AT&T, which built the U.S. communications infrastructure in the past
century, could once claim to be the company “where the future was
invented.” But now its legacy businesses are becoming obsolete. With its
industry moving from cables to the cloud, AT&T is in a race to
reinvent itself. As part of that transformation, it has initiated a
massive effort to help its workers acquire new digital skills. In this
article Cathy Benko, vice chairman of Deloitte, and John Donovan,
AT&T’s chief strategy officer, offer a look inside the company’s
ambitious program, dubbed Workforce 2020. The challenges are sizable:
The firm employs 280,000 workers, and their average tenure is 22 years
(not counting people in call centers). At least half the workforce has
been assigned a new role and is expected to get the credentials or
training to fill it. To manage the talent overhaul, the company has
revised its performance metrics, raised performance expectations, and
redesigned compensation plans. It is also providing workers with a host
of tools for training and development through an online self-service
platform, courses in new technologies, tuition reimbursement, and even
online master’s degrees in computer science, developed with Georgia Tech
and Udacity. INSET: HOW AT&T TRACKS PROGRESS.. [ABSTRACT FROM
AUTHOR]