Josh Bersin: Managing the workforce for the future

The first-ever HR Festival Asia, brought to you by the combined experience of HR Technology Conference & Exposition (US) and HR Summit (Asia), takes over the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on May 8 and 9. With a line-up of more than 100 speakers across six dedicated streams, and an Expo Hall with more than 100 exhibitors, there’s a little something for everyone at the event. Check out our HR Festival Asia tag for more coverage direct from the event.

“Economics is important,” Josh Bersin (pictured) began his presentation to the CxO Symposium at HR Festival Asia, “because it is the great predictor.”

The founder of Bersin by Deloitte should know; he has made a name for himself by leveraging economic data to analyse and accurately forecast industry trends. True to form, Bersin made a prediction at the very start of his C-Suite-level presentation.

“Whether you are using Virtual Reality (VR) for work today or not, you will be using it within one year,” he said, “VR will be the essential HR tool.” Bersin went on to explain that massive leaps in technology are set to make VR an invaluable component of compliance, training, and occupational health and safety.

This use of VR alludes to the fact that economic growth must be driven by productivity. Bersin believes that the gamification of workplace knowledge will accelerate the uptake of the right information.

This evolution of the workforce gels with Bersin’s predictions. Research shows that an estimated 57 million Americans freelanced in 2018, an increase of 8% over the preceding four years. It also reveals that 42% of people under the age of 34 worked as freelancers.