3 ways to ensure you have adaptable employees

03 July 2016 - 02:00 By Margaret Harris
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A management index report says South African business cannot afford to ignore young employees' needs.
A management index report says South African business cannot afford to ignore young employees' needs.
Image: iStock

A new type of employee is emerging: the chameleon, who adapts to changing environments. According to the 2016 Accenture Technology Vision Survey, chameleons are part of a new trend: the "liquid workforce".

Heidi Duvenage, the head of payroll company Sage Talent Solutions, says these workers "can adapt to change, learn new skills in a short space of time and seamlessly move from assignment to assignment".

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Companies that attract and retain these employees - who embrace change, are willing to work as part of a team and are open to new training - will fare far better than those that do not.

Duvenage has the following advice:

• Companies need to move away from rigid business structures to create an environment "where the chameleon workforce can achieve the change that they were brought in for". It is important that the human resources department be part of this change;

• Many chameleons are millennials (people who reached young adulthood around the year 2000), and as millennials become the largest sector of the workforce, companies need to change and be prepared to engage with them differently.

Millennials expect human resources and payroll procedures to be as seamless as the service they receive from the platforms they use in their personal lives; and

• A good way to attract chameleons is by providing plenty of training opportunities.

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