Good morning. As AI continues to revolutionize business, companies are fundamentally rethinking their workforce strategies for the decade ahead\u2014and exploring new options.<\/p>\n
This topic came up during a panel session<\/a> at the Fortune Brainstorm AI Singapore conference last week. Jess O\u2019Reilly, Workday\u2019s general manager for the ASEAN business, reflected on how a major Southeast Asian bank is considering a skills-based approach to employment.<\/p>\n \u201cI was in Thailand a couple of weeks ago with a huge bank, and they\u2019re really looking at their 10-year strategy and saying, \u2018We don\u2019t even know if our people are going to have a traditional full-time job anymore,\u2019\u201d O\u2019Reilly said. Instead of planning around fixed job roles, the bank is considering pivoting to what it calls a \u201cskills economy.\u201d Here, every project or initiative is treated like a gig assignment\u2014team members are chosen for their specific skill sets relevant to the project at hand.<\/p>\n What\u2019s particularly notable is the bank\u2019s approach to continuous learning and reskilling. O\u2019Reilly explained that there\u2019s always room for someone new to build their skills within these project teams. For example, the bank might set aside 1% of a project team for employees looking to reskill\u2014people who say, \u201cI don\u2019t have these skills yet, but I have experience in adjacent areas and I want to learn.\u201d By doing so, the company ensures that fresh talent is constantly cycling into critical roles.<\/p>\n O\u2019Reilly posed the question: How do we use AI not just for automation, but as the backbone for identifying and matching skills with project needs? She argued that AI can help organizations inventory existing skills, identify opportunities, and make it easier to create space for upskilling and onboarding new talent through gig-style projects.<\/p>\n Perhaps a gig-based workplace would also inject variety into the day-to-day. And many companies are considering moving away from job-centric structures and toward a skills-focused approach, according to\u00a0Deloitte\u2019s report<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cBecoming an AI-enabled, skills-based organization.\u201d The firm finds that companies integrating both AI and skills-based approaches will be better positioned to predict talent gaps, improve talent placement, retain high performers, and reduce mis-hires.<\/p>\n AI and skills-based approaches could also mean that entry-level positions aren\u2019t eliminated by automation\u2014instead, new hires would be selected for specific skill sets that can be expanded and developed.<\/p>\n