g-f(2)25 NASA: The Future of Work

Extra-condensed knowledge 

We live in a time of volatility, complexity, and transition, and it is here to stay. Between technological advancements, demands for re-defined careers and for work–personal life balance, the next decade will see a transformation in the way we work, learn and explore. 

• The workforce of today and tomorrow desires to continually develop and constantly learn. 
• Learning over a lifetime is also taking on new meaning. We are living longer and retiring later.
• NASA developed and recently launched an agencywide internal job listing and candidate selection platform called the Talent Marketplace. 
• NASA’s Talent Marketplace  aligns with The Future of Work, particularly with Theme 3 (Learning and Developing for a Lifetime) and Theme 4 (Deploying Talent; Mobilizing Careers).

Genioux knowledge fact condensed as an image.

Condensed knowledge

• Over the past six decades, NASA has attracted relentless adventurers and brilliant explorers who have a passion to explore the unknown for the benefit of humanity. This workforce has achieved the impossible, from the unforgettable feats of the space race and Mars rovers, to building of the International Space Station and the development of new technology that has ushered unparalleled discoveries. As we contemplate the next 60 years, NASA recognizes that today’s environment is significantly different from its past decades of success. 
• We live in a time of volatility, complexity, and transition, and it is here to stay. Between technological advancements, demands for re-defined careers and for work–personal life balance, the next decade will see a transformation in the way we work, learn and explore. 
• Sweeping global forces are already reshaping the workplace, the workforce, and work itself. 
• The nature of work, even in the traditionally slow-changing government environment, is increasingly dynamic. 
• Projects are multifaceted and interdisciplinary with requirements rapidly emerging in the midst of team-based collaboration in virtual environments. 
• The shift is not just generational: most people are experiencing an increase in complexity and pace in a world that is more interconnected and dependent than ever before, and their expectations have changed.
• The uniqueness of the compelling NASA mission, the experience of the existing workforce, and the promise of secure virtual talent marketplaces are the avenues where NASA may begin to uncover new opportunities to recruit top talent.
• NASA is embracing this change and accepting the challenge to innovate in order to retain, attract, and engage the next generation of talent. 
• To lead this shift and re-conceptualize the Future of Work, NASA must begin intentionally developing a multidisciplinary talent pipeline, lean-in to a new definition of careers, and amplify the definition of working for NASA to meet the needs of ever-evolving work. 
• At the same time, the Agency may fully leverage the benefits of skills-based learning and reward the growth and development achievements of interdisciplinary talent and agile teams. 
• The response to this study is a call to action. Before this study was completed, the Talent Strategy and Engagement Division initiated steps to pursue policy revisions, identify new hiring authorities, create a new people analytics capability, implement an agency-wide talent marketplace and begin the design of an entirely new personnel system. 
• The Talent Strategy and Engagement Division will remain focused on these bold efforts, while prioritizing initiatives that champion career creation, growth, and mobility based on the results and findings from this study. 
• Each initiative or program will seek to align with goals to tackle the challenges and seize the opportunities uncovered from this body of work. 
• The resulting shift will be a tremendous step forward for both NASA and our people: it will provide employees with opportunities to design and grow their own experience, which will help attract and engage a thriving workforce; and it will help our organization identify and more efficiently address critical talents, skills, and capabilities needed across the Agency. 
• Overall, this approach will require us to become more agile and customer-focused and shift structures from traditional, functional models toward interconnected, flexible teams composed of committed, engaged, and inspired people. 
• Learning and Developing for a Lifetime. At the intersection of mission, people, and place is NASA’s need to develop and grow all talent at any stage. 
• Rising life expectancies and an aging global workforce present organizations with unprecedented challenges and untapped opportunities. 
• Developing ways for people to have meaningful, productive, multi-stage, and multidimensional careers creates new connection points to engage workers at any stage in life. 
• Such career models geared toward continuous learning, development and growth are mutually beneficial for employees and organizations when aligned to the organizational capabilities necessary to accomplish the work.
• The workforce of today and tomorrow desires to continually develop and constantly learn. 
• Learning over a lifetime is also taking on new meaning. We are living longer and retiring later (if at all). 
• Approximately 74 percent of Americans plan to work past a retirement age of 65, conveying interest in continuing to contribute and remain engaged (Dye, 2017). Recognized as the longevity revolution, increasing life expectancies have tremendous impacts on and implications for organizations. 
• Companies must account for new models of learning, development, and engagement that foster environments and build communities that care and feed increasingly diverse workforces. 
• In turn, organizations must rethink the concept of value and performance to align pay and compensation for radically changed value creation from the new normal of lifelong careers.
• A Marketplace for Talent. NASA’s Future of Work highlights insights, challenges and tangible opportunities for NASA.  Among the identified opportunities are incentivizing employees’ lifelong learning through internal career mobility opportunities, and supporting managers in matching talent to task when the need arises.  
• To address these identified opportunities, NASA developed and recently launched an agencywide internal job listing and candidate selection platform called the Talent Marketplace. 
• Through NASA’s Talent Marketplace employees now have access to a wider range of internal career development opportunities at their center and across NASA. 
• The Talent Marketplace supports managers in matching talent to task.  Managers can identify and create flexible, targeted opportunities based on skills, grade, onsite or remote location and more.  Opportunities in NASA’s Talent Marketplace are currently identified as noncompetitive,  internal details, short-term/part-time assignments, lateral reassignments and leadership development programs.  All competitive opportunities are posted through the federal government’s USAJobs website.
• NASA’s Talent Marketplace  aligns with The Future of Work, particularly with Theme 3 and Theme 4.
• Theme 3: Learning and Developing for a Lifetime. NASA’s Talent Marketplace improves the transparency and accessibility for opportunities across the agency.  This means that employees now have access to a wider range of lifetime development opportunities at their center and across NASA.  
• Theme 4: Deploying Talent; Mobilizing Careers. The Talent Marketplace supports breaking down center barriers and stovepipe operations, and enhances the culture of employee mobility, engagement and innovation required to achieve the NASA mission. Managers can identify and create flexible, targeted opportunities based on skills, grade, onsite or remote location and more. They can select from internal candidates from across the agency and can also use the Talent Marketplace as a resource when discussing development opportunities with employees. 

Category 2: The Big Picture of The Digital Age

[genioux fact extracted from NASA]

Authors of the genioux fact

Fernando Machuca

References

The Future of Work, Nick Skytland, October 17, 2019, NASA.

Learning and Developing for a Lifetime, Nick Skytland, December 19, 2018, NASA.

A Marketplace for Talent, Nick Skytland, October 17, 2019, NASA.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

NICHOLAS SKYTLAND is an author, consultant, technologist, innovator and triathlete. Nick is an innovative leader who has pioneered new ways of doing business in both government and industry for two decades. He has trained astronauts, designed next-generation spacesuits, developed open source technology, led missional movements, and created some of the largest purpose-driven collaborations in history. He is a gifted communicator and strategic leader who regularly speaks and writes in technical and public spheres. Nick is the co-author of What Comes Next? Shaping the Future in an Ever-Changing World - A Guide for Christian Leaders. His best work is done at the intersection of missional technologists, change makers and explorers.

Nick is currently the Deputy Chief of the Exploration Technology Office at NASA Johnson Space Center where he is focused on helping NASA return to the Moon through technology development, technology transfer and strategic partnerships. Nick is also the cofounder of Quite Uncommon, a strategy and consulting firm that helps ministry leaders navigate an ever-changing world. In this role, he advises organizations on how to navigate the future by developing forward leaning strategies, convening passionate communities and developing missional technology.