Navigating a changing workplace
In the fourth and final session of the BusinessWorld Economic Forum, held on May 18, the spotlight was shone on an issue that deeply concerns many businesses today: the disruption of the workplace by technological advancements and the rise of the millennials.
A panel of three private-sector leaders was assembled to tackle the subject before the roughly 500 attendees of the forum, which took place in the Grand Ballroom of Grand Hyatt Manila in Taguig City.
These leaders were Arthur R. Policarpio, co- founder and chief executive officer of Mobext Philippines, a mobile- first creative digital agency; Luis Miguel O. Aboitiz, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of the corporate business group of Aboitiz Power Corp.; and Camille A. Villar, managing director of Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc.
Mr. Policarpio’s talk revolved around two trends he described as “big” and “destructive.” The fi rst of which is the virtual company model. “At this point we should ask this question, ‘ Why should we even need to go to an office... when we can work anywhere?’”
He cited the technology fi rm Automattic, which owns the content management system WordPress, as a company that has gone virtual. Its employees, who are located in a number of countries worldwide, largely work from home.
“Why should you embrace the virtual company model? Think about it, you have the capability to tap a talent pool of 50 million people anywhere in the world via the freelance marketplaces... You reduce your office costs, increase worker satisfaction, reduce traffic,” Mr. Policarpio said.
Coinciding with the emergence of the virtual companies is the rise of the freelancers and the freelance Web sites. The development, Mr. Policarpio said, is “mostly driven by the millennial work force who prefers flexibility and control over the way they want to work.” And Filipinos are increasingly getting in on freelancing. One freelance marketplace, Mr. Policarpio said, has over a million Filipino members.
The second trend is the sharing economy, and it has given rise to a whole new kind of company, a marketplace company that does not need a lot of physical assets to create real value, Mr. Policarpio said. “There are consumers or people who need services on one side, and you have people, not companies, who can provide those services on the other side. The marketplace business... creates a platform that enables those two to fi nd each other,” he explained.
For navigating these trends, Mr. Policarpio said, “CEOs need to be students all over again.” He also suggested building a culture of learning into an organization since the