Asia Impact: The Future of Work

Webinar Context & Partners: The Milken Institute and South China Morning Post (SCM Post) collaborated to host the "Asia Impact" series, focusing on Asia's role in shaping a post-pandemic global normal.

Moderator: Lynn Lee, SCM Post Asia Editor, moderated the 45-minute session featuring four global industry leaders.

Panelists:

• Renee McGowan (CEO for Asia, Mercer)
• Ahmed Mazari (President, Microsoft Asia)
• Anoop Sagu (Group Operating Officer for Growth Markets, Accenture)
• Premlesh Machama (President, APEC, CareerBuilder)

Accelerated Innovation:

• Research indicates 74% of companies accelerated innovation during the crisis, with leaders reporting pace acceleration of up to two times.
• Microsoft and Taiwan's government enabled remote education for 2.5 million students across 4,000 schools.
• In the UK, Microsoft and the NHS utilized HoloLens and AI to create virtual experiences for doctors, reducing PPE consumption and COVID-19 exposure for 29 doctors per patient interaction.
• Microsoft's Asia operations trained 1.5 million people this year, part of a global total of over 10 million with an ambition to reach 25 million.
• Microsoft and Grab successfully transitioned 100 drivers into entry-level tech roles through targeted basic technology training.
• Ahmed Mazari noted a "two years of digital transformation in two months" occurred globally.

Workforce & Skills Transformation:

• Reskilling Imperative: Renee McGowan stated reskilling is no longer optional; Mercer research shows 70% of employees are ready to reskill, though employers often prioritize it lower.
• TQ Concept: Anoop Sagu introduced "Technology Quotient" (TQ) as a critical metric alongside IQ and EQ, emphasizing adaptability and learning agility over static technical skills.
• Future Skills: Premlesh Machama identified three critical skill areas for future workforce survival: digital savviness, emotional/social intelligence, and adaptability/resilience.
• Digital Divide: Accenture moved 95% of its operations to the cloud over five years, requiring a shift to a culture of continuous learning and consistent communication.
• Employment Definition: The definition of employment is shifting from an exchange of time for money toward more flexible, gig-based, and mobile structures, with 150 million gig workers globally currently influencing this trend.

Labor Market Trends & Inequality:

• Gender Disparities: Women are exiting the workforce at higher rates due to increased domestic burdens and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on female-dominated sectors (hospitality, retail, food services).
• Inequality Deepening: The pandemic risks eroding poverty reduction gains and widening inequality, particularly affecting minority groups and women.
• Immediate Action Required: Mercer advises companies to analyze immediate internal data on female engagement and productivity rather than waiting for long-term policy planning.
• Flexible Work Models: The future workplace will be fundamentally different in collaboration, team structure, and real estate utilization.

Leadership Attributes for the Hybrid Era:

• Ahmed Mazari outlined four essential attributes for leaders:
  1. Energy: Generating momentum in virtual environments where employees face isolation or connectivity issues.
  2. Clarity: Establishing truth and direction to ensure employees understand organizational goals.
  3. Empathy: Expanding the "aperture of empathy" to account for unequal circumstances (e.g., travel restrictions, workspace access).
  4. Learner's Mindset: Maintaining openness to evolving solutions without historical precedents.

Organizational & Cultural Shifts:

• Remote Work Dynamics: Employees must counter "out of sight, out of mind" risks through personalization and intentional collaboration.
• Performance Metrics: Accenture is shifting from individual metrics to team-based, shared success models with self-evaluation components.
• Office Redefinition: Physical offices will evolve from daily desks to hubs for collaboration, creation, and personal connection (e.g., coffee spaces, kitchen areas).
• Generational Differences: Research suggests younger workers prefer working from home 1 day/week, while experienced workers prefer 2-3 days.
• Purpose & Responsibility: Employees increasingly seek organizations with strong social responsibility and purpose beyond service delivery.

Government & Corporate Strategy:

• Education Reform: Governments must facilitate practitioner involvement in curriculum design to align academic output with future workforce needs.
• Benefits Evolution: Future compensation packages require customization (regional/local/urban) with three core pillars: comprehensive health plans, continuous upskilling, and entertainment/downtime support.
• Concierge Services: Organizations may need to provide logistics and personal concierge services for remote workers.
• Talent Mobility: Talent is mobile, and jobs are becoming increasingly mobile, allowing for global hiring regardless of geographic boundaries.
• Supply Chains: Businesses are prioritizing supply chain resilience by bringing operations closer to end-users to minimize future disruptions.

Audience Q&A Highlights:

• Fresh Grads: Success requires closer collaboration between academia and industry to prepare students for a future reality that differs from current training.
• Resilience: The "winner" in future crises will be the organization that demonstrates high operational resilience, technological agility, and flexibility.
• Retrenched Workforce: Strategies involve thinking expansively about transferable skills rather than specific roles, enabling movement across sectors and geographies.