As the end of 2023 approaches, we are busy researching and preparing insightful reports for you.  We will take an in-depth look at Skill Taxonomies worldwide, identify regions with underrepresented categories and explore how metaverse technology is transforming Human Resources departments.

We will share the following reports as we complete them.

• A comprehensive assessment of all the Skills Taxonomies across the globe
• Underrepresented categories across the globe and how the categories compare across the globe
• The role of Metaverse in Human Resources
• Global Location Comparisons across macro parameters
• Nearshore Shared Services Expansion – What is the art of possible?

I had the privilege of interviewing a few leaders this week.  We specifically discussed how Strategic Planning is all about the anticipation of possibilities.  Let us look at the innovation in the Robotics space as an example.  (adapted from the book Genius Makers – by Cade Metz).  From 2015 to 2017, Amazon ran an annual contest for Roboticists.  Amazon wanted to solve the problem of picking objects for its warehouse robots.  The finalists of this project were presented with a bin filled with thirty-two different items.  (sixteen of which they knew ahead of time and sixteen of which they did not).  The challenge was to pick at least ten items in 15 minutes.     The winning team was from the Australian Center for Robotic Vision.  But by human standards, this was still way behind.  This contest showed how human-level performance was difficult to match by Robots in certain operations.  A solution was already brewing inside both Google and Open AI.  Sergey Levine from Google built a team called Arm Farm that approached the problem differently.  The hands they designed were not quite the hands but more of grippers that could grab objects.  Through trial and error, the grippers were trained through what is now known as deep learning/reinforcement learning.  In early 2019, the lab unveiled a robotic arm that learned to pick up random objects and then toss them gently into a tiny bin…

Strategic priorities often are a journey.  There is no win/loss at a project level.  It is important to focus on the key learnings and move to the project’s next phase.  The whole ecosystem benefited from what Amazon and Google accomplished in the field of Robotics.

Here are three areas where Workforce Planners and Recruiters can partner to design a strategy in 2023

With ESG practices rapidly growing in the industry, there is a great opportunity to innovate and create more clearly defined roles.  To achieve this goal, an example taxonomy of these functions has been created: Strategy development for ESG compliance; Climate Change initiatives; Sustainable Supply Chain Management; Responsible Investing strategies, and reporting standards on Environmental Social Governance issues – all tailored to fit each organization’s specific needs.  With such resources available at hand, enterprises can now effectively work towards achieving long-term sustainability goals!

Employer-Owned Wellness: 

2023 is expected to be a difficult year economically, but many large businesses are still prioritizing and spending money on employee wellness.  Short-term, outsourced Benefits Administration contracts will support this endeavor by offering employees access to nurse lines and targeted programs that promote well-being.  Data privacy remains an issue of concern with these initiatives, however.  In the long term, this could evolve into more structured functions and not rely entirely on outsourced providers.  We do not have a taxonomy of functions and skills around this, but we are working on the same. 

The differentiation between Data Analytics, Data Engineering, and Data Science

As companies understand the distinct roles that Data Engineering, Science, and Analytics play in business operations, it’s becoming increasingly clear where improvements must be made.  One such area is strengthening many businesses’ existing data engineering capabilities – an opportunity too great for any organization seeking success through strategic implementation of their data resources.