Top story News and analysis
‘Superjobs’ to replace many
“static task-based jobs” in next decade
There is a growing trend for AI-augmented multidisciplinary roles,
and HR should anticipate this shift now. By RACHEL MULLER-HEYNDYK
HR ‘superjobs’ are likely to be cross-disciplinary and cover a range o of people-related fields
Figure
it out
48%
of organisations
anticipate
substantial
changes or
a complete
redesign to work
and jobs in the
next three years
38%
think that
automation will
eliminate jobs
from their
organisation
70%
expect there to
be more
automation
within HR
Deloitte
Adobestock
‘Superjobs’ could create a more
agile and fulfilling way of
working, but HR must train people
to become resilient to changes to
their roles, according to research
by Deloitte.
Leading the social enterprise:
Reinvent with a human focus explored
a new type of job emerging in the
near future. Driven principally by
certain parts of traditional roles
being automated, these ‘superjobs’
would combine tasks previously
associated with different roles while
leveraging the productivity and
efficiency benefits of technology –
making roles more digital,
multidisciplinary and data- and
information-driven, according
to Deloitte.
While Deloitte stressed that
superjobs are mostly conceptual
currently, it predicted they could
make up 20% to 30% of roles in the
next 10 years.
Data from the report, seen
exclusively by HR magazine, found
that half (48%) of organisations
anticipate substantial changes or a
complete redesign to work and jobs
in the next three years. Additionally,
half (49%) plan to rapidly change
the way they hire as a result of
automation, and 47% already use
automation to augment existing
work practices to boost productivity.
Will Gosling, partner and UK
human capital consulting leader at
Deloitte, said the concept is slowly
springing up globally.
“This is new territory. There are
not large numbers of superjobs
across the UK, but we are starting to
do away with static task-based jobs,”
he said. “In China and Japan 98%
of work is already being done
by machines.”
Phil Coleman, a partner and head
of workforce transformation at
Deloitte, gave the example of the
utilities sector.
“There are specific jobs in
operations where people are required
to use their senses – what they can
smell or see – to assess gas leaks or
pressure. With some of this being
automated you can combine AI
with the human judgement of the
situation, which is altogether more
sophisticated and accurate,” he said.
HR could be at the centre of this
change through leading by example,
said Deloitte. Predicted HR job titles
include ‘workforce experience
architect’ – someone who would
work across the fields of
productivity, engagement and
employee brand – and ‘solution
architect’, a role bringing together
cross-disciplinary teams.
Melanie Steel, HR transformation
consultant at Arup, said HR
professionals must consider how AI
can transform their roles.
“This is 100% something we need
to get behind,” she said. “We’ve
started to do this already; AI has
shown that it can do transactional
parts of HR far more accurately.
We’ve already started looking at
what skills we need for the future so
it’s not that this isn’t happening, it’s
that we need to accelerate it.”
Deloitte’s research warned,
however, that to move towards these
superjobs there needs to be significant
investment in skills. It found that
while 68% of organisations believe
their employees will need reskilling
because of AI and robotics, just
18% anticipate needing to invest
significantly in this area.
HR must build a closer alliance
with those in technology to help
people reskill, and recognise their
social responsibility to do so, said
Coleman: “People will need to
receive more technical training to be
able to do their jobs at a higher level.
We know this isn’t easy –
organisations are under pressure
with costs. However... you have a
clear social responsibility to do it.”
He advised HR to: “Sort out your
own house. Look to technology and
get involved in those areas in your
organisation where these roles could
be introduced.”
There must also be a subset of
training to allow people to cope with
change, he explained: “We need to
train the workforce in their response
to reskilling itself. For this change to
be effective, we need people to be
trained to be robust and open to
learning and disruption in the
workforce… The most important
skill you can give people is resilience
to change.” HR
hrmagazine.co.uk November 2019 HR 5
/hrmagazine.co.uk