New workforce needs different screening process

I WATCH in awe as the children of the latest generation enter their teens with skills the generations before could never have envisioned.

As these young adults develop and equip themselves for the next phase of their lives, it appears that each new generation is naturally raising the bar of human development and capability.

As we navigate through the early phases of the digital and artificial intelligence revolution, educational systems will need to adapt to meet the needs of this generation. Digital literacy, critical thinking and problem solving are at the forefront, but need to be balanced and blended with the development of soft skills.

Some successful organisations are already on the front foot, strategically planning for this ‘new world’ of young people and technologies to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. When this new generation enters the workforce, they will join the millennials and Gen Y who, according to the Ernst and Young study A Global Study on Work-Life Challenges Across Generations, will make up 75 per cent of the entire workforce within seven years. A very different corporate world indeed.

For human resources professionals, the opportunities are immense. Human resources must be a key contributor to the company’s vision and strategic business plans at the executive level, to ensure ‘people’ and ‘customer’ are two of the most important words spoken. And, having understood what the future organisation may look like, being the instigator of change and overseeing transformational programs.

Some of the more traditional human resources activities of searching, hiring, developing and retaining the very best talent in an ever-increasingly competitive and generation-transitioning environment, will get harder and require more innovative techniques.

The screening process human resources management typically follows is somewhat rigid, designed to eliminate all other candidates as efficiently and quickly as possible.

In this digital and social media age, this can be a beneficial, but precarious part of the screening process. On one hand, the ability to eliminate candidates with undesirable tendencies or traits is useful.

But on the other hand, a hidden level of discriminatory power could exist, which eliminates candidates unfairly or prematurely because of historical personal information sourced through the internet.

From the candidate’s perspective, making one or two innocent mistakes without thinking, and having it publicised could prove unfairly damaging for their career prospects.

This emerging workforce needs our guidance, education and development.

For some savvy companies, there are opportunities to revisit the sometimes brutal human resources management screening process and look a little deeper.