KNOWMADS: THE WORKERS OF THE FUTURE

Knowmad. This new concept that is beginning to be heard with force in business jargon is a neologism that combines and maximizes the words know (know, know) and nomad (nomadic). It concentrates the characteristics that a worker must have in the current context to face the professional challenges of the future, becoming a knowledge nomad. The definition was created in 2011 by labor market expert John Moravec, founder of , to define nomadic knowledge and innovation workers. Knowmad refers to a new professional profile that must be mainly innovative, imaginative, creative, capable of working in collaboration with almost anyone, at any time and place. A knowmad He is valued for his personal knowledge, which gives him a competitive advantage over other workers less adapted to the environment. In addition, they must be self-taught in this 2.0 society, nourishing themselves and taking advantage of the potential of knowledge from the Internet and new technologies, mainly digital.

(whom I greatly appreciate for her collaboration in this post) is the author of the book ‘Knowmads, the workers of the future’ In addition, she is a professor of the Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Marketing at IEDE Business School and the Master in Talent Management in the Digital Age at LaSalle International Graduate School & LIDlearning. An expert in the field come on. @raquelroca (his profile on Twitter) points out that “it is not a fashion, nor a term pop up that is born, hatches and quickly dies. to the word knowmad It happens to him like a millennial, it serves to designate something, but what maintains it and will maintain it over time is the wealth of content and real mass behind it”. He also maintains that everyone who lives in this era is called to develop a series of skills and abilities to function in a “hyperconnected and hyperdigitalized” world. Those who do not begin to practice these skills will be left out of the labor market, or so the defenders of this current treasure it. Also companies that have not gotten down to work to manage these profiles are in danger of being less competitive. Raquel Roca is so emphatic in defining these “sociable and social professionals who like to expand knowledge -in a network- and who are prepared to learn -or unlearn if necessary- in an unconventional way”. Roca affirms that “knowledge is the added value of these workers, the new capital that will ensure their employability. And it is not about a job profile, it is an attitude that anyone can adopt and at any stage of their life”.

What determines the future of a person will not depend on the geographical environment of birth, or growth, but on the desire that each one has to progress in the world of work. Thus, one enters the era of meritocracy where people’s capacities can flourish by themselves and be valued with objective criteria. Digitization, a change in the way of life and in the way of working are some of the factors that are driving the proliferation of knowmads which, according to Raquel Roca, will represent 45% of the workforce in 2020. “There will be so many that companies will have no choice but to adapt to it if they want to keep them. They have to learn to treat the knowmad in the same way as regular workers, because it is a labor force that is going to initiate its own change”, assures this expert, who knows pilot experiences in Ibex 35 companies, “another thing is that they can implement it. They are fully aware that this change is based on responsibility and trust, which only works if managers participate as one more”. Google also estimates that by 2020 almost the entire population of the world will be connected to the Internet. And it is there, in this context, where the same experts draw the profile of a new professional: the knowmad.

A study prepared by the bank predicts that in just two decades robots will take over 18 million jobs in Germany, about half of the total. The development of robotics will allow the industry to replace 59% of current jobs with robots, it seems that they are more productive and profitable than humans. However, as much as technology advances and progresses, there are things that machines will never be able to do, and this has to do with creative work, innovation, problem solving, emotionality… This is where it comes into play knowledge. Or what is the same: the understanding of data and information, always at the service of innovation and imagination.

But what is it that characterizes a knowmad? Several experts, led by Moravec, have drawn a series of characteristics, in what they call a skills passport:

• It does not have a certain age.
• He does not understand his work as a job, he enjoys what he does for a living, and integrates it as one more activity in his daily work.
• Inventive and intuitive, he is a generator of ideas. He is an imaginative person, he knows how to find life, resources.
• He is digitally literate.
• Transform information into knowledge and share it.
• He cares about people, because they embody knowledge, generate it, increase it, improve it, and teach it.
• Use the information openly and freely.
• It does not understand borders.
• He has a great ability to adapt and solve problems.
• He is a networker, always connecting people, ideas, organizations…
• It assumes that learning is for life.
• He is not afraid of experimentation or failure.
• He is responsible for himself.

Unlike the millennial (born between 1981 and 1995), there is no age, anyone is capable of having a nomadic mentality. He doesn’t understand his work as work either, he understands what he does as an occupation he likes, not as a means to earn money, and what he does is part of his life. He seeks satisfaction above all else. He is a generator of ideas, he has the resources to get ahead in any situation. In addition to being imaginative, he has the ability to transform everything he imagines into productive ideas. Of course, that feeling of freedom makes him not like to receive orders.

He knowmad masters new technologies, understands their operation and takes advantage of them to their advantage, since they continually learn from them. One of the main abilities of him knowmad is that it transforms information into knowledge and shares it openly, it is a kind of technological antenna that warns about what is happening. He handles social networks with ease and, therefore, shares information, which makes him always up-to-date and alert to what is happening in the world. He knows that talent and success depend on belonging to knowledge networks. Contrary to what it may seem, he is not a hermit, who likes solitude: he may like to work alone (from anywhere, a cafeteria, a beach or the same office), but he cares about people. He knows that they are important, because they generate knowledge and opportunities.

He also has a great ability to adapt, to solve problems, He is a professional, very versatile and competent person because thanks to this knowledge he can deal with all kinds of conflicts. He firmly believes that learning is for life (longlife learning), he knows that he will always have to be trained in different ways (university, business schools, internet, books, other people’s experiences…). “By assuming this fact, she is able to learn and unlearn more easily depending on her concerns or the needs that arise”, explains Raquel Roca in her book. And it is this ability to update himself that makes him an adaptable and moldable professional, perfect for work environments where diversity and constant innovation prevail. They are capable of turning their talent into the best asset.

He is not afraid of failure or experimenting, which is not without errors. He assumes them, learns from the experience and moves forward. Another of the characteristics of the knowmad, and one of the most important, is that he is responsible for himself. Therefore, he is his own leader, who does not expect others, “the company, the State, society… to come looking for him,” explains the author Raquel Roca. Do not leave your professional future in the hands of third parties.

This professional profile works like Google and Gmail: organize and group. This is the key, not the number of projects but the number of connections between them, they look for a connection to be more productive, less is more. They do not duplicate, they group. Therefore, these new professionals, whom we could define as linkers of opportunities, are already making a name for themselves in our society. do you dare to be a knowmad?.