Why employers need to tune in to worker preferences
Sander van’t Noordende, CEO of HR services giant Randstad, on navigating the new normal of talent scarcity, an aging workforce, and AI.
Episodes
HBS Managing the Future of Work
Artificial intelligence. Robotics. The Gig Economy. Globalization. The world is changing at a dizzying pace in ways that will have a profound effect on the economy, jobs and the flow of talent. How will firms cope with the changes ahead and what steps do they need to take today? Each episode features faculty from the world’s leading business school interviewing CEOs, technologists and experts on the bleeding edge discussing how to survive and thrive by managing the future of work.
Episodes
Euan Blair on workforce development: College is broken. Apprenticeships deliver.
Episode 200: The founder and CEO of UK-based unicorn Multiverse makes the case for the earn-and-learn model. Arguing that the college advantage is oversold and overpriced, Blair touts targeted training as a more practical alternative for workers and employers. Can Multiverse expand the practicum in the US?
Deloitte's Dan Helfrich on consulting in the post-Covid, AI-inflected new normal
How do a culture of open debate and prioritizing work-life balance help the firm navigate change while advising others on how to do the same?
Defining experience: How micro internships build skills and boost productivity
Can short knowledge-work gigs improve the college-to-career transition? Jeffrey Moss, Founder and CEO of intermediary Parker Dewey explains.
Workplace transformation: Gallup plumbs the new normal
If there’s no going back to pre-Covid, 9-to-5 workplace routines, what’s the new management playbook? Gallup’s Jim Harter on work-life balance, managing a hybrid organization, and the social and psychological markers of a healthy and productive organization.
The EEOC’s Keith Sonderling on job fairness in the age of AI
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has a broad mandate, policing discrimination in all aspects of employment. How does artificial intelligence (AI) change the equation? Commissioner Keith Sonderling discusses the role AI is already playing in employment and what’s next, in terms of policy, technology, and market adoption.
Chike Aguh on government innovation in workforce development
How can government boost competitiveness and spur the creation of good jobs while protecting worker rights and promoting equity? The former Chief Innovation Officer in the U.S. Department of Labor discusses the talent implications of U.S. industrial policy, cross-sector collaboration, rethinking the delivery of benefits and services, and more.
The case for investing in the apprenticeship model
Achieve Partners' Ryan Craig on expanding the earn-as-you-learn ecosystem to boost workforce skills while increasing upward mobility and equity. He argues that college’s high cost and limited job preparation call for a greater commitment of resources to apprenticeship programs.
Complex systems: From supply chains to artificial intelligence
Can the U.S. reshore its way to stability and security? How will AI reshape the workforce and higher education? Yossi Sheffi, Director of the MIT Center for Transportation and Logistics, on supply chains, AI, and manufacturing.
Resilient Coders' formula for a diverse tech workforce
How durable are tech sector diversity commitments in a down cycle? Solid skills, supportive networks, and employer engagement can make the difference for workers from traditionally excluded groups. Resilient Coders Executive Director Ayanna Lott-Pollard on how it takes a multifaceted coding boot camp to build a solid career foundation.
How SkillUp signposts pathways to good jobs
Connecting non-college graduates from underserved communities to job and career opportunities is an inexact science. SkillUp Coalition CEO Steve Lee on identifying effective training programs and presenting them direct-to-worker.
Volvo Cars retools its talent strategy for an EV future
The shift to electric vehicle production means revamping jobs throughout the organization. Chief People Officer Hanna Fager explains the process, from lining up skills to maintaining an inclusive corporate culture.
Harvard’s Project on Workforce: Charting college’s employment pathways
Professor David Deming of the Harvard Kennedy School, co-director of the Harvard Project on Workforce, breaks down the project's College-to-Jobs playbook and interactive map.
Changing the skills narrative: Opportunity@Work’s Byron Auguste
Many public- and private sector employers are becoming more selective about which positions require college degrees, opening more good jobs to non-degree holders. What will it take to broaden the adoption of skills-based hiring? And will the trend survive economic uncertainty and developments like generative AI? Opportunity@Work CEO and Co-Founder, Byron Auguste joins Bill Kerr.
Assessing AI-boosted background checks; fair-chance hiring
Background checks are getting easier and faster to carry out, even as a continuous process. Is that a good thing? Checkr CEO & co-founder Daniel Yanisse on constructive, responsible screening and the case for second-chance employment.
How LinkedIn parses talent, skills, and diversity
Professional work has hit multiple inflection points—from generative AI to remote work and shifting skills requirements. There are few better vantage points for observing the labor market than LinkedIn. SVP and Chief People Officer Teuila Hanson joins Bill Kerr to discuss workplace trends, skills, credentials, diversity, internal mobility, social capital, and change management.
Workforce coverage: How Zurich Insurance protects its skills base
The insurance industry is playing catch-up on the digitalization front while at the same time looking to maintain and replenish the expertise of its aging workforce. Can an internal talent marketplace help Zurich Insurance secure the necessary skills? Sally Henderson, Head of Talent and Learning, joins Bill Kerr.
Turning tacit knowledge and weak ties into real opportunity
“It’s who you know as much as what you know” has an unpromising ring amid rising inequality and social fragmentation. Nonprofit Climb Hire aims to help low-income workers advance through a combination of “hard” and social skills training and a crash course in building social and professional networks. Founder and CEO Nitzan Pelman decodes the process.
Point-of-work transactions: How Mastercard connects its employees with opportunities
Mastercard kick-started its internal talent marketplace in response to the pandemic, ramping up from a manual system to a digital platform from start-up Gloat. Lessons learned, ROI, and best-practices from the perspectives of customer and supplier.
Richard Reeves on gender equity, Part 2: Work-life, learning
Has Covid prompted working fathers to reassess? In the continuation of their conversation on issues confronting boys and men, Joe Fuller and Richard Reeves consider work-life balance, distance learning and remote work. Also: defining productivity; and how higher education needs to adapt to the changing nature of work.
Richard Reeves on gender equity, Part 1: Addressing male struggles
Brookings scholar Richard V. Reeves makes the case for tailoring school and employment opportunities to the realities of boys and men.
Delta Dental’s Sarah Chavarria on the value of communication
It’s a simple formula but hard to get right. By tuning in to what’s happening throughout the organization, asking the right questions, and listening carefully, leaders can foster innovation, build consensus and increase engagement.
How to upgrade the community college talent supply chain
What will it take to get two-year institutions and employers on the same page? Joe Fuller joins his Managing the Future of Work co-chair and podcast co-host Bill Kerr to discuss the project’s research on this critical workforce partnership.
Bankable skills: Goldman Sachs CIO Marco Argenti on the emerging tech-business talent model
How is the convergence of banking and technology redefining roles and business models? Marco Argenti went from directing cloud services at Amazon Web Services to the C-Suite of a Wall Street giant. He explains how Goldman taps business-savvy technologists to support strategic decision-making and develop new digital products and services.
Guest Appearance: Joseph Fuller on the Q Factor podcast
Managing the Future of Work co-chair and podcast co-host Joseph Fuller on AI's impact on work and hiring, the emerging gig marketplace for high-skills professionals, remote and flexible work, the importance of social skills, and more.
Mark Peters: How altruistic employee assistance pays off
Beyond a paycheck, how much do employers owe their workers? A business alliance focused on employee assistance has had success in helping employees manage their lives and improve their prospects. Mark Peters, CEO of his family business, Butterball Farms, and co-founder of employee assistance nonprofit The Source, talks about the bottom line benefits of an expansive social contract.
Gregory Washington on the relevance of George Mason
The crisis in higher education argues for a more expansive approach to academics, workforce, and business development, according to the head of Virginia’s largest public university. The school’s first African American president talks about leading through Covid, promoting opportunity, and wrestling with the legacy of the institution’s namesake.
Skills engine: An update on Google’s role as training provider
What’s the strategy behind the tech giant’s expanding portfolio of certificate programs and partnerships? Lisa Gevelber, founder of Grow with Google, on boosting prospects for workers with and without college degrees, coordinating with employers to address the skills gap, and enhancing post-secondary institutions’ career-launching capabilities.
Good jobs as good cause: The philanthropy of upward mobility
Rachel Korberg, Executive Director of the Families and Workers Fund, on the collaborative philanthropy model, public-private partnerships, defining good jobs, and the business case for creating more of them
Extra credit: Reach University’s apprenticeship-to-degree model
In combining upskilling through on-the-job training with tailored online courses, Reach helps school districts develop faculty internally. Founder and chancellor Mallory Dwinal-Palisch breaks down the approach, which offers flexible degree programs to existing employees. Could this be a template for other in-demand professions?