4 employee mobility trends to be aware of in 2023
Mobility itself is not a trend; it has become one of the best solutions to fill skills gaps, engage and retain talent, and reduce the cost of external recruitment. As we continue to work with organisations to help transform their workforces, we’ve identified four key trends currently reshaping the ever-evolving mobility market.
JUN 09, 2023
1) Hyper-personalised learning.
Employees have myriad resources available to them, from upskilling forums to job opportunity marketplaces. However, these tend to be static and not personalised to the individual. Increasingly, employees have access to tailored content and customised career pathways based on their goals, interest areas and timelines. A hyper-personalised learning journey may span:
- A discovery audit to uncover an employee’s skills, strengths and goals.
- A matching session where employees are recommended relevant gigs, projects and jobs based on their skills, strengths and goals.
- A one-stop upskilling platform to upskill or reskill for a particular role.
- Regular nudges (nudge-based learning) delivered over time to remind employees of relevant roles.
- Skills-based mentorship to support employees with interviews and their CV.
- Support from a transition coach during the first 90 days in a new role.
2) Agile, gig-based learning (short-term projects).
We have advanced beyond the rigid nature of upward career mobility. Mobility is now more fluid and focused on skills building. This fluidity is at the heart of gig-based learning, where an employee will engage in a short-term project or assignment matching based on their goals, interests and adjacent skills. They will perform gig work, get involved in a project on a part-time or temporary basis, or try out a role in a smaller way to test the waters instead of moving from one full-time role to another full-time role. Employees can volunteer to work on a project or initiative outside working hours or allocate a fixed percentage of their working week to gig work.
We have advanced beyond the rigid nature of upward career mobility. Mobility is now more fluid and focused on skills building. This fluidity is at the heart of gig-based learning, where an employee will engage in a short-term project or assignment matching based on their goals, interests and adjacent skills. They will perform gig work, get involved in a project on a part-time or temporary basis, or try out a role in a smaller way to test the waters instead of moving from one full-time role to another full-time role. Employees can volunteer to work on a project or initiative outside working hours or allocate a fixed percentage of their working week to gig work.
By increasing time spent on learning and development during working hours, this approach can be central to an internal-first hiring policy that requires buy-in from senior leaders. This type of learning demands a more agile learning culture. As organisations prioritise agility in the race to keep up with emerging trends, it is likely mobility will become even more agile, needs-based and project-orientated, and more focused on skills building than careers. Skills development can then be measured, with outcomes linked to an employee’s learning journey and development goals.
3) A move from mentorship to sponsorship.
Employees are encouraged to own their own development through career conversations with managers and mentors. Mentors typically provide support in an advisory capacity, but this approach often lacks incentive and accountability. There is a greater focus on sponsorship and advocacy, and ensuring leaders are accountable for an employee’s career development. Organisations first establish what role leadership should have in sponsorship, so expectations are set and clear to all parties. This maximises the positive impact sponsorship can have on the organisation and employee.
Employees are encouraged to own their own development through career conversations with managers and mentors. Mentors typically provide support in an advisory capacity, but this approach often lacks incentive and accountability. There is a greater focus on sponsorship and advocacy, and ensuring leaders are accountable for an employee’s career development. Organisations first establish what role leadership should have in sponsorship, so expectations are set and clear to all parties. This maximises the positive impact sponsorship can have on the organisation and employee.
4) More experimentation and data-led decision making.
MVP-first mindset
There has been a shift from a methodology-first approach to what we’ve termed an MVP-first approach – a Minimum Viable Product mindset. Where HRDs may have previously plunged all their resources into one large mobility project, now they are becoming more experimental in testing new practices and running smaller initiatives simultaneously. If an initiative is successful, only then is it scaled up and rolled out across the organisation. Through greater experimentation, HRDs are adopting a more risk-free approach and using data and real-time feedback from end users to make better mobility decisions and improve strategy.
MVP-first mindset
There has been a shift from a methodology-first approach to what we’ve termed an MVP-first approach – a Minimum Viable Product mindset. Where HRDs may have previously plunged all their resources into one large mobility project, now they are becoming more experimental in testing new practices and running smaller initiatives simultaneously. If an initiative is successful, only then is it scaled up and rolled out across the organisation. Through greater experimentation, HRDs are adopting a more risk-free approach and using data and real-time feedback from end users to make better mobility decisions and improve strategy.
Advocate-first mindset
Mobility programmes and solutions are being tested on HR teams first. This mindset or approach aims to achieves two things:
- Demonstrate to HR that the organisation cares about their professional development and supports them in their role as a mobility enabler.
- Empowers the people who must advocate for the organisation’s mobility policy and philosophy to do so in an authentic way.