Consultancy firm DDI recently published a great post that aggregated data from 20 HR influencers on their most talked about leadership topics. Influencers are a great barometer of the market and it’s interesting to correlate what they’re talking about against client conversations.

There are certainly five headlines from the DDI’s list of 10 that are hot topics for our clients. Some of them like diversity are regular conversations, others like ethics, are emerging as technology evolves and throws up new challenges.

 Here are five of the DDIs topics that we’re helping companies to address through Stratigens.

1. Keeping up with the data eruption
   “According to Domo, over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created every single day, and it’s only expected to grow from there. By 2020, an estimated 1.7MB of data will be created every second for every person on earth.”

It’s no wonder businesses often feel like they’re drowning in data. And that’s only their internal data. Add external data to the equation and it’s even more complex. I believe that tools that can recognise credible data, analyse it and present back trends in a user-friendly format will have an increasingly large role to play in HR and leadership teams.

1. Increased value for human skills
   “With the rise of AI in the workplace, and on this trends list, there has been an increased attention and value for what is uniquely human.” Despite widespread media coverage about  humans being replaced by robots, what I find when I speak to clients is that they’re placing more value than ever on human skills.

Due to the changing nature of work, employers are looking for a wider range of behaviours - and they’re more interested in values and how people shape culture. Skills such as critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving are becoming more important meaning there is increased demand for uniquely human skills.

1. Diversity boosts innovation
   DDI finds that as leadership topic, diversity “got a boost this year due to new research that demonstrated that companies who have a more diverse workforce are better at developing innovative products and services.” One of the outcomes we help companies achieve through Stratigens is more diverse hiring that is aligned to organisational objectives.

But we put just as much focus on inclusion. Through our bespoke work we research client cultures, teams, values and aspirations to ensure that people will stay and grow with an organisation.

1. Ethics challenges for leaders and businesses
   For the first time this year, the topic of ethics has appeared on the list. This is most connected with the discussion of how leaders confront the new challenges posed by AI -  and in reference to a growing number of ethics scandals.

“As more people and business decisions are influenced by data, leaders and decision-makers must continue to be vigilant in how they use their data to track behaviours and influence people and consumers.”

I think we’ll see ethics on the 2020 list any beyond. I have more and more discussions about the ethical application of AI and automation. How do we make sure we don’t apply powerful tools to a data or a process that isn’t perfect in the first place? This is something we at Stratigens pay a lot of attention to.

1. The continued rise of AI
   “As Gartner highlights in its Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends for 2019, the influence of AI and developing AI-driven technologies will continue to impact the work that people can and will do well into the future.”

For us, technology makes what used to be a manual research process more efficient, accurate and timely. It’s a tool so we can deliver what we do in a user-friendly format to clients any time and anywhere. We’re adopting more AI into our platform as we continue to develop it. Along with our clients, it’s certainly in our top five for 2019.

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