'Businesses need to be agile, flexible amid eco challenges'

Businesses must remain flexible and agile in response to unpredictable macroeconomic forces, and the only way to achieve this objective is through organisational simplification, workforce solutions provider ManpowerGroup says.
According to ManpowerGroup, which is also a World Economic Forum (WEF) strategic partner, simplification is key to winning in the human age.
"The current economic environment means businesses need to focus on what they can control - being flexible and agile to respond to ongoing change," ManpowerGroup CEO and Chairman Jeffrey A Joerres said in an insight paper released here.
At a time when margins are witnessing a decline, and businesses are forced to do more with less, human potential as the major agent of economic growth, the report said.

According to the ManpowerGroup, the forces that impact the world of work include, economic shifts because of changing demographics, talent shortages and the rise of technology.
Taken together, these forces underscore the need for companies to reinvent themselves as flexible and adoptable human age corporations.

"Executed correctly, organisational simplification results in streamlined processes, aligned business and talent strategies, improved collaboration and a clearer line of sight to company goals and objectives. This ensures companies' long-term sustainability and relevance - whatever the future may bring," Joerres added.
ManpowerGroup's 2014 Organisational Agility Survey of more than 18,000 employers in 42 countries and territories shows that most organisations have demonstrated a commitment to becoming more agile over the past 12 months.

"Leaders must constantly challenge themselves to consider how business operations can be carried out simpler, faster and more efficiently," Joerres added.