Executive themes for 2024

“Trying to predict the future is like trying to drive down a country road at night with no lights while looking out the back window.” Peter Drucker (a founding father of modern management theory)

If death and taxes are the only certainties upon which we can rely, the best we can do is consider and interrogate the likely developments of the near future and prepare our business models and personal career growth plans accordingly.

Here are some of the major themes that the Rialto team believe will influence the economy and global executive job markets in 2024.

1: Optimising AI.  

If 2023 was the year that early adopters got ahead and most doubters came round to the reality that generative AI is here to disrupt every part of our lives and many occupations, 2024 will see a more mature, pragmatic and strategic integration of frontier technologies into all aspects of work automation priorities.

It is imperative that executives prioritise the need to ensure senior leadership are bringing in the talent or hiring expertise to identify the most appropriate applications and introduce them across the business as seamlessly and effectively as possible.  By the end of 2024, the gulf between believers and dinosaurs will become increasingly evident.  The influence of generative AI is developing exponentially. Looking back at the pace of acceleration of adoption in 2023, it is almost impossible to imagine the disruptive force it could generate over the coming 12 months.

As McKinsey succinctly stated in its recent report, “What matters most? Eight CEO priorities for 2024”,  executives need to ask: “which parts of the business can benefit? how can applications be scaled from one to many? and how will new tools reshape their industry?”.

This is not just a paradigm shift, it is a revolution, with accelerated change now a constant; business models and mindsets need to adapt to be able to respond in real time to stay ahead of the competition.

Rialto can help you benchmark your personal readiness for the future of work and identify any skills gaps. We also offer a programme of live online events presented by experts in specific fields around the frontier technologies and their application in various functions and sectors.

2: Another year of economic uncertainty.

2023 proved to be a year of economic contradictions and we go into 2024 with the same equivocation. Despite all of the crosswinds which threatened to push the UK and major global markets into recession, including conflict in the Ukraine and the Middle East, double-digit inflation, record energy costs, high interest rates and the legacy of Covid driving a cost-of-living crisis, markets ended the year buoyant with the US indices reaching record highs.

With inflation falling rapidly, interest rates likely to follow later in the year, wages rising faster than prices, and promised tax cuts in the Spring, many forecasters are now predicting a grey market up to the UK national election, with stagnation rather than recession.

In the background, the risk of conflict spreading and causing energy prices to spike will continue to prompt caution among investors.

Executives and board members across most sectors will be emphasising the need for resilience, efficiency and frugality. Spending is likely to be targeted on processes, technologies and strategic priorities that will focus on savings to build up reserves and create agile business models to adapt to the fast pace of AI-driven change; leaders will look for creative, low risk ways to promote growth in an otherwise stale UK economy which continues to lag behind other G7 countries.

That could offer little in the way of relief to the lean executive job market which Rialto highlighted with exclusive data at the end of 2023. It showed a dramatic fall in publicly-advertised executive level vacancies on the year, highlighting the increasingly critical need for the most senior level job seekers to be able to access the hidden market, identify the opportunities meeting their requirements and upskill or retrain if necessary. Pivoting towards new roles created by the technological revolution could open further pathways to successful career transitions.  The focus is on creating a brand and skillset which are more relevant than ever to the new market demand curve for leadership talent.

3: Elections.

2024 is a year of elections, local, national and global.

Will it be a 1992 – the year Labour leader Neil Kinnock snatched defeat from the jaws of victory after taking a tumble on Brighton beach? Or another 1997-style landslide for Keir Starmer’s more centrist Labour party? Markets are always averse to uncertainty. How might that affect the economy?

PM Rishi Sunak has indicated he will call a General Election mid=way through the year.

Will his promised tax cuts fuel increased consumer confidence and prompt a commerce-led recovery? – or spook markets concerned about further increases to record borrowing levels?

The most recent polls put Labour 19% ahead of the Conservatives which would give them the seats they need for an outright majority and a strong mandate for change.

However polls are notoriously inaccurate. Not only did they get it wrong in the last two US elections and our Brexit referendum, they can reduce turnout for the leading party from voters convinced the outcome is a foregone conclusion.

Rishi Sunak will betting on an economic turnaround as inflation and interest rates fall globally to carry him over the line but will his immigration all-in on the divisive Rwandan policy see him go bust and bring on a surprise early election?

And what will it mean if Labour do win? Starmer is keeping his cards close to his chest so little detail in his manifesto so far. He and shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves are, however, determined to prove Labour can take care of business and keep tight fiscal control with new powers for the Office of Budget Responsibility so don’t expect any big public spending contracts, though the construction industry would see a shot in the arm with a promise to build 300,000 new homes a year for five years.  They have promised is to secure billions in private funding to promote growth in the regions, focusing on the green energy economy for which a massive injection of cash would follow a Labour victory.  Along with AI, it’s the growth sector of the moment. Can Starmer pull a rabbit out of the hat and rejuvenate the former industrial heartlands?

In contrast, Sunak has backpedalled on renewables in a bid to put fresh air between him and Starmer, so uncertainty over related future financial and economic policies is likely to deter foreign investment at a crucial time for the sector, potentially leaving the UK too far behind to play catch up with China and the US who are going full steam ahead in the race to become the green superpower.

Whatever and whenever the result, executives seeking new positions and career transitions could do worse than to reskill and pivot towards these emerging technologies.

Business leaders also need to keep an eye on regional elections, including the London mayoral election which could have a big impact on the City, and global elections, including US Presidential elections which will have an important bearing on Western relations with the crucial Chinese market.

4: Laser-focused strategic growth.

As leaders and executives seek to navigate stormy waters at the beginning of the year,  laser-focused strategic growth will be more important than ever.

Budgets remain tight, investment in new technological infrastructures will remain a priority; now is a good time to revisit and update McKinsey & Company’s 2022 10 rules for intelligent growth.

1. Put competitive advantage first. Find your winning formula first then scale up.
2. Make the trend your friend. Stay on top of emerging markets; recognise when the trend is waning and change.
3. Don’t be a laggard. If you’re ahead, keep moving to stay ahead, no treading water. Be more Apple, less Blackberry.
4. Turbocharge your core. How can you build strength into the core that will support new growth? Technology? Product development?
5. Look beyond the core. Expand organically using natural connections and progression.
6. Grow where you know. Optimise your local advantage, knowledge, connections etc.
7. Be a local hero. Win strong loyalty and brand awareness in your locality.
8. Go global if you can beat local. But be sure your product will transfer to new markets first
9. Acquire programmatically. Plan organic growth alongside new ventures. Think about the emerging sectors such as AI and green technologies.
10.  Shrink to grow. Prune dead wood and re-seed for stronger growth,

In this time of uncertainty, it is more important than ever that all leadership teams are constantly looking for opportunities for growth and development with minimal risk, whether micro or macro, into new markets, new sectors or improving on core business performance. Entrepreneurial curiosity needs to be built in to the workforce with strong two-way communications to open opportunities for all employees to contribute ideas to optimise performance at every level.

5: Filling skills gaps.

Technology is disrupting the way we do business at all levels but we need the right people at the wheel to prevent a kamikaze ride into the future.

Generative AI and other frontier technologies are bursting with almost limitless potential but are also fraught with tensions and risks that need a human touch. The most advanced business leaders are starting to recognise that abstract skills such as empathy, curiosity and adaptability are becoming more valuable to the fast-changing, AI-led economic landscape than traditional qualifications such as superior formal education. Emotional intelligence, creativity and strategic thinking are among the skills that cannot (yet) be replaced by technology.

The UK’s education system has been slow to catch on to the need for these skills to power the country’s future economic success. Even young people graduating from universities and sixth forms now have not been prepared for this brave new world.

Senior executives need to demonstrate these skills in their own leadership but also build them into the workforce through strategic recruitment and continuous upskilling and training. HR leaders should be bringing in AI applications to analyse and meet current and future skills requirements particular to the growth strategies of the business.

6: Minding mental health.

As the New Year blows in on the back of grey skies, driving rain and warnings of another gloomy economic 12 months ahead with further job layoffs and a lingering cost-of-living crisis, maintaining a feel good factor in the workplace is a challenge facing leadership in all sectors.

According to Gallop’s State of the Global Workplace 2023 report, almost six in 10 employees considered themselves quiet quitters – psychologically disengaged from work without a sense of meaning or purpose. It claimed that active and psychological disengagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion a year or 9% of global GDP.

By genuinely committing to caring for the wellbeing and welfare of staff, companies could potentially make huge savings with minimal outlay at a time when critical skills shortages and economic uncertainty are threatening to undermine growth in every sector.

Investment in cultivating relational intelligence, empathy and introducing mental health toolkits, evaluation and support will pay dividends. That may mean hiring consultants or using AI programs to deliver focused training, continuous assessments and easily-accessed support services.

Employees who are being made to return to the office after the homeworking of Covid times and adjust to constant technology-driven changes in their daily operations may be at risk of burnout and disillusionment. Open, two-way communication, flexibility and understanding can all help cushion employees and make them feel safe and valued.

The CIPD claims flexible working can reduce staff turnover by up to 87%.

Some companies are going further, offering sensory spaces, menopause support and introducing wearable devices to track mental health, sleep patterns and AI programmes to analyse sentiment around workplace developments. HR directors should be actively analysing workforce engagement and identifying risks to reduce attrition rates and costs and maintain a healthy workforce to boost engagement and drive performance.

On a more personal level, executives and leaders have had to take on more responsibilities and cope with more change than at any time in history. Those in position should be aware of their own stress levels and look for ways of managing competing challenges, whether by re-evaluating leadership teams to maximise opportunities for delegation of duties or building in moments of decompression, rest and mindfulness throughout the working week.

For those seeking a career transition or out of work and actively looking for a new position, share your journey with a trusted relative, friend or consultant. It is too easy to get caught in a cycle of hope and despondency as opportunities come and go. Take time to reflect on any rejections and seek advice from someone who may have a more objective perspective and be able to help turn challenges into positive development.

If senior executives could have accurately predicted the full scope of the 2008 financial crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, or any of the other difficulties the economy has faced, chances are the market would look a lot different than it does today. While no one can predict with certainty what lies ahead, strategic readiness is paramount with leadership success determined by your ability to skilfully play out the hand you are dealt.

The dynamic landscape of the future of work is rife with challenges, driven by technological advancements, societal shifts, and other global factors, and the trends we are seeing now are likely to have a lasting impact on what is to come. Rialto research into growth areas, senior-level strategic priorities, and the macro factors impacting today’s market has identified the following trends and areas of future focus for senior executives:

• Increased Organisational Complexity & Strategic Transformation: As Automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics are reshaping industries and transforming the nature of work, efforts to reimagine and reconfigure how businesses operate will increase. Within the next year, companies that have not integrated and adopted a digital strategy may find themselves unable to compete in the evolved market.

To remain relevant and competitive, organisations need to ensure more time and effort is invested into creating a robust executable future-of-work strategy. This includes a greater need for strategic thinking around business imperatives such as data analytics, sustainability, marketing and leadership including the approaches, tools, and resources needed. Personal interfaces, virtual collaboration and new media will enable global and real-time communications requiring different environment thinking focused on facilitating the flow and exchange of ideas, providing greater autonomy and transparency.

• Shifting Workforce Demographics: With people generally living and working longer, the complex dynamics of accommodating five generations within the workforce are often underestimated. This is further influenced by both the potential rise in the retirement age and a potentially lower entry age.

The expectations and motivations of these different groups vary, presenting multifaceted challenges for recruitment, retention, and engagement. With younger workers expressing a preference for more flexible working models, employers will likely need to rethink their traditional stances on in-office work. This could also lead to more diverse workforces, as remote work expands the talent pool globally.

For business leaders, this potential diversity necessitates the creation of alignment across generational and geographic boundaries. Achieving this alignment may require adapting employee experiences, fostering a strong corporate culture, and strategically matching skills to specific roles.

• Skills Driven Hiring: Having the right skills will be paramount to success in the future of work. We are already seeing a shift towards skills-based hiring over experience, as employers have come to recognise that a candidate’s past job titles matter far less than that candidate’s ability to bridge knowledge gaps and adapt to new challenges

This shift in perspective will give rise to a workforce that’s not only recruited based on existing skills but also on their capacity to acquire new capabilities. Those ahead of the curve will nurture talent not only to open doors to business expansion but also to fuel personal career development.

However, this transition isn’t merely about shifting from one hiring approach to another. It’s also a profound transformation of workplace structures. The traditional, pre-pandemic, role-based hierarchy is increasingly at odds with the skills-based hiring model. As titles take a back seat and skills and capabilities become the primary currency, we predict the workplace’s meritocracy will undergo a significant shift.

• Balancing Human and Digital Productivity: As we peer into the future of work, the convergence of productivity and efficiency considerations encompasses both the human and digital workforce. The strategic integration of advanced technology to elevate organisational capabilities offers immense potential, particularly when underpinned by a commitment to practicality, ethics, and risk management.

In the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs report, respondents predicted that 42% of business tasks will be automated by 2027. To benchmark, current estimates indicate that approximately 34% of all business-related tasks are performed by machines. This implies that a substantial 10% growth in automation is on the horizon over the next four years. This estimate is more conservative than others have made, and while it is hard to predict exactly where AI development will reach in the next several years, the fact is that it will have a transformative impact on the future of work. The rapid evolution of robotics, Cloud infrastructure, Generative AI, and more have already generated major operational efficiency and productivity gains for those who have adopted them, and as technologies develop and AI becomes more intelligent, there is only more to be attained.

• Purpose-Led Businesses: Finally, we expect to see both organisations and their operations becoming more globally transparent, which will require more purpose-driven decision-making in the future. This will require a genuine commitment from leadership and a deep understanding of the organisation’s purpose, values, and the societal and environmental challenges it aims to address. Both customers and employees alike increasingly want to associate themselves with social causes that align with their values and share their sense of long-term social and corporate responsibility. Successful organisations will be those with a clear focus on their mission who champion it effectively through both their actions and their words.

Looking ahead, we recognise that predicting the future of work is a complex task but preparing for it strategically is within our control. The trends we’ve explored all point to a future where adaptability, agility, and a joined-up focus on talent and technology will be paramount. For senior executives, embracing these trends and proactively aligning strategies with them will not only help to weather the storms but also seize the opportunities that lie ahead. The journey is uncertain, but by keeping a firm focus on the future as we navigate the now, leaders can guide their organisations toward continued growth and resilience.

There have been hundreds, thousands, some say millions of adaptations of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol since its publication 180 years ago including blockbuster movies, theatre productions, graphic novels and even two operas.

Clearly, its lessons are as apposite now as they were in 1843.

Few of us would ever wish to be associated with old Ebenezer Scrooge, at least from the opening chapters. But, as we wind down for the festive break, could we perhaps take a moment to think about the literary miser’s journey and reflect upon what has brought us to this moment in time, be mindful of the present and ask how we can make our own futures brighter, more connected and, well, happier?

What actions can executives and senior leaders take right now to go into 2024 refreshed, focused and ready for a whole year of challenges new?

Chapter One: No humbug! – send your staff into the holidays with a boost. 

Dickens’ novella opens with the parsimonious money lender refusing an invitation to spend Christmas with his nephew, turning away charity collectors and only begrudgingly allowing his beleaguered and underpaid clerk Bob Cratchit a single day of paid holiday.

Sounds like the gig economy?!?

The ghost of Jacob Marley with his clanging chains of doom warns Scrooge to pay attention to the three ghosts unless he wants to spend his own eternity in a netherworld of miserable penance. Reflection and projection now will save much pain later.

2023 has been yet another tough business year with economic pressures, high inflation and interest rates and organisations forced to restructure to save costs. Maintaining morale from the factory floor up to the executive offices is never easy when money is tight and the future uncertain. There are steps senior leaders and HR professionals can take that cost little and can send staff into the holidays feeling valued and appreciated.

In recent research by Workhuman, a third of workers surveyed said feeling seen makes them more engaged and 40% said their performance improves. Not many employees would stick around like poor, undervalued Cratchit. Imagine the attrition toll if your CEO was Ebenezer Scrooge.

It costs nothing to say thank you to your people. Whether in person or via a live virtual link, a genuine, warm Christmas message, looking back on the year, celebrating the wins, acknowledging the difficulties you have faced together, looking to the future and capitalising on the communal festive cheer to build a seasonal sense of belonging and identity will go a long way. If you haven’t been able to afford generous Christmas bonuses this year, can you announce a surprise early closure for those you can lose for an afternoon – and promise an extra half day in lieu to the rest? If you can send your workforce home for the holidays with an extra boost you’ll reap dividends in loyalty and productivity when they return at what can otherwise be a depressed and lethargic time of the business year.

Get leaders and managers to personally thank everyone in their teams and identify and name the action or success that stood out for each individual in 2023. You want your workforce charging out of that door (or clicking laptops shut) with a smile and a surge of positive energy, not a sigh of despair and sense of dread at the thought of returning.

Chapter Two: The Ghost of Christmas Past – how did you get here? What did you learn? 

Before he could see and appreciate the lessons of the Ghost of Christmases yet to come, Charles Dickens’ Scrooge has to accept some very difficult truths of the past and present. The childlike Ghost of Christmas Past shows him for the first time how he was the architect of his own miserable isolation, driving his friends and his beloved away with his all-consuming pecuniary lust.

Understanding how we came to be where we are today, as individuals and as organisations, is an essential part of the cycle of development and growth. Have you been too single-minded? Too unapproachable or shied away from critical conversations? Have you missed golden opportunities?

Take time as you wind down for the break to analyse productivity levels over the year. Can peaks and troughs be explained? Instruct leadership teams to identify individuals or departments losing productivity. Are they suffering end of year ennui, a longer term burnout? How can they be reinvigorated, lifted, motivated, engaged? Where are the bottlenecks? Which teams are flagging? Where has the energy gone? Or has the market changed and your organisation failed to respond? What have your competitors done that you haven’t?

On a personal note, take time to think about your past, historic and recent. How did you get here? Why are you here? Did it happen by accident? Did you mean to go somewhere else? What motivated you to start on this path? Are you still as motivated? If not, why not? How can you get that back? Who did you meet along the way? Have you lost contact with anyone who could be valuable to you now? Look up your old contacts and friends, take the opportunity of the festive spirit to network and reconnect.

When were you happiest and why? When were you least happy and why?  Look at the dark times and the good times. Also, stand back and congratulate yourself on your achievements. Go through your diary for 2023, think about every win, no matter how big or small. How did you achieve them? How can you repeat that? Think also about what went wrong. How did it happen? What did you learn?

Chapter three: The Ghost of Christmas present. Now you’re here, is it where you want to be?  

Traumatised by the spectral visions of the previous night, Scrooge is whisked off by a jolly giant apparition who allows him to bask momentarily in the glow of joyful festive celebrations that will take place that Christmas – including poor Bob Cratchit’s, where Scrooge’s cold heart is warmed by the stoic charms of his crippled son, Tim, and his nephew’s, whose kind invitation he sullenly declined. He now regrets this and begs to stay.

This is a very good time to think about where you are now. Is it where you wanted to be? Do you look forward to every day? Or, now that you think about it, have you taken a wrong turn along the way? Bad advice? Or just allowed yourself to drift aimlessly?

Do you have burn-out? Have you lost your mojo? Do you have any serious regrets? Has your work/life balance gone all out of kilter?

If you are feeling dissatisfied, this break from the daily grind could present the perfect opportunity to assess your present situation. Can you leave an out-of-office message on your email and put your work mobile in a drawer for the holidays? Only then can you truly clear your mind to think about your executive career progression  with clarity.

Plan quiet times to allow those thoughts to crystalise. Try “naked” walking or running in the countryside or on the coast – don’t worry, you can keep your clothes on, just leave the phone in the car, no music, no company. Just your thoughts.

You may realise you are happy in your organisation but feel you have stagnated. Or perhaps, the time has come to seek pastures new. Do you need support to dig your way out of this rut? A fresh pair of eyes and professional coaching could be just what you need. Our executive career coaches see a surge in inquiries at this time of year from people looking for a career boost, so if that’s where you find yourself, rest assured, you are not alone.

On a more personal level, what can you do to recharge your batteries over the festive period? Think about who and what makes you feel happy. Can you even remember what makes you relax? The power of true rest and recuperation cannot be under estimated.

Work stress and lack of sleep can elevate damaging cortisol and epinephrine hormones which suppress your immune system and contribute to heart disease, high blood pressure and poor mental health. Allowing your mind and body to rest and engaging in healthy and happy pursuits, such as walking in nature and enjoying quality time with loved ones, reduces stress hormones and charges feel-good hormones like oxytocin and endorphins.

Using holidays to catch up on sleep and switch off from stress helps improve mood, memory and motivation, decluttering the mind and energising the spirit enabling you to return to work more focused and possibly even inspired.

A study by Ernst & Young showed that for every extra 10 hours of holiday time taken, annual performance improved 8%.

Aim to return to work free of the baggage you have built up over 2023 and go into 2024 lighter, clear-headed knowing what you want and how you are going to get it.

If you are out of work, it’s the perfect time to take a break from the often demoralising cycle of applications and rejections, spend time with loved ones, do all of the above and boost your energy, health and motivation. Spend time talking with family and friends and work out what it is you really want to do so you can return to the job search feeling focused and confident.

Chapter 4: The ghost of Christmas Yet To Come. You have the power to shape your future? 

Another night, another ghost. This one silent, ominous, foreboding. Scrooge is guided through scenes leading to a funeral, clearly one of someone who was loathed and will never be missed, in contrast to the funeral of Tiny Tim whose future death moves Scrooge deeply. Pitying the poor unloved soul and keen to learn from his previous visitors, the old man asks, who dies with nobody weeping? He is shown his own gravestone. He begs for a chance to repent and make up for a lifetime of avarice and greed. And wakes back in his own bed. Is it ever too late for redemption?

When you have a quiet moment over the break, look into 2024. What do you see if you carry on the path you are walking? Is it a happy scene?

Where would you like to be in three months, six months, the end of the year? Visualise it. How will you get there?  Imagine looking back on 2024, what do you hope to have achieved?

It is a time for questions. What would you change if you could? Would you spend more time with your family? Is there room for development and growth or change in your current position and organisation? How can you progress within it while maintaining your work/life balance? Or is it time to start considering a total change of scene?

Think about first steps in the New Year and how to start it in the right spirit. Look at blogs, Ted talks and news articles on predicted executive trends. Will you be ahead of them? Do you need to freshen up your skill set and knowledge? We can be certain technology, and especially AI will continue to play a big part.

If you’re making New Year’s resolutions, how about mixing up work and personal. Have you always wanted to learn how to play banjo or jive? Throw pots? Grow vegetables? What are you waiting for?

We all know we should do more physical activities but all hobbies, even sedentary ones, can be hugely beneficial. Learning a musical instrument can boost your memory and has been linked to lower levels of dementia while doing anything that you enjoy stimulates those feel-good hormones, boosts creativity and motivation while repetitive engagement and learning anything new stimulates the mind.

Chapter five: Embrace the spirit of Christmas and take it into 2024. 

Grateful to be alive and given a second chance, having seen the bleak future unchanged, Scrooge rushes out into the street brimming with Christmas cheer. He finds the Victorian chuggers he had turned away and hands over an extremely generous donation, sends a huge turkey to the Cratchits and surprises his nephew’s family by showing up and throwing himself into the day. He is a changed man, spreading kindness and joy for the rest of his years and becoming an avuncular figure to Tiny Tim, who thrives thanks to his new benefactor.

Whether you are feeling run down and on empty after a difficult year or you’re throwing yourself into the social whirl of the season, could you do more to embody the spirit of Christmas? think of Scrooge’s transformation. You will never feel poorer for making a generous donation to a cause you really care about. Can you spare time for a soup kitchen? How can you help practically? Do you have any neighbours or friends who will be alone this Christmas? Philanthropy is good for society and good for the soul. Research shows that giving can boost your physical and mental health in numerous ways.

Is there something you could do on a more permanent basis throughout the year? Voluntary work? Create a strategy to involve your business in a worthwhile cause, if you don’t already have one. Working as a team to do good boosts morale and belonging in the office, two assets you can’t just buy off the shelf.

Like Scrooge, if we can know how to keep Christmas well… “May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!” 

“Information is power. Particularly when the competition ignores the opportunity to do the same.” US billionaire Mark Cuban.

 At Rialto, we pride ourselves on staying abreast of current and emerging market trends with one eye on the present and another into the future. This is one of the ways in which we support our clients from c-suite and senior leadership level to stay ahead of the competition, whether seeking career progression or career transition.

We share some of the most relevant, timely insights our executive career coaches and other colleagues through our regular articles and blogs, and our quarterly programme of webinar events

Here, we review what we believe to have been the top five themes of 2023, largely aligned with our predictions from the end of last year, linked back to some of our previous insights and articles of the year.

1: Generative AI

Without doubt, Generative AI was the biggest business trend of 2023 and, barring any unanticipated seismic disruptions, most likely to hold its place into 2024 and beyond. This time last year, ChatGPT was a bit of a novelty. People were using it to write poems to their dogs and test its joke-telling ability. Two months later, it had broken all records by acquiring 100 million active users. In May 2023, a Gartner poll of 2,500 executive leaders found that publicity around ChatGPT had driven almost half of them to increase AI investments with 70% in exploration mode and 19% piloting or using the technologies.

As we head into 2024, the breadth and scope of generative AI and its more analytical technological sibling, large language models (LLMs), is almost limitless, affecting every single sector and function of work with a market expected to grow from $6.2 billion in 2023 to $58.5 billion in 2028.

Over the last year, Rialto insights, articles and webinar events have reported on the dazzling potential of GenAI applications in areas including, but not limited to: intelligent recruitment, training tailored to current and anticipated skills needs, market trend analysis and response, enhanced employee engagement, resource optimisation, supply chain management, sales and marketing, personalised customer experiences, report writing, content generation, sentiment analysis and insights, data management and analysis, internal communications, real time reviews of diversity, equality and inclusion policies and sentiment.

We also looked at research into which areas were expected to see the biggest productivity gains from AI while this article looked at how c-suite executives should be forming a strategic relationship with technology to drive impact. Here we looked at key areas where HR leaders can harness AI to revolutionise recruitment processes, enhance employee experiences, and provide data-driven insights to inform strategic decision-making HR.

Rialto has been ahead of this sharp curve in raising awareness with many senior level clients on how to become proficient in these technologies, building the confidence and expertise needed to oversee transformation strategies to integrate appropriate applications seamlessly and safely across the business. We have supported others seeking new opportunities to learn the language and capitalise on the capabilities of AI or pivot towards emerging technology-based C-suite roles such as chief data officer, chief information security officer or chief digital officer.

A central role played by these new positions is to safeguard organisations from reputational and AI financial risks.

Highly-trained co-pilots will be essential in managing ethics and compliance, monitoring accuracy and, of course, ensuring all AI-driven objectives and outcomes are imbued with human sensitivity. Here Rialto explored five skills needed for an AI-enabled executive workforce.

2:  Resilience and adaptability

Disruption and unpredictability have become the new normal. Today’s business leaders need to be able to absorb the shocks, endure adversity and adapt their business models, cultures, systems and workforces to respond and adapt fluently, with resilience no longer being a “Nice-to-Have”.

Executives have had another tumultuous 12 months, dealing with the legacy of 2022’s UK leadership chaos, sky-high inflation, rocketing costs and energy prices, economic uncertainty and pessimism, a slow job market, conflict close to home in Ukraine and Middle East, continued post-pandemic changes to working culture, not to mention the new technologies discussed above.  Those who have shown resilience and adaptability have been better able to create a unified, collaborative business environment, driving cultures of innovation and learning, and making faster and more dynamic decisions.

On a more personal level, in-position executives continue to need to adapt their own leadership style and skills to evolve with the fast-changing market and the traditional requirements of their roles. We looked at common challenges faced by those preparing for navigating senior leadership transitions, Top Resilience Strategies during Career Transition and how to turn a negative into a positive, making the most of rejection in an executive job search. while this piece looked at ways executives can adapt, evolve and pivot to reposition themselves in a more desirable, future-focused niche.

3: Strengthening relationships

Whether encouraging belonging among increasingly geographically-isolated staff, developing a wider network or consolidating stakeholder partnerships, building stronger relationships has shown itself to be at the heart of successful leadership in 2023.

A recent YouGov poll found that half of UK employees work from home some or all of the time and while the jury is out on the impact on productivity, many surveys have shown that distance workers often feel disconnected and worried they are invisible and so less likely to progress in their careers. C-suite need to work with HR to explore more collaborative operating models to recreate the interactive and sociable in-person dynamic alongside well-organised real life meet-ups. This approach can help avoid drops in morale and productivity, pitfalls of silo working, to build cohesive cultures, positive workforce identity and maximise joined[up performance.

In this insight, our expert Rialto executive career coaches shared five essential strategies they encourage executives to employ when seeking to enhance their leadership influence to motivate teams, engage stakeholders, inspire confidence and shape outcome from a distance.

We also looked at the value of continuous executive networking to build new and reinforce existing partnership relations. Data from McKinsey shows that only 14% of professionals have grown their networks since 2020, while less than 50% reported making any effort to do so. Yet the more extensive & relevant your network is, whether long-established or newly-connected, the greater your reach when you need to expand into new sectors or terrains or bring in expertise for business or personal growth. We looked at four key activities we recommend our executive clients to practise when networking: personal benchmarking, development and growth, gaining wider perspectives on innovation and sharing insights and advice.

4: Still reaching for Glass Ceiling

This term was first coined in 1978 to describe the invisible social barrier preventing women from reaching higher levels then almost exclusively occupied by men.

More recently, its meaning has been expanded to include any prejudices or working conditions that hold individuals back, whether due to gender, race, disability, mental health, age, sexuality or gender identification. 2023 also saw people start to talk about the impact of the menopause on women in the workplace and ask how explorers could support them.

Equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) are now built into any successful business model and there are legal requirements to do so with serious consequences for discrimination.

Rialto director Richard Chiumento says: “Most executives may remember a time when the boardroom and senior management were homogenous zones of white males. Today, it is a joy & much more appropriate to see a make-up from every cultural background and of all ages, a real diverse group of individuals which makes the workplace so much more vibrant, dynamic, productive and interesting”.

However, while things have improved greatly, and progressive business leaders are truly recognising the unmistakable value of having an expansive plurality of views, experience and backgrounds in any boardroom or business environment, there still remains much work to be done.

“We still hear from clients who are coming up against these discriminatory barriers, whether seeking to progress within their organisation or looking at career transition. We help them to identify and overcome them while also advising leaders how to capitalise on an increasingly global market by building visibly and displaying a genuinely inclusive and welcoming culture.”

From 2022, the Financial Conduct Authority set “comply or explain” targets for listed UK companies of 40% female board members including at least one senior position and at least one member from an ethnic minority background.

The deadline saw a flurry of new appointments, with 60% of new non-executive vacancies filled by women in 2021-2022.  However, the theme for 2023 was something of a regression with boards wary of geopolitical and economic tensions reverting to the security of experience over the unknown, suggesting that for some, it remains a box ticking exercise rather than a genuine commitment.

Headhunter Spencer Stuart surveyed the UK’s 150 biggest listed companies and found increased caution around appointing first-time directors, down to 31% from 44% the year before. The number of candidates from ethnic minority backgrounds was at its lowest level this year since 2020 while the proportion of non-executive vacancies going to female candidates peaked at 60% in 2022 but dropped to 51% in the 12 months to April, 2023.

Richard Chiumiento said: “Instead of just paying lip service to EDI, organisations need to set metrics and actively seek to redress any imbalances or obstacles to genuine equality of opportunity and remuneration parity. As well as ensuring compliance, this ensures better, more trusting and productive relations with employees, potential candidates and other stakeholders. Organisations that do not comply or only commit to the bare minimum risk a damaging financial impact as well as reputational damage.”

We spoke to some of our female clients about their experiences to mark International Women’s Day in March, 2023. They told us some of the greatest barriers they felt were thrown up by unconscious bias, imposter syndrome, misunderstanding of equality and AI bias within automated recruitment processes. You can read more and find advice from our executive career coaches here.

We will revisit EDI and look at the tangible benefits of a healthy and robust culture and policy in the New Year.

5: Talent shortages:

Post-Covid, we saw a “quiet quitting” trend, where employees and leaders at all levels stepped away or down in search of a better work-life balance having spent so much time out of the office during lockdowns.  In 2023, finding, attracting and keeping the best talent from the resulting smaller pool became a strategic priority for every sector and at every level, as did investing in existing teams.

We talked throughout the year about the many tools and methods organisations can employ to ensure they have an intelligent recruitment system and a positive culture, which encourages organisational commitment and an ethos of continuous learning and career progression.

We looked at strategic HR priorities including cultivating talent and upskilling, and taking the initiative with AI to help achieve those objectives and drive growth and productivity.

We looked at how predictive analytics can identify trends and patterns needed now and in the future. AI can then find potential candidates with those skill sets, even if passive, and tailor individual job offerings based on market and internal data and the individual’s experience and requirements. While generative AI can create and deliver bespoke training programmes designed to meet organisational and individual need and ensure the workforce remains agile and responsive to the dynamic internal and wider economic landscape.

We also analysed what this meant for our clients who were seeking career transitions. Unfortunately, our exclusive data revealed that the talent shortage had not led to an abundance of opportunities.

Our analysis of publicly-advertised mid and senior level executives and leaders found an incredibly worrying decline in vacancies. For example, in November 2022 there were 12,761 publicly-advertised UK Chief Executive Officer vacancies. In October, 2023 the number was down to just 115. Non executive directors were down from 4,034 to 42 and Chief operating officers dropped from 1,814 to 82. (figures are a snapshot, and not a 100% accurate depiction)

We shared some of the invaluable advice provided to senior clients on how to shine in a gloomy marketplace and some of the bright spots on the otherwise gloomy horizon.  Rialto director Nick Storey also shared his advice on staying ahead in executive career transition.

It has certainly been a tumultuous year and we hope you have found some of our insights and articles helpful in navigating the fast-changing marketplace and economic landscape. We will continue to monitor trends and developments across 2024. Please let us know if there is any subject or angles you would like us to look into.

In a recent survey, chief executives cited financial growth as the second highest priority for HR in 2024 after talent management.  HR leaders rated this tenth, revealing a disconnect which could be limiting potential for growth. CEOs also placed “efficiency and productivity” and “technology review and investment” much higher than HR Leaders.

Here are three key areas where HR Leaders and the C-suite should be working together to strengthen the contribution and impact of HR and add greater value to their organisation.

1: Leadership effectiveness  

HR need to constantly evaluate the evolving challenges and expanding responsibilities that functional business leaders are now expected to take on. A substantial three quarters of HR professionals acknowledge that leaders in their organisation feel overwhelmed by the growing scope of their responsibilities with more than half stating that their leaders bear more responsibility than they can effectively manage.

Regardless of sector or discipline, these are just a few of the day to daily challenges leaders may face on top of their specific positional duties: balancing short-term responses to crisis vs longer term visioning, cultivating fit-for-purpose behaviours, understanding and integrating fast-developing technologies, leading hybrid teams, managing multiple, sometimes competing stakeholders. On top of all that, they must oversee healthy cultures with clear EDI policies and execution and motivate workforces who may feel burned out and be seeking better work/lifestyle balances.

In order to thrive and drive productivity and efficiency, organisations require HR to step up and proactively support the path to navigate multiple priorities.  This means listening and being responsive. Among the strategies HR can employ to assist are: resetting expectations; enabling effective delegation and communication training through access to coaching and training for staff; simplification of structures and tasks; identification and help integrating new technologies to improve efficiency; and ensuring directives around business culture and expectations are clear and visible.

Leaders should be made to feel confident in asking for help without being judged and have built-in time for reflection and mentoring.

2: Talent Management and upskilling  

In the domain of talent management and upskilling, HR has an opportunity to take centre stage in its strategic input to the rapid evolution of workplaces and business models.  The integration of AI into HR functions will support the evolution of job specifications, with HR leveraging AI audits to assess skills, experience, and talent. AI applications will further empower HR to identify and cultivate individualised training programmes, aligning upskilling initiatives with the dynamic and agility needs of an organisation.

As the landscape of talent acquisition continues to transform, acquiring, retaining and optimising talent extends beyond traditional measures.  In a survey conducted by Gartner, only one in four employees surveyed said they felt confident about their careers. Scope for promotion, progression and personal enrichment can be as important as income when valued employees consider factors influencing their career decisions.

This shift requires a focus on creating a holistic approach encompassing employee wellbeing, coaching, transparent career progression and more flexible work arrangements as well as a commitment to continuous learning and upskilling.

Career progression is moving further away from being a vertical ladder with clear scripts and gateways, unfolding instead as a matrix with interconnected paths.  HR leaders should be ready to tailor talent strategies to these new business models which will open wider career possibilities, more diverse employee expectations and opportunities that represent finite cycles of work with dynamic possibilities for personal growth.

3: Embracing AI  

Surveys show C-suite buy-in to AI advantages is not being matched by enthusiasm from HR leaders. More than two thirds of executive leaders agree benefits of AI outweigh risks yet only a fifth of HR leaders are actively engaged in AI discussions across their organisations.

Most describe the application of AI as being something that will become increasingly important in the future. However, the most advanced organisations and their HR leaders are using it now to streamline processes, improve efficiency and enhance employee experiences, lifting HR’s role in the organisation.

First steps for HR are creating a framework to assess and identify appropriate AI applications and support departments to adapt existing organisational working models to assimilate and fully exploit their potential to drive progress and efficiency.  Importantly, they must also be aware of the risks and create a framework to ensure their ethical, transparent and responsible use.

There are known issues around generative AI, such as bias and a built-in tendency to “hallucinate” – literally to make things up. Whether you have AI tools built for your organisational needs or integrate existing applications, ensure there are humans testing, overseeing and constantly assessing output before it reaches any audience.

While younger generations may be unphased and embrace the fast pace of technology-driven change, adoption of frontier technologies may alienate some older workers who are already feeling bewildered by the pace of change, post-Covid, and worried about being displaced by automation.

Manage their concerns with genuine, effective two-way communication. Explain any changes, why they are necessary and how they will benefit them, ensure they get proper training to co-pilot the technology effectively, open channels for feedback, listen and respond.

If you want to learn how Rialto can help your HR teams to explore and prepare for the future of work and emerging business models, contact us on +44 (0) 20 3746 2960.

As organisations grapple with the complexities of talent management, employee engagement, and the ever-changing dynamics of the workplace, the adoption of AI emerges not just as an option but as a strategic imperative for HR.  Far from being a threat to traditional HR practices, AI serves as a powerful ally, with opportunities to revolutionise recruitment processes, enhance employee experiences, and provide data-driven insights to inform strategic decision-making HR. 

In the near term the potential to improve productivity through a more streamlined, focused, strategic HR function is around 30%, yet 56% of HR professionals believe it will be at least three years before they will be prioritising AI.    

To hold back in adopting AI now is to hold back on elevating the role of HR to new heights.  Here are five practical uses in which AI comes into play in HR functions: 

1: Recruitment and onboarding 

AI should be embraced in recruitment and onboarding processes for its ability to streamline and enhance the hiring experience. By leveraging AI algorithms to analyse applications, identify top talent, and automate routine tasks, organisations can significantly reduce time-to-hire, improve candidate matching, and ensure a smoother onboarding process, ultimately creating a more personalised experience for candidates and leading to a more efficient and effective workforce. Consider the following:

• Predictive analytics can help identify trends and patterns both outside and within an organisation and identify skills needed now and in the future by an organisation, department or team.
• AI can then find potential candidates with those skill sets, even if passive, and tailor individual job offerings based on market and internal data and the individual’s experience and requirements.
• Generative AI can produce marketing and recruitment materials.
• “Chatbots” can respond to job advert questions.
• AI-enabled software can sift through unlimited numbers of applications and produce shortlists based on organisational need, matching behavioural attitudes to company culture as well as qualifications and experience.
• Digital platforms can create and deliver automated onboarding and training programmes.

2: Talent management 

AI can act as a game-changer in talent management, offering insights into employee performance, career development, and succession planning. By harnessing AI algorithms, organisations can optimise talent acquisition, identify skills gaps, and foster a proactive approach to employee development, ensuring a strategic and future-ready workforce.  Consider:

• Tracking employee sentiment, predict exit risk and inform and advise managers to respond appropriately.
• Enabling and managing self-service portals allowing access to services, training and information and reducing the workload of HR professionals.
• Identifying and preparing potential successors for outgoing leaders to ensure a seamless transition.
• Automating repetitive tasks allowing employees more time for creative and collaborative work, boosting productivity and job satisfaction

3: Learning and development 

AI integration in learning and development is essential for personalised, data-driven insights that cater to individual employee needs. By leveraging AI-powered platforms, organisations can deliver targeted training, recommend tailored learning paths and continuously adapt content to keep pace with evolving skills requirements. It can be used to:

• Audit skills within an organisation and market trends to prepare for future needs.
• Identify which employees should be upskilled in which sectors and specialities to ensure a smooth, dynamic, responsive workforce.
• Create personalised training modules which adapt content to the individual and promote a culture of continuous learning.
• Design training to nurture soft skills such as resilience, leadership and adaptability to prepare for shocks, crises and disruptions.

4:. Compliance 

Navigating the intricate landscape of HR compliance has never been more dynamic and AI can streamline these processes, ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. It can track and manage workflows related to compliance tasks, such as background checks or policy acknowledgments.    Create compliant documents and update them with legal and internal policy changes. Applications can:

• Detect any real or potential legal or regulation violations and alert appropriate departments in real time.
• Analyse pay equality and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) issues.
• Use algorithms to detect current and future risks by recognising anomalies such as insider trading or money laundering, freeing employees from the intensive, time-consuming analysis of vast amounts of data.

5: Administration:  

Overall, AI has a huge role to play in reducing administrative tasks by automating scheduling, carrying out data analysis, and report generation, allowing HR teams to optimise time management, make more data-driven decisions, and streamline communication to support change management and leadership initiatives. This can include:

• Providing automated HR support to staff.
• Writing and disseminating company announcements.
• Monitoring sentiment towards proposed and actual changes and creating communications to reflect and assuage concerns and build positivity.
• Tracking and recording content from meetings and highlighting action points.
• Generating and disseminating reports.
• Creating content for employee surveys, distributing, analysing responses and producing insights and action plans.

We encourage all HR teams to embrace the transformative potential of AI, moving it from being seen as a buzzword to a powerful workforce ally.

If you are a HR leader and would like to explore how to be part of the AI lead within your organisation or you are a senior executive and want to know more about how to AI can be used to transform HR into a more strategic, valuable, insight-driven asset, contact Rialto on +44 (0) 20 3746 2960.

The Rialto resident number cruncher has been tracking publicly-advertised executive-level vacancies for the past 12 months and our exclusive data for the year to October 31, 2023, reveals a truly worrying trend.*

Our analysis of the last year of publicly advertised senior vacancies looks like a Himalayan mountain range falling down to sea level – wild fluctuations bottoming out almost completely as traditional open c-level level positions all but dry up as the landscape shifts in the face of seismic shocks from the explosion of AI.

Here, Rialto director Richard Chiumento casts his expert eye over the figures –  and finds the bright spots on an otherwise gloomy horizon.

So, Richard, a pretty bleak picture emerging here?

In my 30 years of supporting global business leaders to take their next professional career transition I can honestly say I have never seen anything like it. It reflects what we’ve been hearing from our executive outplacement clients who are exploring moves into similar positions in different companies or sectors. Many come to us having drawn a complete blank with their usual actions of registering with headhunters (who have limited mandates to fill) or approaching target companies. I’m afraid this data only confirms worst fears. The volume of the most senior level positions is reducing quickly and substantially.

Which Executive roles have been hit hardest?

In terms of traditional mid and senior level executives and leaders, the decline in vacancies is across the board CEOs, CMOs, HR directors, NEDs, COOs, etc, and it is global. For example, our data shows that in November 2022 there were 12,761 publicly-advertised UK Chief Executive Officer vacancies. In October, 2023 the number was down to just 115. Non executive directors were down from 4,034 to 42 and chief operating officers dropped from 1,814 to 82.*

We have to be careful as these are not definitive figures but they do show real indicative trends which we discuss and use to plan successful strategies with our clients. We can also see old-style candidate profiles diminishing as traditional executive functions start to disappear.

What’s behind it?

A perfect storm of factors: the legacy of Covid, economic uncertainty, the geopolitical tensions in Russia, Ukraine and now the Middle East; inflation and rising interest rates have led to a cost of living crisis. Consumers are buying less and companies are reacting by investing in pay increases where possible and cutting their own costs where they can. They are accelerating digital transformation and investment in generative AI and other frontier technologies rather than people. Many have imposed a recruitment freeze and are choosing to reshuffle internally or are culling expensive senior staff – particularly those who have failed to stay relevant to organisational, market and customer needs and don’t recognise that they need to stay open to continuous learning.

So should people just hold on and wait for the storm to settle?

It’s not that simple I’m afraid and we tell our clients that doing nothing is not an option. Against the background of this inauspicious economic landscape we find ourselves in the midst of the greatest revolution to hit the workplace in history.

Last week, Elon Musk told Rishi Sunak he believed AI would one day make all job functions obsolete and that we would all get to choose whether we want to work as a sort of recreational hobby. I don’t buy into that though I do agree AI will have a seismically disruptive impact.

Historical projections about AI-related job losses have put the repetitive tasks in the firing line, driving, coding, accounting. However, our data shows that executive segments are equally vulnerable.

Senior level individuals are better off actively taking control of their career asset and driving assertively into the future instead of sitting back and allowing their value to rust and  depreciate.

I’ve been talking about the transformative impact of AI for a long time and it’s no co-incidence that we started tracking this data in November, 2022 when ChatGPT launched and changed the way work is done. The generative AI that powers it and other models such as Bard, Perplexity, Cohere Generate, AlphaCode, Synthesia, will have more of an impact on our lives and workplace than any other technological development in history. Companies are already drastically reducing and rebalancing their workforces as they adopt these efficient new technologies. Where they are recruiting in numbers it’s in these new technology-led spheres.

This is not like the previous downturns we have seen – this is the dawn of a new era and there’s no going back. But there are positives – there are new opportunities opening up which see executives working alongside AI, co-piloting, and these are the roles for the future.

What are the emerging executive roles?

We also analysed emerging roles being created by companies looking for different skill sets as they employ new business models, digital transformation and generative AI applications. They include chief automation officer, chief digital officer, chief data officer and chief experience officer. We are seeing real growth in these roles and a shortage of skills, in contrast to the massive oversupply of traditional senior role skillsets. It’s the new skillsets and opportunities we support our clients to pivot into.

What actions are you taking to enable clients to make the jump.

It’s more of a turn, a pivot, than a jump. We’ve been able to look at the big picture and join up the dots between old world and new.

We help senior executives realise how they need to adapt and evolve, upskill or reskill; that’s whether they wish to stay in their current role, move to a new company in a similar role or move into one of these new roles I’ve discussed. Some are doubtful, initially, either because they are fearful and overly-pessimistic about being obsolete or over-confident that they can live off past glories. Our market mapping data really supports what we’ve been advising them: they need to be as dynamic as the times, keep moving forwards.

We have a finely-tuned and highly successful programme to help them to stay relevant. We identify and evaluate their aspirations and risk factors against our knowledge and research of current market trends.

We identify the priorities, actions and opportunities that would best suit each individual according to their own unique set of goals, skills and experience. We encourage our senior level clients to feel positive and confident about their place in this new world and to be proactive about positioning themselves as the best, most informed, stand-out candidate when they set their sights on a new position.

How do you see the picture developing?

The existing world of work is dying and the skills that made people attractive to employers are dying with them in most sectors and in most functions. The pace of change is faster than I think almost everyone realises. The World Economic Forum says 1.1 billion workers will need to reskill before 2030. Our core message to clients is this: the executive job market is moving faster & is more disruptive than at any time in history – if you stand still, you’re going to get left behind.

Figures are not 100% accurate and should be read as a trend rather than as definitive data.

*Sources: LinkedIn up to July and Adzuna from August to October 2023. Figures are not 100% accurate and should be read as a trend rather than as definitive data.

There’s no getting away from the fact it’s a tough market for anyone looking for an executive position.  Here, Rialto director Nicholas Storey shares some of the strategies and advice he offers clients looking for support in their career transition against the backdrop of today’s volatile and dynamic economic market.

If you’re in work but frustrated by a lack of progress, audit yourself.

Whether you wish to remain relevant and do better in your current role or progress within your organisation, you need to audit yourself before someone else does. Are you bringing value for money? Do the numbers back it up? You may have been at your current role for 8, 10, 15 years or more and feel you have already proved your worth. I call that the danger zone. You go in, do your job, and expect everyone to be grateful.

But years of loyal service won’t mean anything to the accountants when they are looking at a spreadsheet and deciding where to save money, especially when you’re competing with technology and humans who are proficient in it.

Your organisation may have changed a lot since you joined. Have you changed with it? Try to look at it as though it is a new company. What are its strengths and weaknesses? Can you see space for improvement? How would YOU improve it? What skills and qualifications does it look for when employing new people at your level or above? Do you have them? If not, ask how you can obtain them.

Look into the future and understand market demand

Our data shows just how much has changed in a single year since we started capturing the dramatic fall in advertised traditional C-suite vacancies. The pace of change is accelerating exponentially so imagine how the next year or even six months is going to look.

Think ahead. If you want to stay in your role, how do you see that changing? Is your organisation embracing generative AI and using it properly? If it is, are you on top of it? If not, could you be the one to usher it in?

Perhaps you could consider executive transition but into the new roles being created by the AI revolution, chief automation officer, chief digital officer, chief data officer and chief experience officer. We can help you understand the market, pivot towards a new-world position that aligns with your existing skill sets and experience and help you identify and fill any gaps in your CV.

It may seem daunting but anyone who has managed to work their way to executive level in the old world has the capacity to make it in the new with the right support. Here at Rialto we’ve had our sights trained on this exciting new era for many years and we have helped executives from all over the world to jump on board and get ahead in the race. I see these new technologies not as a barrier, but as opening a portal to the dynamic global job market, expanding horizons and creating exciting new opportunities.

Take advantage of Executive Outplacement and Retraining opportunities

For those who have been made redundant recently, my first question piece of advice would be: Pause to reflect and plan.

Would your severance package and gardening leave be best invested in reskilling or upskilling or getting professional help to fully prepare for a positive re-entry into the job market.

Go back and identify why your role was made redundant. What changed? Was that change unique to your organisation or sector-wide? Look at what’s out there. Where is the growth? Where is the market contracting? Do you see vacancies in the roles in which you have previously found success? Or do you need support to help reposition yourself for the changing market?

All the data and everything I am hearing tells us there are far fewer positions and far more applicants out there than I can remember seeing for some time.

Organisations in all sectors are restructuring to cut costs and take advantage of new technologies. Was that a factor in your redundancy? It goes without saying that the reason generative AI is coming for executive jobs is because it can perform so many functions better, more efficiently and far more inexpensively than humans. But it needs you, or someone like you, to co-pilot it confidently. AI makes a better friend than an enemy. If you can take this time to master it and go back into the market proficient and confident discussing new technologies it could really give you the competitive edge.

Long term unemployed? Think about a change of direction to secure your future.

Many clients who come to Rialto are despondent after being knocked back time and again in their self-directed job searches. They may not understand why, after a long and successful career, they find themselves seemingly unwanted.

I see people who have burned through their redundancy settlement and then into their savings either because they have been over-confident that they will walk into a new role or gone straight into panic mode and repeated the same mistakes without stopping to ask why.

Stop firing off application after application in a scattergun approach and trying to change your CV to match different roles. Instead, refine your sights and improve your marksmanship.

Use this precious time to take a good look at yourself and ask where you fit into this new market. What drives you in the workplace? What are your transferable skills?

Is it a good time to broaden your horizons, open yourself to the idea of heading off in a completely new direction? It might need you to upskill or even retrain but if you have 10, 20 years of work ahead of you, it could rescue you from a soul-destroying battle to last until retirement in a role or sector that has had its day.

One welcome trend in today’s employment landscape is executive function mobility. People change jobs, change positions, change organisations and change careers all the time. Organisations welcome candidates with a diverse set of life and work experiences. Change wards off stagnation.

I get a real buzz when I can help a client get out of a miserable rut and see them invigorated as they set out on an exciting new path.

Never stop learning

I can’t emphasise enough how vital it is for senior executives in post and looking for work to constantly re-invent themselves and show willingness and commitment to a permanent learning process. It might mean working in new and emerging markets, integrating new business models. In today’s disruptive economy, you may be expected to embrace generative AI and other technologies. It does not matter where you are in your career trajectory – on the first rung of the executive ladder or chairman of the board and close to retirement. A healthy curiosity and appetite for learning will keep you sharp, efficient, and in the game. On a personal level, it will give an almighty boost to your job satisfaction and your final salary.

In short, don’t be intimidated by the fast pace of change – be energised by it. A little fear and apprehension about the new can reignite that spark that fired you up when you first started out.

Following substantial developments and improvements to large language models (LLMs), Generative AI has surged to the forefront of the business world, capturing the imaginations of business leaders and sparking strategic conversations about harnessing this technology to drive growth and competitive advantage. McKinsey’s research estimates that Generative AI could add the equivalent of $2.6 trillion to $4.4 trillion USD to the global economy annually, with 75% of this value delivered across the areas of customer operations, marketing and sales, software engineering, and R&D. To put this into perspective, the UK’s entire GDP for 2022 was just over approximately $3 trillion USD (£2.27 trillion GBP).

Other experts including the World Economic Forum, BCG, PwC, and Gartner have championed Generative AI and its potential to reshape business as we know it. Organisations who have already adopted are reporting benefits to their productivity and effectiveness. But where are the biggest gains to be found? Our research has identified the following key areas as having the most potential for reaping Generative AI’s benefits:

• Efficiency: Augmenting and streamlining business activities is by far the most cited use case for businesses looking to adopt Generative AI or already using it in their teams. Because of improvements in LLMs, Generative AI is estimated to have the potential to automate work activities that consume between 60% and 70% of employees’ time, with 50% of daily tasks to be automated at some point between 2030 and 2060. This might include activities involved with communicating with and engaging customers and prospects, producing reports, generating marketing content, managing performance, and so on. It is likely that these gains will be the driving factor when senior executives, C-suite leaders, and board members debate Generative AI adoption. But efficiency gains may come with a human cost, and senior leaders will be tasked with rethinking their human labour needs. Redefining roles and responsibilities will be a major challenge faced by senior leaders, as they will have to consider where their human talent can best generate value and impact when working alongside the digital workforce.
• Creativity, Strategy, and Innovation: However, one benefit of Generative AI automating routinised, mundane, or time-consuming tasks is that this frees up human staff to focus on tasks with a higher value-add. Most often, these will be tasks that favour human intelligence that cannot yet be replicated by technology such as creativity, strategy, and innovative thinking. While Generative AI is a major asset in creative tasks, it still requires a human prompting it to produce the desired outputs. AI can glean insights and business intelligence, but it cannot apply contextual relevance to that information and use it to develop innovative strategies, at least not without a human steering it to do so. By leaving Generative AI to handle to tactical execution, senior leaders are freed up to do the high-level thinking that will guide this activity. It is likely that organisational effectiveness in delivering strategic priorities, creative projects, or value-add initiatives will be enhanced as a result.

That said, this may come with a caveat. A study conducted by BCG with the support of a group of scholars from Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan School of Management, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Warwick found that when using Generative AI for tasks involving ideation and content creation, around 90% of participants improved their performance on a level that was 40% higher than that of those working on the same task without AI. But when using Generative AI for tasks related to business problem solving, participants performed 23% worse than those doing the task without AI. These results reinforce the idea that both Generative AI and human intelligence have their own areas of value creation, but the study also found that there are risks to relying on Generative AI for creative tasks long term. For instance, Generative AI enhanced creative performance but produced outputs that were fairly repetitive, with the diversity of ideas among participants who used AI 41% lower compared with the group that did not use technology. Over time, it is feared that over-reliance on Generative AI will stifle creativity, with 70% of participants sharing this belief.

To combat these adverse effects and truly reap the benefits of Generative AI for creativity, innovation, and strategy, senior leaders need to guide their organisations towards AI integration that enhances performance rather than stifling it. The challenge will be implementing Generative AI without creating an overreliance on it and building successful partnerships between man and machine. Understand where AI thrives and where humans have the advantage, and design activities around those core competencies.

• Learning: As the business landscape transforms, skills and capabilities must adapt alongside it. At the same time, Generative AI and other technological advancements continue to evolve, creating a continuous learning curve. Most senior leaders will need to upskill in the coming years to continue delivering value in the Generative AI-powered world of work. Thankfully, Generative AI can assist in these efforts. Adaptive learning platforms tailor upskilling and training initiatives to individual users, helping senior leaders target their specific needs and hone their skills in a format that maximises retention and learning performance. Just as we learn, so do AI algorithms. They are trained on vast amounts of data and the more we use them, the more knowledgeable these tools become over time. Outside of an intensive upskilling programme, Generative AI platforms like ChatGPT and Bard can be massively helpful for researching different topics. However, be aware that these LLMs are only trained up to certain points in time and may struggle with more recent events and developments.

In addition to benefitting from Generative AI in their own continuous learning activities, senior executives can expect to see productivity gains when training, reskilling, and onboarding their people. Generative AI can automate learning and development activities to equip teams with necessary skills quicker and more effectively through adaptive learning. Tailored learning experiences are more engaging and interactive, with the knowledge delivered more likely to be retained. This will result in time and cost savings for the business.

This is only just a flavour of what Generative AI can and will do for businesses and their leadership. As this technology evolves and becomes more advanced, it is likely that we will see more creative and strategic use cases arise, with new gains in efficiency and understanding as a result. The key thing to keep in mind, however, is that Generative AI is not a fix-all. There must be a balance between human capabilities and artificial intelligence to maximise the impact and value-add of both parties in the workforce. Senior executives will have a critical role to play in structuring how and why their organisation uses this and other technologies moving forward.

In the World Economic Forum’s 2023 Future of Jobs report, 49% of those surveyed across industries anticipate AI to be a catalyst for job creation while 23% also expect it to drive job displacement. This displacement does not just apply to automation making certain roles redundant but also entails reshaping certain functions and shifting the skills needed by the professionals working alongside AI.

When thinking about the skills needed for future success, leaders need to consider both their own capabilities and the skillsets their team will need to possess to deliver impact while working alongside the digital workforce. With Generative AI and other forms of advanced technology taking over specific tasks and functions, what gaps may humans need to fill? How can man and machine work together in tandem to drive business growth? Our team have identified the following five skills for senior executives to focus their upskilling and reskilling efforts on:

1. AI Understanding: To work alongside AI effectively, one must possess a solid understanding of its capabilities, limitations, and functions. For senior leaders, it is imperative to understand what value AI can bring to your business, to be clear on the ‘how’ and ‘why’ your organisation plans to adopt it, and to ensure the rest of your team shares that same vision and understanding. Having a grasp of the scope of AI’s capabilities will make it much simpler to assign actions and owners, all while knowing that AI will not be a total replacement for all tasks and functions. While intelligent and impressive, this technology is not yet autonomous and will need a human at the helm prompting it into action and overseeing its outputs. Executives and their team members alike should treat AI as an assistant rather than a leader, learning how to coexist beside this technology rather than fixating on the losses it may create or overinflating expectations about its capabilities.
2. Analysis and Critical Thinking: One key area that AI excels at over human intelligence is its ability to process vast amounts of data in real-time and provide valuable on-demand business intelligence to business decision makers. This will include insights into markets, competitors, customers, supply chain productivity, and employee performance. While AI can compile this information into clean and digestible formats, artificial intelligence is not always able to assign relevance, perspective, or meaning to the insights it produces. It is therefore essential for leaders to hone their analytical and critical thinking skills to provide relevance to the information generated by AI and relate it back to the business’s objectives and strategy.
3. Bias Detection and Ethical Consideration: Of course, AI outputs should not be inherently and wholeheartedly trusted, as this technology has been proven to occasionally have ‘hallucinations’ and produce inaccurate outputs. Applying critical thinking and analysis to AI outputs can not only help mitigate the risks of misinformation but also help catch potential ethical errors. To be clear, AI is not an inherently unethical or biased technology, but with misuse or improper training can generate harmful outcomes. AI does not possess a human’s judgement to determine between right and wrong, and therefore leaders and their teams must be conscious of the dangers and potential harm of adopting this technology into business practices. This includes becoming conscious of the data sources AI algorithms are trained on, the potential harm of using AI for tasks such as recruitment or talent management, and the privacy concerns involved in sourcing and using information.
4. Emotional Intelligence: Adopting AI will be a major change for senior executives and their teams and is likely to cause discomfort and potential friction. Some members of the team may be eager to evolve, while others may feel threatened, intimidated, or anxious about the introduction of AI into their day-to-day activities. Therefore, it is of critical importance for senior executives to lead with empathy and understanding throughout the entire digital transformation process. Offer support and reassurance wherever possible. Understand your team’s perspectives and take their feedback on board.
5. Communication: To help ease concerns and make the transition to an AI-enabled workforce more effective, senior leaders need to become skilled and tactful communicators. Ensure that all goals, objectives, and expectations are shared clearly across every level of the business. Make it clear why the organisation is adopting technologies, how and when it plans to do so, and what this will look like in practice. Assign clear actions and owners with defined expectations and responsibilities. At the same time, it is just as important to listen as it is to speak. Open the feedback loop for questions, concerns, and suggestions. Making the entire team active participants in your business’s AI journey will help the process and man-machine partnership function much smoother.

In conclusion, as we stand at the crossroads of a transformative AI-driven era, senior executives must recognise that their role in shaping the future workforce goes beyond merely adapting to technology. It involves a profound shift in perspective, from viewing AI as a tool to seeing it as a collaborator in business innovation. These pivotal skills are the pillars on which executives can build a bridge between human ingenuity and artificial intelligence and are not just keys to embracing AI; they are the compass guiding us towards a more agile, empathetic, and prosperous future of work, where man and machine together drive the evolution of business and society.