The Futurist: automation and telecommuting will be as common as Wi-Fi in 2026

Sapna Saxena, country HR manager, APAC, Telstra predicts that the move towards greater automation and telecommuting will push the HR community to completely rethink its approach to work.

In 2026, I predict automation and telecommuting will be as common place as Wi-Fi is today.

As we move towards greater automation, some forms of human interface will very likely be replaced by automated processes or humanlike machines. I foresee the impact of this will include some huge corporate buildings giving way to a workforce working from locations that are not traditional offices.

This not only means an increase in the number of employees working from home, but employees even working from any part of the world.

Such a phenomenon will impact the mix of employees that companies presently have and have a huge impact on their talent strategies. We can anticipate a phenomenal impact in how organisations attract, manage and interact with their employees.

Shifts in talent frameworks and topics such as, what is a productive employee and what represents a promotable employee, will be complex. Significant changes will also need to be made in areas related to culture and employee engagement.

If this happens at the scale I am imagining, the HR community will need to completely rethink its approach to work and partner with a highly connected and automated employee and leadership base.

The June 2016 issue of Human Resources magazine is a special edition, bringing you interviews with 32 HR leaders, with their predictions on the future of HR.

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