Page 16 - BusinessWest January 6, 2025

EDITORIAL >>
Things We’d Like to See in 2025
It’s a new year, and in keeping with what has become a tradition, we’ll take this opportunity in early January to list some things we’d like to see over the next 12 months — what should be an
intriguing time, to say the least.
• More growth of new sectors. While traditional preci-
sion manufacturing, long a staple of the regional economy, has remained a constant, some other sectors, such as healthcare (especially hospitals) and higher education are struggling to some extent. Meanwhile, virtually all sectors, from banking to insurance to retail, are seeing consolidation, which usually translates into fewer jobs and higher vacancy rates with commercial real estate.
In this environment, the region needs growth in what would be considered non-traditional sectors. And there are opportunities in realms such as food science and food tech, clean energy and clean tech, and data centers, including a proposed, $3 billion proj- ect in Westfield that would be the largest of its kind in the state. Growth of these sectors and others represents the region’s best opportunity to create new jobs and perhaps replace those that will be lost in other areas.
• More creative use and re-use of commercial real estate. We’ve seen a lot of it in recent years, from former department stores converted into trampoline centers to the YMCA moving into Tower Square in Springfield; from artists moving into sev- eral old mills to Discovery Polytech Early College High School relocating to 1350 Main St., another office tower in downtown Springfield.
And we’ll need to see more it as sectors continue to shrink through consolidation and remote work continues to create
OPINION >>
more vacancies in office buildings. Creative re-use, be it housing, artists, schools, or small-business incubators, creates jobs and vibrancy.
• More people going to the office, and more often. Yes, there is a place for remote work and hybrid schedules — when such accommodations are needed, and maybe a day or two a week for those seeking a regular schedule of working from home. But hav- ing people in the office is better for businesses of all kinds, from the standpoints of communication, collaboration, and productivity, and better for communities and their central business districts.
Companies such as Amazon and even President-elect Trump are, or soon will be, ordering people back to work — or else. Busi- ness owners don’t need to be so demanding, we believe, but more work in the office and less remote work is good for the region’s economy.
• More entrepreneurship. Or even more, as the case may
be. We’ve been encouraged by the efforts of several area agen- cies — from EforAll to area chambers of commerce to the Latino Economic Development Corp. — to encourage entrepreneurship among all constituencies, but especially women and minorities, and help businesses get off the ground and stay in business.
Such efforts not only enable people to work for themselves instead of someone else, they create jobs, fill some of those com- mercial real-estate vacancies, and create vibrancy in our gateway cities. Most of these businesses are small, as in very small, and most will not create more than a handful of jobs, but such ven- tures are an important source of growth for any region. BW
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Build a Future-ready Workforce
BY ALLISON EBNER
As organizational leaders and HR professionals, we are going to continue to be challenged in the new year and beyond with a roller coaster of issues as we try to match our work- forces to the complex needs of our organizations and the demands of our clients and consumers. It will take an incredible amount of innovation for us to remain competitive not only within our indus- try landscape, but also in our employee-engagement strategies.
Nearly every industry will be experiencing significant labor- force challenges with pending retirements from the Boomers and Gen-X, and we’re also facing a transformational time in work experience and career expectations from our Millennial and Gen-Z employees. So as an organizational leader today, how should you best prepare for the coming disruptions? Here are three strategies to consider as we turn the corner into 2025:
1. Prioritize investments in continuous learning and devel- opment for your staff. Business, technology, and talent trends are moving at the speed of light. By creating a continuous learn- ing model for your staff, you are empowering them to be resilient thinkers who can make better decisions for themselves, your organization, and your customers.
How do you approach this? Conduct an optimization assess- ment of each role or department in your organization. What competencies would help a team member perform at their peak? Keep it simple with a list of technical skills, power skills (formerly called soft skills), and future skills. Once you identify the list, cre- ate a learning pathway that helps you skill-build in each area.
2. Focus on building leaders with high levels of emotional intelligence. This will make or break you. Period. Full stop. It’s hard to describe just how much this matters in our work eco- systems today, but I’ll try to do just that. If you can create people leaders with this competency — even to a high degree, not perfec- tion — you will slay your competition and crush your employee-
retention goals.
We no longer have a workforce that will tolerate moderately
decent managers. They have to be better. They need to instill a sense of urgency to get the job done right, combined with empa- thy, accountability, and the ability to teach resilience practices. This is key because our world is going to continuously evolve and change. We need to build teams that can inspire and motivate our future workforce through change and chaos and turn these uncer- tainties into opportunities.
3. Strengthen the bonds between technology and your people. The fifth industrial revolution has arrived, and it’s the evo- lution of people and machines working together to build our orga- nizations and move us forward. Whatever industry you’re in, you can use technology to propel innovation and create a workplace the optimizes technology while enhancing the human experience.
It’s also all about your customer experience. If we want to win the battle for market share, grant funding, venture capital ... what- ever it is that makes you tick, you’ll need to have a strategy that includes providing your talent with the best tech tools to give you an advantage.
By embracing a mindset of continuous learning, combined with leveling up your people leaders and blending technology
in your current work practices, leading organizations can pivot from a traditional model aimed at scalable efficiency that grew out of our industrial past to one that is far more suited to a world in which speed, agility, and innovation rule the day, and in which people expect more meaning, choice, growth, and autonomy at work. BW
Allison Ebner is president of the Employers Assoc. of New England. This article first appeared on the EANE blog; eane.org
16 JANUARY 6, 2025
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