EMPOWERING HR WITH THE EMERGENCE OF THE SOLUTIONS MARKETPLACE 24 February 2015Perry Timms – Founder & Director, PTHR3

In the third of the present series of 20-Minute Master Classes, Perry Timms revealed how a “solutions marketplace” is emerging between employees and organisations – and how HR is holding the cards! He discussed how changing social behaviour will drive the death of the hierarchy and the dawn of the ‘wirearchy’. Find out how HR can drive social change within the workplace and empower the workforce of the future to transform business.

WORK

ISN’T WORKINGAll work as we know it started out as a problem needing a creative solution. But a culture of anti-work is springing up as a result of bureaucracy and non-productive tasks. We can’t take it any more!

Welcome to the ‘Wirearchy’We’re evolving from strict hierarchical structures into networked, agile, fluid committees. Given this operating backdrop, people work anarchically yet effectively. Problems generate work. So just as you can crowd-fund a new venture, you can crowd-source a solution to a problem.

The solutions marketplaceDoing a job is essentially delivering using physical resources or mental capabilities. But the concept of a job itself is under threat. In the UK during 2014, the equivalent of the population of Brighton moved from paid, secure corporate life to set up their own entity and go freelance or self-employed. A problem has become a commodity we can auction on a platform like eBay.

Auctioning for workPeople are often hardwired into jobs but have other talents, skills and development needs. Why not match them to the problems we want to solve? Online skills profiles and ‘problem auctions’ can allow people with the time, capacity or intent to attach themselves to projects that demand their mix of abilities.

Match drive, skills, determination & ingenuity to that of work/project in your business. HR need to know ALL the skills available #20MMC

Is your performance management process really driving the behaviours you want from your employees? #20MMC

Make work like the movies

In the movie industry, independent professionals are invited to bring their specialist skills to a production as part of a crew. They work together, deliver their part of the solution, disassemble and go on to their next movie. Hardwired roles can feel like Groundhog Day, so try and combine efficient models like Six Sigma with a more creative production flow.

How to quality control a jellyfishIf we give people discretionary time to find or bid for their own work, how do we maintain quality control? We can learn from teams that operate according to a Results Oriented Work Ethic: they come together to discuss the required skills and processes, and self-organise around the project. In a more corporate environment, a work shadowing or observer role allows people to acquire skills and disciplines and learn on the job without putting people or project objectives at risk.

Rewarding workDo traditional performance management methods work? Take sales: target is set, results are delivered, and employee receives a bonus. But neuroscientists and anthropologists would debate whether that’s in the interests of the customers, or even the company. Instant recognition from colleagues and peers in the moment is as vital as periodic managerial or customer feedback. Verbal recognition is a powerful yet underutilised tool.

Who’s doing it differently?Several platforms already exist on which work is posted with an invitation to bid. It’s the concept behind eLance (for creative professionals), TaskRabbit (for practical skills) and Über (the alternative taxi model). It’s how most of the apps on our mobile devices come to be created.

We’re not robots!We can’t afford to be efficient yet soulless. We need to ensure that operating as an independent entity doesn’t mean sacrificing legal rights, or lead to chaotic ways of working. But it’s also important that we burst the silos and find better ways to use people. Would we prefer to be a three-chord wonder like Status Quo, or is it time to unleash our inner Jimi Hendrix virtuoso?

The job is dead – long live workWe need to move away from meeting-based culture and email as a solo sport, which induces cortisol and stress, and become a band of superheroes who can assemble and attach to a project. What counts is the outcome or result. It’s nothing new: management theorists have been predicting for years that organisations will have to reinvent their approach to “work”.

‘Augment your own intelligence through drawing upon collective intelligence within your organistion’. #20MMC

• Work is becoming more social and open

• Socialisation of work can be more rewarding in itself

• Solo, email working induces cortisol and stress

• Efficiency will need close scrutiny but working this way is more than JUST efficiency

• Quality shouldn’t suffer as people become more switched on and responsible for their work

• The fun of “startups” can be replicated at project level working - energy creation is vital

• Assembly and disassembly has worked successfully in the film industry for decades.

IN A NUTSHELL

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