HUMAN CAPITAL AS AN ASSET: Seven guiding principles to shift how PAGE 15 AN ACCOUNTING FRAMEWORK FOR THE NEW WORLD OF WORK human capital is valued GUIDING PRINCIPLES TO SHIFT HOW HUMAN CAPITAL IS VALUED From stand-alone to ecosystems From employees & jobs to people, work and skills Traditionally, companies have taken an inward, stand-alone and self-sustaining view In the face of a growing plurality of ways to get work done (e.g. contingent work, of business and human capital strategy; however, successful businesses in the future artificial intelligence, process automation, robotics, outsourcing, alliances), the will thrive as participants in ecosystems, working with the communities in which they traditional notion of work being performed primarily by employees in jobs is rapidly operate, partners, suppliers, ancillary industries and at times even competitors for giving way to a broader focus on work and skills. talent. The recent pandemic has necessitated stronger partnerships and alliances between unrelated companies that may otherwise compete for talent. Take, for As companies look to achieve the optimal combination of inputs by humans example, furloughed baggage handlers and airline cabin crew who were successfully (regardless of the nature of their relationship with the organization) and by machines, redeployed to supermarket chains and hospital administration roles, respectively. and embrace agile ways of working, the traditional one-to-one relationship between Better human capital accounting will help companies to accord such partnerships the a degree matched to a person matched to a position is giving way to a many-to- value they deserve. many relationship with multiple micro bite-sized on-demand learning opportunities matched to multiple skills matched to multiple ways of getting work done (e.g. jobs, projects, assignments). This approach, combined with technology, can make for a more human-centric enterprise in which people focus on higher-value, non-routine work. However, there is a need for metrics that effectively measure the plurality of work options on a level playing field. Differentiated accounting practices and isolated metrics need to be replaced by more integrated, holistic measures.