Elizabeth J. Altman (@lizaltman) is an assistant professor of management at the Manning School of Business at the University of Massachusetts Lowell and guest editor for the MIT Sloan Management Review Future of the Workforce Big Ideas research initiative. Altman has been a visiting scholar at the Harvard Business School and visiting professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Her research focuses on business ecosystems, platform businesses, strategy, innovation, and organizational change.
Jeff Schwartz (@jl_schwartz), a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP, is the U.S. leader for the Future of Work and author of Work Disrupted (Wiley, 2021). Schwartz is an adviser to senior business leaders at global companies focusing on workforce and business transformation. He is the global editor of the Deloitte “Global Human Capital Trends” report, which he started in 2011.
David Kiron is editorial director of MIT Sloan Management Review and leads the publication’s Big Ideas program, a content platform examining macro-trends that are transforming the practice of management. He has coedited two books on economics and coauthored more than 30 journal articles and research reports on AI, strategic measurement, performance management, analytics, leadership, digitalization, and sustainability.
Robin Jones is a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP with more than 20 years of organization and workforce transformation consulting experience. At Deloitte, Jones leads markets and services for Workforce Transformation, where she advises senior executives on strategy and execution of large-scale future-of-work initiatives.
Diana Kearns-Manolatos (@dianakearns) is a senior manager in the Deloitte Center for Integrated Research, where she analyzes market shifts and emerging trends across industries. Her research focuses on cloud and the future of the workforce. Additionally, Kearns-Manolatos draws on almost 15 years of award-winning marketing communications experience to align insights with business strategy.
Contributors
Desiree Barry, Natasha Buckley, Deb Gallagher, Carolyn Ann Geason, Chetan Hebbale, Abha Kulkarni, Michele Lee DeFilippo, Nicole Nodi, Shubham Oza, Jay Parekh, Janet Parkinson, Saurabh Rijhwani, Negina Rood, Lauren Rosano, Allison Ryder, Brenna Sniderman, and Barbara Spindel
Academic Advisory Panel
Lynda Gratton, professor of management practice, London Business School; founder, future of work advisory group, Hot Spots Movement
Paul Michelman, editor in chief, MIT Sloan Management Review
Daniel Rock, assistant professor of operations, information, and decisions, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Data Analysis Team
David Levin, Satish Nelanuthula, Srinivasarao Oguri, and Navya Vantakala
Acknowledgments
Elizabeth Adefioye, senior vice president and chief human resources officer, Ingredion
Brian Baker, global people strategy business partner, WPP
Brig. Gen. Milford H. Beagle Jr., U.S. Army
Jacqui Canney, global chief people officer, WPP
Carmelo Cennamo, professor of strategy and entrepreneurship, Copenhagen Business School
Maj. Gen. Ronald Clark, U.S. Army
Gretta Corporaal, research fellow and British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford and research associate, Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford
Julie Derene, senior vice president of global talent management, Ceridian
Jen Felch, chief digital officer and CIO, Dell Technologies
Tobias Kretschmer, professor of management; head of the Institute for Strategy, Technology, and Organization, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Nickle LaMoreaux, chief human resources officer, IBM
Matt Lippert, former chief procurement officer, Nike
Barbry McGann, executive director, Office of CHRO Solution Marketing, Workday
Donna Morris, chief people officer, Walmart
Jared Mueller, director, Mayo Clinic Innovation Exchange, Mayo Clinic
Catherine Popper, angel investor and board member, Launchpad Venture Group
Doron Reuveni, founder, chairman, and CEO, Applause
Nicholas Skytland, project manager, Human Adaptation and Countermeasures Division of the Space Life Sciences Directorate, NASA
Arun Srinivasan, general manager, SAP Fieldglass
Susan Tincher, associate CIO for infrastructure services, University of Southern California
Susan Tohyama, executive vice president and chief human resources officer, Ceridian
Alan Trefler, founder and CEO, Pegasystems
Christopher Tucci, professor of digital strategy and innovation, Imperial College London
Jane Weinmann, People & Culture transformation lead, Roche
Karen Weisz, former vice president of human resources, Nike
Cris Wilbur, chief people officer, Roche
Jeff Wilke, retired CEO of consumer business, Amazon
The research and analysis for this report was conducted under the direction of the authors as part of an MIT Sloan Management Review research initiative in collaboration with and sponsored by Deloitte.
To cite this report, please use:
E.J. Altman, J. Schwartz, D. Kiron, R. Jones, and D. Kearns-Manolatos, “Workforce Ecosystems: A New Strategic Approach to the Future of Work,” MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte, April 2021.
MIT Sloan Management Review
At MIT Sloan Management Review (MIT SMR) we share with our readers an excitement and curiosity about how the practice of management is transforming in the digital age. Our expert contributors help leaders explore the trends that are shaping how organizations operate, compete, and create value in a technology-fueled world. We deliver the kind of evidence-based analysis and practical insight that will inspire readers to do great work.
MIT Sloan Management Review Big Ideas
MIT Sloan Management Review’s Big Ideas Initiatives develop innovative, original research on the issues transforming our fast-changing business environment. We conduct global surveys and in-depth interviews with front-line leaders working at a range of companies, from Silicon Valley startups to multinational organizations, to deepen our understanding of changing paradigms and their influence on how people work and lead. Working with collaborative organizations, we publish our findings in annual research reports, case studies, videos, articles, and interactive data visualizations. For over a decade, MIT SMR’s Big Ideas Initiatives have explored topics such as artificial intelligence, digital leadership, sustainability, data and analytics, the internet of things, and performance management.
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