10 years ago we wouldn’t have thought that Chief Belonging Officers or Chief Happiness Officers would be commonplace. In the same way, 10 years from now your future C-Suite board is likely to look very different.
LinkedIn predicts that 30% of the skills needed to thrive at work today will have changed by 2027. As the workplace continues to evolve in the wake of recent transformations (like the home working revolution and the rise of AI) so too will the roles needed to be an effective organisation and stay ahead of the curve.
10 years from now, in a world where diverse expertise, AI-powered assistants, in-house innovation hubs and even weekend space travel could be the norm, transdisciplinary teams and unexpected skillsets will be key to thriving amongst the accelerated change.
Based on research from The Smarty Train’s team of trend-scanners and futurists, here are 5 “jobs of the future” that are already becoming a reality at some organisations today:
1. AI Ethics Officer
- AI could displace 85 million jobs by 2025 (and create even more).
- As AI becomes more powerful and commonplace in the world of work, evolving its capabilities to build websites, design games, and even pass legal exams, AI Ethics Teams will carry out the ethical duties we must undertake in order to use AI responsibly – this could encompass anything from designing ethical AI prompts to analysing outputs to ensure they don’t infringe on copyright.
- The AI Ethics Officer will also be responsible for ensuring AI outcomes are not influenced by unconscious biases and data, as even the most advanced artificial intelligence can be hindered by the inherently flawed data its trained on.
- The importance of ethics in the use of AI is already present today: COMPAS, an algorithm used in the US criminal justice system to predict the likelihood of reoffending, has been accused of judging the likelihood of reoffending to be higher than it is for black defendants (and lower for white defendants)
2. Chief Authenticity Officer
- Part of building a brand legacy means being authentic in all aspects of your business.
- For Gen Z in particular, who are expected to make up nearly 60% of the workforce by 2030, authenticity tops the list of must-haves they look for in not only their employers, but also the brands they buy from. And while the oldest Gen Alpha is only 13 years old, their generation is likely to be even more demanding about the brands they choose to align themselves to.
- Authenticity teams will work with clients and in-house teams to distil communications into their most authentic form, highlighting organisational values but also acknowledging any areas where the brand needs to learn and improve.
- Following negative PR, Authenticity teams will work with Legal to create actionable plans to make reparations and ensure that future practices are better for all. This could also involve taking authentic ownership of where inequity, bias, or other discriminatory practices have been exercised in the past, as part of honest growth towards doing and being better as organisations.
3. Planet Priority Officer
- The United Nations reports that emissions must fall by half by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions no later than 2050 in order to avoid “complete climate crisis”.
- Planet Priority Teams understand that greenwashing and lip service isn’t enough, and ensure that their organisations operate with the least possible detrimental effects to the planet.
- These teams will focus on their organisation’s sustainability, reducing their carbon footprint, and investing in green technology. They will also work to educate the organisation about the environment, and support initiatives to protect it.
- As part of your C-Suite, Planet Priority Officers will strategise ways to reduce your organisation’s waste output, increase energy efficiency, and use more sustainable materials.
4. Energy Optimisation Officer
- 52% of workers are feeling burned out – up 9% from a pre-COVID survey. As the workplace continues to transform, innovate and accelerate, we can expect that burnout is likely to increase too (unless ways of working are adapted).
- Forward-looking organisations are seeking to reduce burnout by helping their people build and maintain a positive relationship with work.
- The Energy Optimisation Officer helps their team leverage their energy levels to help them achieve more, working with HR to support colleagues in working optimally.
- Energy Optimisation Officers will pioneer initiatives equivalent to today’s flexible working hours, working remotely and time off, which rank highly in studies into the most desirable employee perks.
5. Chief Archivist
- 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are created each day, and that pace is only accelerating: 90% of data in the world has been generated in the last two years alone.
- More data being produced also means more potential to lose data. Data loss can occur due to a number of reasons such as hardware failure, software corruption, malware attacks, natural disasters, and even human error.
- As organisations continue to centralise, digitise the core of their businesses, and produce more data each day, the role of the archivist will become increasingly crucial.
- Archivists will work internally as well as externally for clients, helping to build a comprehensive archive of their collaborations to showcase their brand and values in action.
- Archivist teams can also help codify past successes and inform tomorrow’s innovations through the effective use and management of data.
The best time to start building your future C-suite is right now – after all, 2033 isn’t as far away as you might think: it was only 10 years ago that smartphones overtook traditional phones in the market.
Start building the foundations for AI Ethics Officers, Chief Archivists and Planet Priority Officers today by implementing future-facing skills into your L&D strategy. Learn how in our Future-Ready Skills Guide
