Organisations that are looking to achieve sustainable growth over the coming years will need to prioritize their digitisation initiatives, talent drives, and future of work policies, new research by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has shown.

The report, titled ‘Creating People Advantage 2021: The Future of People Management Priorities’, noted that HR leaders need to have a clear set of objectives on which to concentrate their efforts, especially as the post-pandemic era approaches and workplace environments undergo rapid change.

“No matter the vertical in which they operate, every company today shares a common goal – building a workforce and workplace capable of thriving well into the future,” said Dr. Christopher Daniel, managing director and partner, BCG Middle East: “To create and capture such success, organizational strategies must be implemented without delay, frameworks that consider different aspects and deliver on internal priorities.”

The authors surveyed 106 UAE respondents – 64 per cent of which currently hold HR positions – with 57 holding managerial or senior managerial positions at leading companies and startups nationwide. When it comes to identifying areas where innovative action is essential, the report pointed to digitisation, including the implementation and continuous use of new technologies such as people analytics, cloud-based applications, AI, and robotics.

This was followed by talent, comprising strategic workforce planning, leadership development, upskilling and reskilling, and working with an ecosystem of employees, contractors, and other types of labor. Crucially, UAE respondents ranked future importance of talent ecosystem management much higher in comparison to the global average. Lastly, the report identified the future of work, including more agile HR, and the incorporation of smart work, and change management as crucial to sustainable growth.

“Companies today must navigate an exceedingly challenging business environment and strong, proactive people management is the only way to ensure that companies have the right talent in place to succeed,” said Bob Morton, president of the World Federation of People Management Associations, and a coauthor of the report. “A data-driven, objective approach that places people at the front and center of work can help HR leaders allocate scarce resources to the most urgent priorities.”