6 minute read
MARK D. DEMERS
Part 2 of 3
GENERATION PI
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Reswizzling of Business Brought to you by Artificial Intelligence and Millennials
MARK D. DEMERS
SR. DIRECTOR, SAS
(Continue from the previous Edition)
GENERATIONS
When we think about generations in the workplace, every generation tends to have stereotypes. The Silent Generation will put their head down and work through anything. Boomers identify who they are as a person with what they do for a living. Gen Xers were once referred to as slackers, while the Millennials are entitled snowflakes. Gen Z was briefly known as the "Tide Pod Generation.”
Here’s the good and bad news. Aging retiring workforces led by Baby Boomers are walking out the revolving doors of business at a record pace – taking with them “TRIBALknowledge.”
Millennials and Generation Zscame of age simultaneouslyas social media. These DigitalNatives connect, collaborate,and create disruption usingtheir smart devices and keyboards. Millennials are a tech-literate group who expect to be connected anywhere, at any time. While born after the invention of the internet, other technologies reached them in their teens, and they adopted them at a rapid pace, but they weren’t born with technology at their fingertips. That honor goes to their successors, Generation Z. Millennials are currently the most potent generation for companies worldwide and make up the most significant working population. In just three years from now, supposedly, although I’m not sure I buy the exact figure, millennials will represent 75% of the global workforce by 2025.
In the US, millennials are estimated to have overtaken baby boomers to become the nation’s largest generation. China meanwhile has 350+ million millennials, which represents more than 25% of the country’s total population. Millennial workforce statistics show this generation represents a huge
chunk of the world's labor forces of the top 2 economies. Why are Millennials so crucial to this story and Gen PI? With these sheer numbers, and work ethics, attitudes, and technical prowess, millennial preferences will dictate the world of work for years to come.
Here is one such stat that should give you pause, though. According to WorkMarket, an ADP Company, 49% of millennials will quit their jobs within the next two years. Do you think you have a problem with “tribal knowledge” leaving your workplace? Just wait—plan for it to become worse. Or do something about it, recognizing the great exodus of generations and the foray of advanced computing technologies like artificial intelligence waiting in the wings to replace them.
Millennials won't help cure the growing corporate memory gap by merely being on the job. What Millennials are bringing to the workplace are attitudes shaped by the digital revolution. The state of IT in most workplaces frustrates them because their technology is much more advanced and powerful. Due to the convergence of social, mobile, and cloud, they are used to sharing, transparency, and instantly connecting with people regardless of location. They hold dissatisfaction with corporate systems and traditional hierarchies. They have a different outlook to the generations before them and far lower acceptance levels for the status quo. They are used to Apps that update automatically several times a year.
While we may have a growing shortage of talent and workers' loyalty continues to wane, the rise of advanced automated technologies to complement them like AI, machine learning, natural language processing, quantum computing, computer vision will spear 133 million new jobs by 2022.
The World Economic Forum predicts that among these millions of new jobs, data analysts and scientists, AI and machine learning specialists, and general and operations managers will emerge as the top three roles.
McKinsey Global Institute’s latest report assesses the number and types of jobs that might be created under different scenarios through 2030 and compares that to the jobs that could be lost to automation. Essentially new work opportunities will come but will likely need reskilling or just “killing” off job roles altogether.
Half of the Fortune 500 companies from 2000 are no longer with us. Leaders have failed to keep up with the times.
Millennials are not significantly more tech-savvy at work than GenXers. But – Millennials are in the buyer's seat in IT.
Keep in mind that they “trust in technology” – hand-held PCs (iPhones) and gaming and APPs that already do all sorts of things for them, including taking them places (UBER) and bringing them things (Food and AMAZON).
According to CIO Magazine, 93% of Millennials cite modern and up-to-date technology as one of the most important aspects of a workplace. 40% of finance executives plan to make workforce and analytics investments. So, expect big changes.
Firms need to prepare for a whirlwind of change. The world of work is fast-moving and ever-evolving. It’s probably the most repeated prognostication of the year: Robots are eventually going to take your job, and probably sooner than you think. By 2030, a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people will exist.
What does your future workforce look like?
Have Your Cake (and PI) and Eat it Too
As Charles Darwin said, it is not the strongest species that survive, nor even the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.
To Be Continued in the next edition – don’t miss it…
(Next month will cover Part 3)
About Mark D. Demers
Mark Demers leads an expert global team of industry practice directors, industry marketing, principal industry consultants and thought leaders that drive vision and product direction, messaging and support sales for Industry-centered SAS products and solutions. Mark and his team work closely with SAS’ customers, sales, Partners, R&D, and technical staff around the world, to position, market and sell SAS solutions for Government, Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Energy, and Education and Communications sectors using analytics.
SAS is the world leader in analytics. It’s internationally recognized for providing an innovative, supportive workplace that blends different backgrounds, experiences, perspectives and cultures from almost 60 countries around the world where all ideas are encouraged, and everyone is respected for their unique contributions and abilities. SAS’ employees empower, encourage and inspire women to pursue excellence in STEM and their careers and fulfillment in their personal lives. Employees are encouraged to expand professional networks, showcase thought leaders and attract women to careers in science and technology.
Demers’ decades of management experience include executive positions at several public and private companies prior to SAS. Mark serves as Board member for an emerging innovative Company – Visual Farms, audaciously inspired to help strike out world hunger. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University.
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markddemers
