Artificial intelligence, DEI, flexible working – these are just some of the trends that will continue to shape the future of work. 

Although these open us up to a world of new possibilities, HR teams and executive leaders need to be fully aware of how they can ready their organizations, while also equipping employees with the right skills and tools to harness them correctly.  

One business that is particularly focused on paving the way to a successful future is PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC), after appointing Michael Fenlon as Chief Future of Work Officer. 

But what does this role actually entail, and will it catch on to other businesses? In an exclusive interview with Fenlon, UNLEASH gets the inside track to discover how PwC – which generated a whopping US$50 bn in 2022 – is preparing for the future. 

What is a Chief Future of Work officer responsible for?

Although none of us can see what’s around the corner, businesses need to ensure they’re doing what they can to prepare for what’s in store.  

In fact, by 2030, McKinsey predicts that one in 16 workers may have to switch occupations – meaning the workplace will see a great deal of change over the next few years.  

Primarily, this is what Fenlon and his teams work on. But as you can probably guess, the future will come in all different shapes and sizes – as well as throwing in the odd curve ball.

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One of the burning questions that Fenlon faces is: How can PwC create a vision for the future that is “reverse engineered” to achieve, informed by deep insight while understanding the risks that can’t directly be influenced, but that are critical for the business to understand?

To approach this, Fenlon looks at the most recent megatrends that have swept through the workplace – technology and AI, demographic shifts, climate transition, and geopolitical risk, are just a starting point.  

It then must be considered how these translate in different industries and companies – for specific leadership teams and the implications for business models, transformation, culture, and workforce.  

But Fenlon says that today, “leadership teams are stretched thin”, making it easy for them to be consumed with the demands of operations and stakeholders. “Inevitably, we forfeit the depth of understanding the future and what that means for the decisions and investments we should be making today,” he adds.

So, although this role clearly has a place in PwC, should it be replicated in other organizations? To find out, we asked Fenlon himself.  

“These are new roles, so it’s a logical question – why do we need Future of Work Officers?,” he asks. “We’ve always had a future, but we’ve not necessarily had a role to plan for it.  

The first thing I’d say is I don’t think this is about a specific title or role per se, but a capability for strategic foresight, preparedness for innovation, and risk management. That’s essential for every business and organization.”

He continues to explain that PwC’s senior partners in the US firm created the role as they were looking at the level of change and uncertainty across the globe.

They therefore designed a role to share the company’s points of view on the future of work within the market with its clients and to share how the business is translating and understanding signals of the future into the business’s competitive strategy.  

“I use the PwC US firm as a case study,” he explains. “I share our strategies with our clients as a basis for discussion. I’ve had many CEOs tell me that they start the day with a clear set of things they need to get done. But then the day seems to conspire against them, and unplanned conversations or issues arise that inevitably demand their attention.  

“So, before you know it, priorities slip, and as time passes, we are not executing the agenda that is most important for securing the future. I think most of us can relate to this on a personal basis.” 

Tackling responsible AI and AI-enabled teams

As with any industry, there are certain challenges that arise – one of which is the implementation of responsible AI.  

In fact, it’s almost impossible to have missed the dramatic headlines around the promise and the potential of AI, which, on the face of it, may give the impression it’s relatively easy to implement.  

However, Fenlon highlights that the challenge is beyond giving employees access to AI tools, but rather to customize and fine tune AI to specific needs, all in the context of responsible use.

We believe it’s very important to focus on the underlying patterns of application, so with AI, for example, being able to extract insights, summarize, review – all to augment productivity and quality,” he says. 

“There’s an intense focus on achieving productivity gains from AI, which has to be paired simultaneously with a focus on responsible AI adoption, governance, and understanding risks.” 

To achieve this, businesses must have a strong governance and risk management program in place, addressing the potential for bias, and being able to interpret and explain decisions that are being made because of AI.  

What’s more, he says that there are many elements of responsible AI, which is a priority for PwC, explaining it’s going to redefine the work of leaders. This, in Felon’s view, isn’t given as much attention as needed, as it’s hard to truly define what it means to lead an AI-enabled team.  

“When we think about the role of leading AI-enabled teams, we’re very focused on risk management,” he states, “but we also can’t forget the risks of human intelligence. What do I mean by that?  

“Well, there’s an extensive body of research that’s documented our own blind spots as humans. Confirmation bias, prototype bias, similarity bias, confirmation bias, for example. The decision sciences have documented these cognitive biases – that we all possess – and that can be a mismatch from our evolutionary heritage to the modern world.” 

In the context of PwC, Fenlon tackles how AI can be used as a coach, for example, to help correct blind spots and confirm that a truly inclusive environment has been created – where every voice is heard, where everyone can share their unique knowledge and contribute to their fullest.  

PwC’s predictions for the future of work

So, with Fenlon steering PwC to prepare for the future of work, the business is well positioned to predict possible trends that will sweep the world of work. 

The first is the continued importance of upskilling, learning and development, which will soon be viewed as an essential employee benefit to secure the futures of individuals, not just with their employer, but their employability overall.  

This investment in employee learning is going to be an enormous area of focus,” he says, “and there’s going to be tremendous innovation in how we learn. I certainly envision how AI is going to create a much more personalized experience in learning.  

“I see significant innovation in how we learn and develop skills. So, for AI, the first skills are perhaps how to use AI responsibly and to develop skills in how to use AI effectively, such as prompt engineering.” 

Similarly, Fenlon and his team predict a greater focus on skills versus jobs, expecting employers to want not just inventories of jobs in the workforce, but to understand the inventory of skills they want their workforce to possess. These will need to align with competitive strategies and where they need to go.  

“From here, employers should create an internal marketplace where there’s greater transparency of opportunity, and matching people with those opportunities versus traditional job posts,” he remarks.

“And a lot of this has been driven by internal networks. We, therefore, envision a much more dynamic, transparent AI-enabled talent marketplace, like what we have at PwC called My Marketplace, becoming the model for corporate organizations in terms of development and career development and accessing talent.” 

PwC’s My Marketplace is a digital platform that connects people, skills and opportunities across the firm, allowing employees to learn about the different types of work, while understanding how their skills can link to different roles and identifying areas to upskill and expand their network. 

Finally, Fenlon explains that 2024 will be a year where inclusion of all is recognized as an essential attribute to help businesses gain competitive advantages.

For Fenlon, inclusion is both a societal and business imperative. If done correctly, he explains, it can bring “enormous” sources of competitive advantage, especially when an environment allows talent to contribute its fullest potential.  

“Teams need to have an environment where everyone has a voice and is contributing their unique skill set and knowledge,” he concludes.

“I think this is true globally, not just in the US. I think there’s going to be a much deeper recognition of this as a critical leadership capability.”