jebbit – and is number 261 in the series of interviews with authors and business leaders that are doing great things, providing valuable insights, helping businesses innovate and delivering great service and experience to both their customers and their employees.

Here’s the highlights of my interview with Anthony:

• Talking today about the Global Human Capital Trends Report (2018).
• The report this year is titled: The rise of the social enterprise
• This is the first time that Deloitte have seen the human capital trends come from the external environment.
• There are three real macro trends that are impacting the way organizations think about human capital.
  • One is the rise of the individual preference and that is all about individuals in the workforce standing up and being heard.
  • The second is really understanding how to leverage technology and advanced technologies now for sustained growth.
  • The third (and the most interesting) is related to some of the seismic shifts taking place in society, how those changes in society are impacting the way organizations need to act and how they are really leaving a gap for organizations to fill.
• The CEO and her direct reports need to start thinking about how do we get out of our silos, integrate and work together, more as a network of teams, in order to help their organisations transform and perform.
• C-suites generally recognise these trends and this report is a call to action about how they can drive collaboration how they work together more effectively.
• Highlights from a few of the trends identified in the report:
  • The workforce ecosystem: Managing beyond the enterprise
    • More and more organisations are utilising alternate work arrangements, particularly freelancers. That is changing the way that organizations need to engage, attract and manage all types of workers. Therefore, we have to start thinking about this broader workforce as an ecosystem and figure out how we reward people, how do we manage performance and how we deal with workers who are not salaried or payroll employees. That is going to require a very different approach.
    • That could add complexity but for some it will be an opportunity to further develop their talent.
    • Mapping and managing worker experience will become increasingly important.
    • CX = EX + WX
    • Organisations have to build an experience that can attract and engage all types of workers.
  • Citizenship and social impact: Society holds the mirror
    • We’ve been paying close attention to Edelman Trust Barometer and how trust in both organizations and government is decreasing.
    • Individuals are now demanding more from business leaders than they have before.
    • There is a link between social impact and financial performance but only 18 percent of companies are putting citizenship as a top priority in corporate strategy.
    • Part of the problem is that when we talk about a social enterprise and citizenship we need to be clear that we are not talking about corporate social responsibility but, actually, we are talking about social capital.
    • Stakeholders are taking a very intense look at an organization’s impact on society and what are their expectations of organizations to fill the gap left between society and government. They are also looking for business leaders to step up into that gap more.
    • Becoming a social enterprise is broader than having a purpose. Purpose is one only part of how you do that.
    • As a leader you have to stand for something e.g. look at how some companies have responded to the issue of gun control now in the US.
  • AI, robotics, and automation: Put humans in the loop
    • Advanced technologies continue to make their way into the workplace but there is a rising need for critical human skills.
    • Spoiler alert: The robots are not coming to take the jobs.
    • Advanced technologies will automate and augment the workforce but they will also drive a much greater need for skills like complex problem solving, cognitive abilities, resource management skills, social skills, empathy etc.
    • 70 percent of companies consider A.I., robotics and automation as important but only 31 percent feel that they understand how to navigate that.
• We only explored 3 out of the 10 different trends but Anthony said that readers of this blog would benefit from looking into:
  • From careers to experiences: New pathways
    • “Rather than an orderly, sequential progression from job to job, 21st-century careers can be viewed as a series of developmental experiences, each offering the opportunity to acquire new skills, perspectives, and judgment.”
  • People data: How far is too far?
    • “The use of workforce data to analyze, predict, and help improve performance has exploded over the last few years. But as organizations start to use people data in earnest, new risks as well as opportunities are taking shape.”
• Check out the new Global Human Capital Trends Report (2018) and/or take a look at Deloitte’s Human Capital Trends app, which provides users access to all of the data behind the report as well as access to other resources such as hearing from other business leaders on what they’re doing and what their advice would be on these issues.
• Deloitte take great pride this year to say that, as they launch their trends report, they are democratizing their data and, in doing so, it is part of their own commitment to becoming more of a social enterprise.

About Anthony (taken from his LinkedIn bio here)

Anthony Abbatiello is a Principal in Deloitte’s Human Capital practice, based out of the New York office, and is the firms global head of the leadership consulting business. Anthony has spent a majority of his career consulting with Chief Human Resources Officers, Chief Talent Officers and other C-Level executives on building high performance businesses that drive optimization and growth through HR Strategy, Talent Management, HR Service Delivery and HR Technology. At Deloitte, Anthony is the Digital Leader for the Human Capital business and Global Leader of Deloitte Leadership businesses. He works at the intersection of Deloitte Digital and Human Capital to drive our business helping clients activate their unique digital organization and talent.

Anthony began his career helping Financial Services clients increase the effectiveness of HR by creating innovative strategies, global operating models and bringing HR into the digital age. He also helped pioneer Accenture’s HR Transformation capabilities with the first HR Outsourcing arrangement in the Financial Services industry. Continuing to build expertise in Enterprise Business Transformation, Anthony has led key Mergers/Acquisitions and the transformation of global enterprise functions such as Operations, Finance, Risk Management and Technology.

Anthony was named one of the Top HR Trendsetters of 2014 (HR Magazine) and is considering one of the leading Advisors to CHROs and their leadership teams.

Finally, Anthony holds an adjunct professor appointment at New York University in the Graduate Program in Business teaching classes in Organizational Analysis and Human Resources.

Anthony resides in New York City and spends his personal time with friends, family and working on hobbies such as traveling, charity work and the continuous search for the best restaurants, and wine, in the world.

Do check out the Global Human Capital Trends Report (2018), connect with Anthony on LinkedIn here and say Hi to him and the folks at Deloitte on Twitter @apabbatielloHR and @DeloitteTalent.

..

..

..

Thanks to Pixabay for the image.