What is in the People Space?

The rise of the so-called “People Economy” recognised that people are far from being interchangeable cogs in a machine. The focus of businesses turned to what McKinsey&Co called “the War for Talent”, as they tried to secure the people they needed for their next strategic move. Of course, this didn’t always work so well when organisations couldn’t stick with the same strategy for more than a couple of quarters, and newly hired talent found itself surplus to requirements; but there was a basic recognition that who you have on board matters.

And before you say, “but surely AI…”, AI is just a tool that - on a good day - augments human talent. As the model currently runs, it is probably unsustainable, financially and in terms of the resources it consumes. But yes, something will stabilise and become part of the business landscape going forward.

But AI notwithstanding, The People Economy is a real thing, and has, in just about every field of endeavour, made individual talent a key determinant of success.

But individual talent is hard to harness without the right infrastructure, which is why organisations still need super-slick, robust business systems and the ability to access expertise in areas such as:

Leadership and Leadership Readiness

Talent Acquisition, Development and Retention

Culture Mapping, Management and Change

Team Performance and Effectiveness

Organisational or Internal Mobility

The People Space typically involves a mix of in-house generalists and external resource, usually with a speciality, who can be deployed in support of the organisation’s need for expertise. This includes:

• Executive and Team Coaches

• Process Consultants

• Team Facilitators

• Recruitment Specialists

• Talent and Learning & Development Experts

• Organisational Development Practitioners

What everyone working in the People Space shares, is a core belief in the central role that people play in delivering an Organisation’s Mission (meaning, solving that class of customer problem in which the organisation specialises). Their daily experience is that overcoming the many challenges of getting people working together, effectively, is what their contribution is about.