The gap
Disruption isn't a shock any more. It's the operating environment.
Executives rank improved productivity and greater resilience to disruption among the primary benefits of an adaptable workforce, while 42% rank the ability to respond quickly to change among the top drivers of changes to workforce structure.
Yet the ability to adapt is far from universal. Less than a third of organisations say they are highly adaptable across five core workforce capabilities. Most sit in the moderate band: functional, but not fast.
A small group is different. The Workforce Adaptability Leaders combine agile workforce models with rapid decision-making, and outperform the rest on every business measure.
Less than a third of organisations are highly adaptable across five capabilities
How adaptable is your organisation in each of these areas?
| Measure | Highly | Moderately | Limited | Not |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redeploy employees into different roles, projects or functions | 31% | 44% | 21% | 4% |
| Use of different workforce models to respond to demand changes | 30% | 41% | 25% | 4% |
| Make and implement workforce decisions quickly | 27% | 41% | 29% | 3% |
| Workforce management systems | 27% | 43% | 26% | 4% |
| Attract and retain the right talent as needs change | 25% | 46% | 25% | 4% |
Fewer than a third of organisations are highly adaptable on any of the five capabilities. 31% are highly adaptable at redeploying employees, 30% at using different workforce models, 27% at making workforce decisions quickly, 27% at their workforce management systems, and 25% at attracting and retaining the right talent.
The Workforce Adaptability Leaders outperform on every business measure
Percentage that have performed above expectations in each area
| Measure | Everyone else | Leaders | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer satisfaction | 49% | 77% | +28 |
| Revenue performance | 52% | 75% | +23 |
| Organisational resilience | 47% | 75% | +28 |
| Employee productivity | 52% | 74% | +22 |
| Ability to attract and hire talent | 44% | 71% | +27 |
| Employee satisfaction | 48% | 70% | +22 |
| Voluntary employee turnover | 38% | 58% | +20 |
Workforce Adaptability Leaders outperform every other organisation on all seven business measures. The largest gaps are customer satisfaction, where 77% performed above expectations against 49%, and organisational resilience, at 75% against 47%.
This moment of great global uncertainty offers a unique opportunity to rethink workforce models: to move beyond transactional staffing and embrace an attitude of responsibility by contributing to the labour market as a proactive industry leader supporting sustainable growth.