David Ambler, people and organisation digital product development and manager at PwC.
The changing size, distribution and age profile of the world's population will have a disruptive impact on the future of business.
This is according to David Ambler, people and organisation digital product development and manager at PwC, speaking at the ITWeb Digital Economy 2017 summit in Johannesburg yesterday.
Discussing how the changing demographics of workers will impact the future of organisations, Ambler explained that in pursuit of becoming more innovative, most organisations tend to focus on new technologies and the impact they will have on how business will be done, and in turn, place little emphasis on the impact these new technologies are having on their workforce and the inherent disruption that this brings.
"The need to better understand incoming generations at work, and how to adapt to them is becoming an issue as important or perhaps more so, than being able to adopt the latest technology."
He unpacked PwC's Future of work report, which highlights how traditional career models will be disrupted as the workforce becomes more diverse.
"Through the research, PwC has come up with five major visible changes or "mega trends", which are shaping the world – technological breakthroughs; demographic shifts; rapid urbanisation; shifts in global economic power and resource scarcity and climate change. These are the tremendous forces reshaping society and with it, the world of work."
The research reveals that disruptive innovations are creating new industries and business models, and destroying old ones. It further notes that new technologies, such as data analytics and social networks are having a huge impact on how people communicate, collaborate and conduct their work.
"Demographic shifts raise huge organisational, talent and human resources challenges – at a time when business leaders are already wrestling with unprecedented risks, disruption and societal upheaval," notes the research.
The need to better understand the incoming generations at work is becoming an issue as important to an organisation's sustainability, explained Ambler.
"There will be a 1.15 billion increase in the world's population by 2030 and 390 million of that increase will be from those aged 65 or more. Half of the world's population growth between now and 2050 will come from Africa. There will be a 50% increase in global mobility by 2020. This means business models will change as individuals transfer between education and work throughout their careers and demand greater flexibility."
Understanding the changing size, distribution and age profile of the world's population matters because they are the organisations' primary asset and this will play an important role in reshaping the future of business, he explained.
"Businesses need a clear and meaningful purpose and mandate to attract and retain employees, customers and partners in the decade ahead. The new industrial revolution makes human capital the new machinery, driving demand in a limited supply good," he concluded.
