Category: Future of Work

The Four Meta Forces – Mission, People, Technology and Place

The future of work is arguably one of the most explored topics in recent years and drives ongoing study, analysis, and contemplation by academics, practitioners and policymakers, and continues as a dominant narrative across fields broadly ranging from business to the arts. To develop our own Future of Work framework, NASA started with a detailed literature review to gather information on current and projected work trends. Next, the team pursued additional primary research to validate initial findings and listen directly to our workforce. We conducted 5 workshops, surveyed 100 employees, interviewed numerous leaders, and attended numerous conferences, seminars, and gatherings. The data collected from this process led to the observations and insights in the report.

During the literature review, we looked for recurring patterns and themes. We catalogued countless disruptors and drivers that revealed unprecedented change and new possibilities in the Future of Work. From this research, we identified four largely uncontrollable external factors that influence our organization. These factors, or meta forces, include mission, people, technology, and place. They act as lens to view the future of work at NASA.

Mission: Space as an industry is emerging with increasing and new competition. The influence of existing laws, complex regulations, policies and processes impact NASA’s ability to implement its mission. NASA’s mission is to drive advances in science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, economic vitality and stewardship of Earth. Our mission statement outlines our fundamental purpose as we partner with private companies and international entities to reveal the unknown for the benefit of humankind.

People: An organization’s greatest asset is its people. Understanding the expectations, preferences, and behaviors of the diverse, multigenerational workforce will allow us to develop new talent strategies that go beyond today’s practices and leverage the many drivers reshaping the global talent landscape. Building NASA’s dynamic workforce of tomorrow requires that we value diversity, encourage new skill development, and understand changing expectations. NASA’s current workforce offers a snapshot of the evolving multi-generational makeup – just one critical factor we must consider as we rethink and reinvent human capital programs and services.

Technology: The most widely discussed driver of change for the future of work is technology. The evolution of technology is fast paced and alters the way we communicate information and coordinate in real time. Technology enables NASA to more effectively translate data into knowledge and improves the Agency’s ability to make real-time strategic decisions and increase operational efficiencies.

Place: Where we work, when we work and how we work is constantly changing. As we continue to migrate towards a global and connected workforce, we anticipate new opportunities to improve employee engagement and satisfaction through the use of our physical and virtual spaces. NASA is an early adopter of telework across the government and continues to explore new work arrangements.

These four forces have significant impact on NASA, it’s workforce and the future of work. Now that we have defined the four meta forces individually, our next will post will explore the intersection of these forces and the eight insights that come from them. Stay tuned for our next post!

—

About the Authors:

Nick Skytland | Nick has pioneered new ways of doing business in both government and industry for nearly two decades. He leads the Future of Work initiative at NASA and is the Agency Talent and Technology Strategist in the Talent Strategy and Engagement Division within the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer (OCHCO).

Jani Smith | Jani is an early career consultant from LMI who has been working with NASA’s OCHCO for a little over a year. Supporting the Future of Work initiative at NASA, she strives to bring policy, practicality, and creativity together in the working world.

The Future of Work: An Introduction

For the last 60 years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully attracted the innately curious, the relentless adventurers to explore the unknown for the benefit of humanity. Our workforce has achieved the impossible, from the unforgettable feats of the space race and Mars rovers to lesser known inventions like a reimagined hearing aid enabling people deaf at birth to hear for the very first time. These accomplishments are the results of lasting inspiration and enduring commitment.

As NASA contemplates the next 60 years, we recognize that the environment we operate in today is significantly different from that of past decades. We live in a world dramatically affected by the rapid pace of radical change—organizational, demographic, structural, and technological. Technology is impacting how, when and where we work, as well as the work itself, and how we think about talent and careers. Critical talent is getting harder to attract and deploy. Industry and organizational borders are disappearing, challenges transcend boundaries and are more complex, and solutions no longer belong to one organization or nation. Our workforce is navigating a more complex, fast-paced and interconnected world where work is less geographically-based, organizational structures are flatter, responsibilities are matrixed, and work structures are more complex.

NASA has taken noteworthy strides to ensure the Agency remains well-positioned to hire, develop and motivate the very best and brightest talent. With the introduction of teleworking policies and flexible work schedules, a culture of keeping current and retaining stature in technical fields, and the maturation of world-class leadership development programs, these actions exhibit future-forward steps. However, the Agency recognizes the dynamic landscape of the future requires not only continuous evolution, but in many ways, the reinvention of NASA’s Human Capital program.

NASA’s Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer is rethinking the talent continuum and leading the way to understand the future of work, its challenges and opportunities.  This blog serves to share our insights and introduce new approaches for developing people, launching new platforms to match people with opportunities, and embracing technology and digital transformation to modernize human capital service delivery.

We hope you will follow us over the coming months as we discuss the disruptors driving the Future of Work and key insights that are informing our own human capital transformation.  Together, we will continue to explore how we might evolve our talent strategies and unlock a new frontier for the workforce of tomorrow.