Digital disruption:

Embrace the future of work

and your people will embrace
it with you
Workforce of the future
A window of opportunity to take advantage of digital disruption
While the effects of digital disruption
on business and operating models are
familiar territory, the impact on the
82%
of business leaders
workforce could be the Achilles’ heel
of organizations seeking to be digital. expect their
organizations to be a
Our research shows executives and digital business in the
employees are well aligned on the benefits next three years.*
of being digital.

43%
of business leaders say a
lack of digital skills and
capabilities is a key barrier
to transformation.*

*Source: Accenture Strategy executive research on being digital 2015

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 2
Preparing the digital workforce
Time to capitalize on the positivity of the employees
Time to capitalize
Business on thetopositivity
leaders need of the
act on their employees
strategies,
adjust their workforce skill sets and prioritize the
workforce changes that will fast-forward their digital
journey.
• Right mind-set, wrong focus?
• Right strategy, wrong skills?
• Right priorities, wrong journey?

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 3

Right mind-set, wrong focus?
Recognizing the benefits of digital is not the same as being digital
Business leaders expect to see
improvements across a wide range of
*
factors from adopting digital technologies,
driventhe
While by:effects of digital disruption
on business and operating models are
• A variety of technologies and tools
familiar territory, the impact on the
(e.g. 3Dcould
workforce interfaces
be theand virtual
Achilles’ reality)
heel *
of organizations seeking to be digital.
• Cognitive assistants and artificial
Ourintelligence (e.g. executives
research shows robots) and
employees are well aligned on the
• The Internet
benefits of beingof Things (IoT)
digital.
*

How to: Experiment, integrate new digital

technologies into processes to simplify,
automate and augment brain and brawn.
*Source: Accenture Strategy executive research on being digital 2015
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 4
Right strategy, wrong skills?
It is not a matter of when organizations will be digital, but how
Being digital changes roles and skills:

• Automation means workers take on

higher value roles (needs data
51%
of business leaders say
analysis/problem-solving skills) they already have a strategy
for the management and
• Foundational skills will be in high development of skills and
demand (needs communication/business talent in a digital world.*
acumen skills)

• Jobs are being created with specialized

skill sets (new roles needed such as
How to: Embrace the broader ecosystem,
digital copywriters, scrum masters in IT partner with educational institutions and
or digital product managers) explore new talent pools.

*Source: Accenture Strategy executive research on being digital 2015

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 5
Right priorities, wrong journey?
Moving to a digital ecosystem affects the workforce in a variety of ways
Nearly all business leaders recognize the Business leaders say they are well
importance of taking action now to prepared to transition to a digital business
transition their workforce to succeed in the with respect to:*
digital economy, yet: Organization of work

• Lack of leadership and vision is cited as Recruitment of digital skills

and capabilities
one of the main challenges to being Changing the skill and job
mix of the workforce
digital

• Less than one-third feel ready to make

the changes in leadership and How to: Business leaders need to breed
management practices to adapt to digital a culture of feedback and innovation,
pushing out decision-making to the edges
of the organization.

*Source: Accenture Strategy executive research on being digital 2015

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 6
Capitalizing on employee positivity
Our research shows employees are far from being a barrier to digital progress

62%
Employees are not only aware that digital
will improve their work experiences and job
prospects, but are proactively seeking the of employees say their organization has
skills they need to suit the demands of a the workforce skills and capabilities to
digital business. adapt to digital.*
• Employees believe digital brings
improvements
• Employees are actively seeking digital
skills
71%
of employees say they are proactively
• Employees are aware of the speed of learning new digital and technical skills.*
change

57%
of employees say digital will improve their
job prospects.*

*Source: Accenture Strategy employee research on being digital 2015

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 7
Where next?
Practical ways to achieve the workforce of the future
Keep the following factors in mind:
• Align your workforce and HR strategy with the business
• Start experimenting with more flexible and agile ways
of working using proven digital technologies and tools
• Define the digital skills gap within the workforce
• Develop required digital competencies within the workforce
• Foster leadership behaviours that fuel a digital culture

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 8

About the research
From February-August 2015, Accenture Strategy interviewed 925 Stay Connected
business leaders in the Australia, Brazil, China, India, Japan, the United Follow Us
www.twitter.com/AccentureStrat
States and the European Union. We wanted to understand how
business leaders and policy makers can take advantage of digital Connect With Us
www.linkedin.com/company/accenture-strategy
technologies to accelerate growth and competitiveness. In addition, we
sought the views of more than 9,000 employees in Australia, Brazil,
China, India, Japan, the United States and the European Union—on the
impact of digital technologies on the future of work.

Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved. 9

Learn more at:
www.accenture.com/DigitalDisruptionWorkforce
About Accenture
Accenture is a leading global professional services company,
providing a broad range of services and solutions in strategy,
consulting, digital, technology and operations. Combining
unmatched experience and specialized skills across more
than 40 industries and all business functions—underpinned
by the world’s largest delivery network—Accenture works at
the intersection of business and technology to help clients
improve their performance and create sustainable value for
their stakeholders. With approximately 373,000 people serving
clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture drives innovation
to improve the way the world works and lives.
Visit us at www.accenture.com.
Copyright © 2016 Accenture All rights reserved.
About Accenture Strategy
Accenture Strategy operates at the intersection of business
and technology. We bring together our capabilities in business,
technology, operations and function strategy to help our clients
envision and execute industry-specific strategies that support
enterprise wide transformation. Our focus on issues related to
digital disruption, competitiveness, global operating models,
talent and leadership help drive both efficiencies and growth.
For more information, follow @AccentureStrat or visit
www.accenture.com/strategy.
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