Natalie Sheils
2021
BL A C K LEADERS
Vice President, People and Culture
Worth Watching
TM
Education: Master’s degree, human resources management, University of Birmingham; Bachelor’s degree, psychology, University of Johannesburg Company Name: Mosaic Group Industry: Internet Company CEO: Zachary Roseman Company Headquarters Location: New York, New York Number of Employees: 494 Your Location (if different from above): England, United Kingdom Words you live by: Profitability is just a consequence; if you do your job well, the profitability will come; the only strategy guaranteed to fail is not taking risks. Who is your personal hero? My mother What book are you reading? Principles: Life & Work by Ray Dalio What was your first job? Junior Consultant in a management graduate programme Favorite charity: Cancer Research UK Interests: Weight lifting, tennis, cycling, and hiking
Stay Open to Learning and Experimenting As vice president, people and culture at Mosaic Group, I have experienced many changes in the human resources industry over the last two years, and I am humbled to be recognized as a 2021 Black Leader Worth Watching by Profiles in Diversity Journal. I am a leader who sets lofty goals, is driven by achievement opportunities, and believes that every individual can achieve their goals with will power and dedication. Some of the best advice I have received came from a quote I read by Sir Richard Branson nearly a decade ago: “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes—then learn how to do it later.” This quote is especially relevant today as COVID-19 accelerated changes that were already reshaping the human resources industry and forcing the workforce to learn and adjust in real time. During the pandemic, leaders and workforces have found themselves at a historic crossroads, managing short-term pressures against medium- and long-term uncertainties. This, however, presents an opportunity to create strategy and policies that offer
64
2021 Fourth Quarter
exciting changes for a brighter future. I predict the biggest changes in HR will pertain to technology and talent. With globalization and technology advancements, new work models, such as remote and hybrid working, distributed workforces, digitization, virtual collaboration, upskilling and reskilling for jobs of the future, have been central in the workplace over the last two years and will continue to be so. The pandemic has accelerated the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which is why it continues to be essential for leaders to stay open to learning and experimenting with new ways of working. Digital technologies, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, are in even more demand following emerging and ongoing economic and social disruptions. Digital technology will continue to shift the balance in the way we operate at work and will aid in the production and rollout of machines in the workplace. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report predicts that by 2025 humans and machines will spend almost an equal amount of time on tasks in the workplace. As process-driven activities are taken up increasingly by machines,
this will present demand for employees to develop new soft skills, like empathy and creativity, to adapt to a rise in knowledge-intensive sectors, such as financial services and product development. The job disruption resulting from the labor market evolution and subsequent demands will be counter-balanced by the job creation in new fields—the jobs of tomorrow. The World Economic Forum’s Future of jobs report also predicts that over the coming decade, a non-negligible share of newly created jobs will be in wholly new occupations, or existing occupations undergoing significant transformations in terms of their content and skills requirements. On the talent side, we’ve seen the emergence of what has been referred to as the “great resignation” and the rise of many people reconsidering what really matters to them in the workplace. Companies now have an opportunity to boldly design a culture of work based on what the job requires and what employees need—a strategic initiative that will be prominent in the workplace over the next five years. www.diversityjournal.com
AWARD
Mosaic Group
