Corporate leaders and senior decision-makers must seize the opportunities presented by rapid technological advances, shifting demographics, and new employment models to ensure today's businesses endure in the future. To build and maintain competitive advantage, businesses must recognize and manage the risks, while also capitalizing on the changing nature of work, workplace organization, and the workforce itself. This program will help you make the right moves today to develop and sustain the agile workforce you will need tomorrow.

Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation is offered in collaboration with Harvard Business School's research project on Managing the Future of Work.

Summary

Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation is offered in collaboration with Harvard Business School's research project on Managing the Future of Work.

Key Benefits

With new ways to think about work and your talent pipeline, you’ll prepare to create the modern, agile workforce your organization needs to achieve strategic objectives and build real competitive advantage for the long term.

DetailsExpand All Collapse All

Envision and plan the future of work in your business Envision and plan the future of work in your business

Learn how to adapt to the trends impacting your workforce today, and how these trends will continue to shape your business five, ten, and twenty years from now
Take advantage of new technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence to empower your business
Manage the complex relationships between technological change, job design, skill development, and organization structure

Ensure a sustainable pipeline of global talent Ensure a sustainable pipeline of global talent

Determine the most effective ways to invest in your workforce today and in the future
Utilize permanent and contingent workforces, partnerships, collaboration, training, and other means to acquire the skills you need at all levels of the organization
Make better use of available talent by accommodating the changing needs of workers
Develop a global talent access strategy and sustain your company's talent base, even in areas where it's traditionally difficult to attract top talent

Expand your personal and professional network Expand your personal and professional network

Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions

Key Benefits

Details

Envision and plan the future of work in your business

Learn how to adapt to the trends impacting your workforce today, and how these trends will continue to shape your business five, ten, and twenty years from now
Take advantage of new technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence to empower your business
Manage the complex relationships between technological change, job design, skill development, and organization structure

Ensure a sustainable pipeline of global talent

Determine the most effective ways to invest in your workforce today and in the future
Utilize permanent and contingent workforces, partnerships, collaboration, training, and other means to acquire the skills you need at all levels of the organization
Make better use of available talent by accommodating the changing needs of workers
Develop a global talent access strategy and sustain your company's talent base, even in areas where it's traditionally difficult to attract top talent

Expand your personal and professional network

Extend your network by living and working with accomplished executives from various backgrounds, industries, and countries across the globe
Build relationships with a diverse group of peers who can provide wide-ranging insights into your business challenges and career decisions

Who Should Attend

Senior leaders in established companies that are doing business in developed economies and have large, diverse talent pools, including:

CEOs, board members, and heads of business units, divisions, countries, or regions
Heads of human resources or other senior executives responsible for human capital management
Strategy officers or others with responsibility for strategic planning
Chief Risk Officers or others focused on risk management
Heads of business functions with particularly challenging workforce requirements, such as product development or operations
Policy leaders focused on workforce development

Given that human capital issues affect many parts of an organization, attendance by multiple members of your leadership team will foster collaboration and amplify the program's impact.

Dive Deeper into the Experience

We Celebrate New Ways of Thinking. Are You Ready?

Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.

Experience the Case Method in the Classroom

Watch participants debate the issues and present their viewpoints.

Discover more about business. And yourself.

Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.

Who Should Attend

Senior leaders in established companies that are doing business in developed economies and have large, diverse talent pools, including:

CEOs, board members, and heads of business units, divisions, countries, or regions
Heads of human resources or other senior executives responsible for human capital management
Strategy officers or others with responsibility for strategic planning
Chief Risk Officers or others focused on risk management
Heads of business functions with particularly challenging workforce requirements, such as product development or operations
Policy leaders focused on workforce development

Given that human capital issues affect many parts of an organization, attendance by multiple members of your leadership team will foster collaboration and amplify the program's impact.

Dive Deeper into the Experience

We Celebrate New Ways of Thinking. Are You Ready?

Thrive in a learning environment that welcomes diverse ideas and perspectives.

Experience the Case Method in the Classroom

Watch participants debate the issues and present their viewpoints.

Discover more about business. And yourself.

Global perspectives > Leadership growth > Organizational impact.

Learning and Living at HBS

When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.

Learning and Living at HBS: When you participate in an Executive Education program on the HBS campus, you enter an immersive experience where every aspect of the learning model has been carefully designed to facilitate your growth. Your learning will take place on your own, in your living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method.

Admissions Criteria and Process

We admit candidates to specific sessions on a rolling, space-available basis, and encourage you to apply as early as possible. Although most programs have no formal educational requirements, admission is a selective process based on your professional achievement and organizational responsibilities.

Admissions Criteria and Process

Answering Your Questions

Our Program Advising team can help you at any stage of the admissions process—starting with identifying the program that best addresses your learning and development goals. Contact a program advisor via email or call 1.800.427.5577 (outside the U.S., call +1.617.495.6555).

Application Submission

We recommend that you apply at least four weeks before the program start date. You may use our online form or download an application. HBS maintains all application information in strict confidentiality. We acknowledge receipt of applications via email. In the unlikely event that you do not receive an acknowledgment, please email us at exed_admissions@hbs.edu or call us at +1.617.495.6226.

Application Review

To optimize the learning experience and maximize the exchange of ideas, our Admissions Committee makes selections that balance each participant's experience, scope of current responsibilities, and type of organization. HBS seeks candidates who reflect a broad range of industries, functions, countries, and backgrounds. We review applications monthly and will contact you via email with the Admissions Committee's decision.

Fee, Payment, and Cancellations

The program fee covers tuition, books, case materials, accommodations, and most meals. No payment is necessary until you have been accepted. Payment is required prior to the program start date. If you need to cancel or defer participation, you must submit your request in writing more than 30 days before the start of the program to receive a full refund. Cancellations or deferrals received 14 to 30 days prior to the start of the program are subject to a fee of one-half of the program fee. Requests received within 14 days are subject to full payment.

What You Will Learn

Through a rich learning experience that includes timely case studies, faculty presentations, small group discussions, and individual projects, you will explore how you can best manage human capital as a strategic asset in light of the forces that are redefining work and workforces in developed economies. A powerful lineup of industry guest speakers, including case protagonists, will share their own frontline experiences.

You will return with practical strategies for optimizing work; attracting and retaining more capable, productive employees with the right skillsets for today’s jobs; and removing workforce-related obstacles to success.

Your personal case

Applying your program learning, you will develop a case focused on a long-term human capital challenge your organization is facing. You will gain valuable insights from faculty and peers by analyzing your scenario in a small-group workshop. One scenario from each group will be selected for presentation and discussion in the larger HBS classroom.

What You Will Learn

Your personal case

Key TopicsExpand All Collapse All

Defining the challenge: Understanding how work is changing Defining the challenge: Understanding how work is changing

Analyzing the connection between competitive advantage and the quality of human capital
Assessing how demographic changes will impact your workforce
Evaluating how change is affecting work in different industries

Technology change: Enabling the agile workforce Technology change: Enabling the agile workforce

Exploring the role new technologies are playing in different areas of the business
Assessing which jobs are most affected by technological advances and why
Mnaging change and deciding how fast the organization needs to change
Adapting organization structures for new types of work
Adjusting to a new, data-based decision-making paradigm
Knowing how and when to deploy agile or self-directed work teams vs. traditional teams

The impact of the "care" economy: Accommodating the needs of workers The impact of the "care" economy: Accommodating the needs of workers

Recognizing how standard personnel practices impact employees with children or aging parents and compound the growing shortage of skilled workers
Exploring the evolution of workplace arrangements and public policies regarding employees' increasing care responsibilities

Your contingent workforce: Managing the "Gig Economy"Your contingent workforce: Managing the "Gig Economy"

Exploring emerging workplace designs for non-traditional employees
Understanding the economics of firms’ gig worker strategies and why individuals follow a gig-based career path
Choosing the roles gig workers should and should not fill
Bringing together mixed teams of permanent workers and gig workers
Evaluating remote vs. on-site work

Skills that drive success: Closing the middle-skills gap Skills that drive success: Closing the middle-skills gap

Understanding why the transformation of work is especially problematic for middle-skill work
Rethinking credentials and matching middle-skilled workers with business needs
Finding innovative ways to develop skills—from apprenticeships to regional and industry collaboration
Improving productivity through the right type and right amount of training

Geography and talent: Challenges and solutions Geography and talent: Challenges and solutions

Leveraging the highly mobile global talent that is vital in today's environment
Assessing the prospects of rural areas struggling with stagnant or shrinking populations
Evaluating existing sites for expansion versus opening new facilities based on current and potential workforces
Tapping into key talent clusters
Acquiring and sharing information throughout a global organization

Key Topics

Defining the challenge: Understanding how work is changing

Analyzing the connection between competitive advantage and the quality of human capital
Assessing how demographic changes will impact your workforce
Evaluating how change is affecting work in different industries

Technology change: Enabling the agile workforce

Exploring the role new technologies are playing in different areas of the business
Assessing which jobs are most affected by technological advances and why
Mnaging change and deciding how fast the organization needs to change
Adapting organization structures for new types of work
Adjusting to a new, data-based decision-making paradigm
Knowing how and when to deploy agile or self-directed work teams vs. traditional teams

The impact of the "care" economy: Accommodating the needs of workers

Recognizing how standard personnel practices impact employees with children or aging parents and compound the growing shortage of skilled workers
Exploring the evolution of workplace arrangements and public policies regarding employees' increasing care responsibilities

Your contingent workforce: Managing the "Gig Economy"

Exploring emerging workplace designs for non-traditional employees
Understanding the economics of firms’ gig worker strategies and why individuals follow a gig-based career path
Choosing the roles gig workers should and should not fill
Bringing together mixed teams of permanent workers and gig workers
Evaluating remote vs. on-site work

Skills that drive success: Closing the middle-skills gap

Understanding why the transformation of work is especially problematic for middle-skill work
Rethinking credentials and matching middle-skilled workers with business needs
Finding innovative ways to develop skills—from apprenticeships to regional and industry collaboration
Improving productivity through the right type and right amount of training

Geography and talent: Challenges and solutions

Leveraging the highly mobile global talent that is vital in today's environment
Assessing the prospects of rural areas struggling with stagnant or shrinking populations
Evaluating existing sites for expansion versus opening new facilities based on current and potential workforces
Tapping into key talent clusters
Acquiring and sharing information throughout a global organization

The HBS Advantage

Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.

Faculty Cochair

Joseph B. Fuller

Professor of Management Practice in the General Management Unit and faculty cochair of "Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation."

Read Full Bio

Faculty cochairs answer—and ask—important questions about agile workforces and organizations.

William R. Kerr

MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit; faculty chair of "Launching New Ventures: Jump-Starting Innovation for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners" and Faculty Cochair of "Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation."

Read Full Bio

Faculty cochairs answer—and ask—important questions about agile workforces and organizations.

Faculty

Christopher T. Stanton

Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit.

Read Full Bio

The HBS Advantage: Our Executive Education programs are developed and taught by HBS faculty who are widely recognized as skilled educators, groundbreaking researchers, and award-winning authors. Through their board memberships, consulting, and field-based research, they address the complex challenges facing business leaders across the globe.

Faculty Cochair

Joseph B. Fuller

Professor of Management Practice in the General Management Unit and faculty cochair of "Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation."

Read Full Bio
Faculty cochairs answer—and ask—important questions about agile workforces and organizations.
Read More

William R. Kerr

MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration. Member of the Entrepreneurial Management Unit; faculty chair of "Launching New Ventures: Jump-Starting Innovation for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners" and Faculty Cochair of "Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation."

Read Full Bio
Faculty cochairs answer—and ask—important questions about agile workforces and organizations.
Read More

Faculty

Christopher T. Stanton

Assistant Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit.

Read Full Bio

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More Admissions Information

Program content, dates, fees, and faculty are subject to change. In accordance with Harvard University policy, Harvard Business School does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, sex or sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, age, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, veteran status, or disability in admission to, access to, treatment in, or employment in its programs and activities.

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Need Help? Contact Us:

Program Advising team

Email: executive_education@hbs.edu

Identify the Right Program for You

Program Finder

Supporting Employees Who Are Caregivers

Caregiver responsibilities can take a toll on employees.

Learn More

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Leading an Agile Workforce Transformation

Summary

Summary

DetailsExpand AllCollapse All

Envision and plan the future of work in your businessEnvision and plan the future of work in your business icon-dropdown-down

Ensure a sustainable pipeline of global talentEnsure a sustainable pipeline of global talent icon-dropdown-down

Expand your personal and professional networkExpand your personal and professional network icon-dropdown-down

Envision and plan the future of work in your business

Ensure a sustainable pipeline of global talent

Expand your personal and professional network

Who Should Attend

Who Should Attend

Learning and Living at HBS

Learning and Living at HBS