“Future of Work” Trends Will Impact All Areas of a Telco - ETI
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March 10, 2022

“Future of Work” Trends Will Impact All Areas of a Telco

By Charlotte Patrick

What is the “Future of Work”?

The Future of Work is a complex mix of external and internal drivers which will exert pressure on the telco to change – both immediately and into the long-term.  The term means different things to different parties within the ecosystem of thinkers, consultants and commentators on technical and strategic topics:

  • to more technically focused parties, it is about company responses to the “fourth industrial revolution” and the impact of technology on markets
  • to those focused on organizational or human resources advice, it is about the changing nature of the workforce and the cultural change that this will bring with it
  • to longer term commentators, it is the impact of all these trends on the economy, the wealth gap, skills requirements, and government policy into the mid- and longer-term
  • to more tactical thinkers commenting on short term trends, it is the impact of the pandemic and how companies have/will continue to respond.

Future of Work Trends

Source: Charlotte Patrick Consult, Mar 2022 (with definition of Industry 4.0 from https://www.salesforce.com/blog/what-is-the-fourth-industrial-revolution-4ir/)

These trends will have significant impact on telcos:

  • The pace of change in markets where telcos wish to compete is increasing and they will become more complex – from both an ecosystem and product perspective. This will create more ambiguity and risk and require telcos and employees to become more flexible and adaptable. We expect the increased use of intelligence and cloud-based operations in telecoms to facilitate the entry of new players, but also to enable telcos (with strong commitment and customer-centricity) to expand into new markets as they benefit from increased agility and software skills
  • As younger generations join the telecoms industry they will demand more flexibility in the way that they work. As a result of this flexibility, core jobs will remain within the telco, but as ecosystem business models mature, telcos (and others) will increasingly work with specialist companies and freelancers to provide as-needed help, particularly in new markets. This use of ecosystems, along with the increased interest in remote/hybrid working, will require new leadership skills and tools to support successful arms-length relationships
  • Trends in culture change – including climate concerns, diversity, inclusion and the steps that telcos can take to support employee mental and physical well-being – will continue to play a part in telco decision making
  • Some telco job descriptions or parts of a job will disappear, and new ones will appear over time. Humans and machines will work together, and telcos will look to create symbiotic relationships. Humans will need to be front and center of this new world and focus will be needed to ensure job satisfaction and to build trust as machines become part of the working lives of more employees
  • Evolution toward hybrid workforces, which combine contractors and employees in one labor pool will require new methods for planning, management and practical requirements such as scheduling. A3 can support telcos to manage more complex scheduling, forecasting and optimization problems

To dive more deeply into this topic, please download a copy of the more detailed report. The report includes this Executive Summary and then provides insight and action points for each of the trends discussed.