The Future of Work Is Global—And the Challenges Are Universal

What a month!  In just 30 days (February 13 – March 14, 2025), I flew more than 30,000 air miles, delivered multiple keynotes and presentations across Singapore, Spain, Canada, and the U.S., and had many deep conversations with HR and business leaders across three continents. 

From all these interactions, a few critical themes emerged—trends shaping the future of work in every region:

1. The Skills Imperative Has No Boundaries -- The global workforce is at a crossroads: Declining fertility rates and aging populations (except in Sub-Saharan Africa) are creating urgent talent shortages; meanwhile, rapid technological acceleration—especially AI—is intensifying the skills gap. Here are just a few take-aways on how leading organizations and nations are responding:

• At the i4cp Next Practices Now conference in Arizona, I had the good fortune to interview Kim Cockrell, CHRO for Toyota Motors North America, who shared how the company takes a holistic approach to preparing both their workforce and external stakeholders for future skills needs.  Partnership is key to making this happen.
• During a conversation over lunch in Singapore, the head of Singapore’s SkillsFuture Initiative (a government-led national effort launched a decade ago), told me how they are now focused on transferable certifications and universal job descriptions. This initiative exemplifies how public-private-academic partnerships can drive future skills development.
• An executive HR leader from Novartis, whom I met in Barcelona, shared their innovative approach to talent readiness for the company’s Top 100 critical roles, focusing on both experiences and skills while placing equal emphasis on what leaders achieve and how they achieve it. This exemplifies a key Next Practice identified in i4cp research.
• The person who heads-up HR for EMEA at one of the world’s most innovative companies described in conversation (over dinner in Barcelona) how they strategically deploy talent by enabling the portability of skills, expertise, and experience where and when they’re needed. This portability fosters greater diversity across that company by ensuring relevancy where and when needed.

The bottom line? Future success hinges on a proactive approach to skills development and portability—both within organizations and in partnership across the ecosystem in which they operate.

2. Company Culture Is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage –The link between culture and business transformation has never been more clear and more important to make tangible.

• Anne Chow, former CEO of AT&T Business, kicked off the i4cp Next Practices Now Conference with a powerful message: “Culture is the ultimate and only sustainable competitive advantage.”
• Lumen’s Chief People Officer, Ana White, connected the dots between culture and increased shareholder value by sharing their culture renovation journey with the i4cp conference attendees.
• At the HRcoreLAB Summit in Barcelona, an HR leader from Schneider Electric reinforced this, sharing how values and culture are at the core of their business transformation.
• A large Singapore-based company (intentionally anonymized) shared with us how its culture transformation was at the core of the company’s successful business model transformation. It’s a story they’ve never shared publicly, but at the May 2025 meeting of i4cp’s Southeast Asia Chief People Officer Board, they’ll be sharing the details.
• The audience for my presentation in Barcelona on Building a Future-Ready Culture resonated deeply with what I shared. Two particular elements centered on the i4cp findings on how to build Trust and how to make tangible the organization’s critical intangible assets (e.g., brand, employee experience, culture). Many expressed concerns about the erosion of institutional trust. Trust isn’t just an ethical imperative; it’s a business one. (More on that in this article I wrote: Trust and Productivity).

3. The GenAI Divide: Southeast Asia & U.S. Are Pulling Ahead – Most organizations are still figuring out how to integrate Generative AI (GenAI) into the workforce, but one thing is clear—organizations in Southeast Asia and the U.S. are moving faster than those based across the European Union. Workforce readiness and business innovation in that region will likely continue to fall behind.

• i4cp’s research on Workforce Readiness in the Era of AI found that only 10.5% of large organizations have fully operationalized GenAI, while 41% are still experimenting. However, those actively using #GenAI are already seeing significant productivity gains—and expect a 30% increase through more training.
• ServiceNow’s head of people analytics & AI laid out a compelling 4-point plan for building an AI-powered HR function: 1. Implement an AI Operating Model; 2. Build the technology and data foundation; 3. Invest strategically; and 4. Educate and enable the workforce.  Point #4 reflects a Next Practice from i4cp research in which we’ve found that organizations that have trained their executive leaders on how to use GenAI (to a moderate or high extent) are 14X more likely to believe their workforces are prepared to use GenAI, when compared to companies that have only provided their leaders with some—or no—training on GenAI (44% vs. 3%).
• In Singapore and Malaysia, I met with Chief People Officers at organizations that are pushing the boundaries of GenAI adoption and experimenting with Agentic AI—they are actively seeking to learn from peers ahead of them.
• In contrast, most HR leaders from EU-based companies expressed caution and hesitation about the use of GenAI due to GDPR and the new EU AI Act, raising concerns that regulatory uncertainty will stifle business innovation and workforce readiness for the future.

4. The Global Reach and Relevance of i4cp Research Has Never Been Stronger – Our research into the next practices of high-performance organizations is relied upon by hundreds of organizations globally. Yes, cultural and regulatory differences pose their own challenges and opportunities. Yet, regardless of region, as most organizations are pursuing many of the same capabilities, it’s the savvy business leaders who are realizing that true competitive advantage resides in the alignment, strength, and change-readiness of their culture. 

As I was trotting around the world sharing i4cp research, so were my colleagues John Sutton (who led discussions with HR leaders in Melbourne and Amsterdam), and Kevin Oakes (i4cp CEO) who has been delivering insights in Dubai, London, and beyond.

Next week (on 26 March), I’ll be keynoting an event for HR leaders across Mexico and Latin America, hosted by the LATAM Business School. The Chair of our Southeast Asia Chief People Officer Board (Fermin Diez) will also be a keynote for that same event. 

The world of work is evolving fast. What’s your organization doing to stay ahead? Reach out, and let’s discuss.