By Nelson Furtado, Senior Business Psychologist at The Chemistry Group

Hiring for potential will become increasingly important.

Long term unemployment means successful leaders are going to be those that can identify talent on the basis of potential, not just past experience. Job losses are contributing to a potential surplus of experienced candidates, while simultaneously many young job seekers are starved for experience.

Organisations seeking to successfully attract and retain the right talent for their needs can’t simply rely on looking at the years of experience listed on a candidate’s CV or where they were educated. Effective hiring requires understanding the competencies that drive performance in a role and organisation and then being able to evaluate candidates for their potential to demonstrate and develop those competencies.

Good leaders will be those that understand this and seek talent by focusing on the qualities that matter. And, when they do find it, they ensure there are no barriers to entry.

For leaders, communication will be key.

When it comes to motivating and retaining talented people, communication will be everything. The big conversation we’re having with our clients now is ‘has the talent we need changed as a result of Covid-19?”. These are the kinds of questions we are answering using our leadership assessment methodology. And with reform and reevaluation on the agenda, in 2021 transformational leadership will be a competitive advantage.

A key quality of a transformational leader is that they’re a phenomenal communicator by nature, dedicated to clear and consistent messaging so every individual always knows what they’re doing and why they’re doing it. With working from home practices expected to continue in the medium-term, daily or frequent contact with employees will be key. When communication is strong, there is no reason standards should slip while working remotely.

Plus, in the face of threats to our job and our lives, we become more concerned with the idea of purpose and precarity. And in a context where pay incentives are not an option, the sense of contribution to a cause larger than ourselves becomes even more important. One of the main reasons a transformational leader can inspire and motivate their team is that they know how to walk the walk when it comes to ethics. As we begin 2021 will a newly revised perspective and greater appreciation for those around us, an empathy-focused approach to communication will be more important than ever.

The fall of the 9-5.

Despite the challenges of remote working, and there have been many, employees are now aware of how possible it is to work effectively from home and have learned how to use the technology that supports them to do so. This is reflected in Chemistry’s research findings that show that the UK workforce have displayed impressive resilience as 82.7% of workers stated that they have been able to successfully adapt their routine and 71% have been working effectively.

As employees continue to successfully adapt and enjoy the extra flexibility we could start to see the working week become more fluid, with companies letting employees work from home two or more days per week or employees choosing their own hours, some employers may even cut down to a four-day work week altogether. This transition could help build more responsive organisations, roles and structures that are designed around outcomes to increase agility and flexibility.

Greater flexibility could allow employees to take on caregiving responsibilities without having to give up work. Working parents, particularly single parents, who might have otherwise had to leave a role are able to stay in work. As awareness grows, this is the year for employers and leaders to fine tune their flexible working process. The 9 to 5 has been described as the only “way to make a living’’ but as we look forward to emerging into post-pandemic life perhaps by the end of 2021 this will no longer hold true.

A better understanding of the inter-generational workforce.

Our longer lives are translating into longer working lives and as such, the makeup of the workforce today covers several generations. With so many peer groups under one roof (a figurative roof of course, under current measures) it has become increasingly apparent that age can no longer act as the marker of expertise it once was, and leaders are struggling to deal with the changing face of the workforce. One survey from Deloitte found that only 6% of respondents strongly agree that their leaders are equipped to lead a multigenerational workforce effectively.

With many of the structures that previously governed the workplace having faltered, and many of the myths of generational difference undermined, businesses can no longer ignore the need to look outside the traditional factors of age and experience and provide for this intergenerational workforce. For example, the digital divide that has so often been equated with a generational gap largely no longer applies.

Businesses cannot afford to make generalisations and forego a more nuanced understanding of employees; people and business are inextricably linked and those that will see the greatest success in the coming year will be those that pay the greatest attention to their people.