How do we manage workplace change? LinkedIn's Chief People Officer has some tips

It's been a busy few years, and will only get busier as the pace of change increases. Some of the job descriptions and skill sets we consider indispensable today weren't even around at the turn of the century; a great many of the digital conveniences we enjoy today, including AI tools in the workplace, were barely coming into vogue before the pandemic hit.

Unsurprisingly, people fear the impact on their own work. Change management is becoming a daily necessity, alongside communication skills, culture-building, and extremely human capabilities such as empathy.

People Matters caught up with Teuila Hanson, the Chief People Officer of LinkedIn, in between the packed agenda of LinkedIn’s Talent Connect 2024 in October, and asked for her thoughts about handling change and disruption in the workplace and how to address employee needs arising from the uncertainty. Here's what she shared, drawing on data from LinkedIn's inaugural Work Change Snapshot that was released earlier this week.

What changes do you think are causing the greatest disruption in the workplace right now? How do you think they might pan out in five years' time?

The biggest thing we’re seeing is that in the AI era, jobs aren't disappearing; they’re evolving. In APAC, skills required for jobs are expected to change significantly due to Generative AI (GAI). For example, in India, skill sets for jobs have changed by nearly 48% since 2016. AI is accelerating this trend with skill sets for jobs expected to change 64% by 2030—a pace of transformation that is mirrored across many markets in the region. 

Over the next few years, what we’re going to see with AI is that the vast majority of our jobs won’t go away, they’ll evolve. 10% of workers hired this year have job titles that didn’t exist in 2000. Roles like Data Scientist, Social Media Manager, Customer Success Manager, Sustainability Manager and AI engineer, are now commonplace.

My advice is to stop thinking of your job as just a title and start seeing it as a collection of tasks. Some tasks will be automated, others augmented by AI. Your job is to excel at learning to leverage AI where it helps, and doubling down on uniquely human skills like communication and critical thinking. Embrace the change, leverage the technology, but never forget the irreplaceable value of human skills.

As someone who places weight on understanding employee thoughts and feelings, what do you see as the greatest source of stress that employees today are experiencing? 

Work has seen a dramatic transformation over the past few years, and employees are feeling it. New LinkedIn research finds nearly two-thirds of professionals are overwhelmed by how quickly their job is changing. In India, professionals are feeling this more—82% are feeling the changes acutely.

What’s the top change today people say they’re navigating? Integrating AI into daily work. 

Change can be really uncomfortable, and as a result we’re seeing employees working hard to keep pace. Three-quarters of global knowledge workers say they use AI on the job, and we’ve seen a 160% uptick in non-technical professionals taking AI literacy courses on LinkedIn Learning. Members globally increased consumption of learning content by 13% year-over-year, with top courses across APAC markets focused on uniquely human skills like “Problem-Solving Techniques,” “How to Think Strategically,” and “Communication Foundations.”

Any tips for organisations seeking to help employees navigate this change?

Before asking people to integrate AI tools into the day-to-day of teams and functions, it’s important for business leaders to engage in ongoing dialogue with their teams to better understand what’s going well and what’s not, and to articulate a clear AI point of view for the organisation. It’s really powerful to step back and offer a company-wide perspective on what the clear benefits are for employees and customers alike, and to start to set the guardrails for when AI will be used and when humans are best positioned to tackle the task due to our unique skill set. 

It’s also crucial to build a culture of learning that helps employees build the skills they need most to thrive in this next era of work. Over 6 in 10 global executives are already actively building new skills within their organisations to keep pace with these shifts, with an even greater emphasis in APAC, where it’s 8 in 10 executives.

Companies that invest in human intelligence alongside artificial intelligence will have the edge as AI continues to advance.

With more time to do work that is anchored around our unique abilities as humans, people skills are rising in importance as the skills that set us apart to innovate in ways tech can’t – 72% US execs agree people skills are more valuable to their organisation than AI skills. In Australia and India respectively, 70% and 76% say they plan to prioritise hiring candidates with people skills.

What are your thoughts on the role that work culture plays or can potentially play in helping an organisation weather such disruptions?

Your culture is the collective personality of an organisation, and clearly defining who you are, and more importantly, who you aspire to be, is the foundation for building an enduring, successful company that can navigate disruption. When companies elevate their culture to be more than words in a lobby or on the website, but rather to be the principles and values they use to make thousands of decisions as a team, employees feel empowered to innovate and try new things. 

This also creates a space where people feel comfortable being curious and where it’s encouraged to continuously be learning, which is crucial for weathering change. By fostering an environment that prioritises and rewards a growth mindset, companies can go beyond implementing new technology to actually inspiring a culture shift that brings out the best work in their people.

We talk about agility a lot in the context of growth. In your view, what does agility really mean in work culture today? How is this different for business strategy vs people strategy?

Agility in today’s work culture means having the ability to learn, unlearn, and relearn continuously. 

In business, adaptive leadership is key to agility. Adaptive leaders remain nimble, seeing big market shifts as opportunities to do things differently. They pivot, iterate and adjust strategies to meet the moment, getting ahead of cycles by constantly adapting rather than letting them happen to you. 

Agility in people strategy focuses on fostering a culture of adaptability and resilience. It’s about bringing your workforce along so they can understand the “why” behind the business strategy and empowering them to build technical skills and the uniquely human skills they’ll need. One thing I always try to remind my team is to assume positive intent- when things are changing rapidly, you may find yourself frustrated because you weren’t invited to an important meeting or CC’ed on an email- being agile means remembering that we’re all in this for the same reason and assuming positive intent. It’s also critical to create a collaborative team culture that encourages pivots and not just doing things because “we always have done it that way.” 

As the people leader of an organisation with a very strong employee-oriented culture, what do you see as the top areas of people strategy to prioritise?

AI isn’t just shaking up how we work – it’s changing the very nature of people’s jobs. With that comes understandable anxiety from employees who are unsure what this new tool means for them and their careers.

The real challenge for talent leaders is guiding teams through this moment so that they have the right support and not only feel reassured that their skills and experience matter even more in an AI-powered workplace, but also that they can grow and thrive within the organisation for years to come.

In APAC specifically, 53% of professionals expressed a need for guidance on the skills required to navigate workplace change. One way we give our people additional support at LinkedIn as they navigate an incredibly dynamic landscape is providing all employees with the opportunity to engage with a 1:1 coach to further their growth and development. Our hope is that employees can hone in on the essential skills they’ll need to thrive in this next chapter of work- things like adaptability, collaboration, and effective communication. 

We also invest a lot in people managers as frontline change agents. We know good managers make change feel personal and manageable for each employee, so we prioritise providing them with the information and resources they need to navigate their people through change has a huge impact.