People are one of the highest costs for any organisation. They need to be empowered to be maximally effective.

Here are some important ways to do that currently and in the near future:

1. Redesign the world of work to enable the rise of teams. Shift from top down hierarchy to a network of teams that deliver results. This requires that companies understand how people work together in networks and create cross functional, solutions-based teams.

2. Build next generation leadership at all levels based on trust. Business needs different types of leaders who are effective both as an individual and in teams at all levels. Succession planning should take Millennial Leaders and Global leadership into account.

3. Shape the culture to drive the strategy. Culture helps to bind people together and can drive execution and consistency. 82% of companies believe that culture is a potential competitive advantage.

4. Keep pace with evolving employee engagement, which is shifting from annual assessment to an always-on employee listening process. Despite the emergence of many tools for frequently evaluating employee sentiment, many companies still do it only annually.

5. Employees are taking charge of how they learn. They are demanding learning opportunities that fit their individual needs and schedules. Learning must become a continuous process, not an episodic event and a company-wide responsibility, not confined to HR.

6. The gig economy – a distraction or disruption? The corporate workforce is changing, with the increasing use of contingent freelance workers and the growing role of robotics and smart machines. Up to a third of workers in the U.S.A. are not full-time employees.

The trends listed are from the Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2016 in which 7 000 business and HR leaders from 130 countries participated.

Pat Roberts is a Partner of Change Partners.