As global economies continue to be driven by rapid digitalization and a strong desire for transformation, a new and urgent priority has arisen for business leaders: the essential reinvention of the workforce. Amid a backdrop of advancing AI, traditional talent management models are proving inadequate—a significant shift, particularly in Asia, that was the focus of a recent management workshop hosted by LinkedIn.
Navigating this new landscape requires more than adopting new technology, noted industry leaders in attendance. It calls for the development of a new type of professional—the “superworker”—and a radical rethinking of the HR function itself, transforming it from a support center into the strategic driver of organizational agility and resilience.
See also: The high cost of disengaged employees: Why culture matters more than ever
The genesis of the superworker
The term “superworker,” coined by global industry analyst and event speaker Josh Bersin, describes a professional who transcends a defined role to become an agent of transformation. This is not merely an employee proficient with new tools; it is an individual who fundamentally reimagines how work is achieved through a symbiotic partnership between human ingenuity and AI.
“The superworker is someone who understands how to leverage AI and technology in both their current role, and they also transform and implement how work can be reimagined,” Bersin told HRM Asia. “Superworkers embrace change; they are willing to experiment, they look beyond simple productivity gains, but instead focus on how the fundamental work itself can be changed. They are also willing to upskill and move into adjacent roles.”
This idea extends beyond task automation to a deeper integration of AI as a colleague. The essential new skill, Bersin said, is the ability to manage this combined workforce.
“The superworker understands that work can be a mix of human and digital labor,” he said. “Just like any manager, they are comfortable overseeing and coaching people. In the world of agentic AI, superworkers are at ease coaching humans and fine-tuning agents. It is the new skill.”
Driving a ‘superworker company’
When an organization successfully adopts this mindset, he said, “the organization itself becomes a superworker company.”
The need to cultivate such talent is particularly acute in Asia’s hyper-competitive markets, experts say.
Elsie Ng, head of talent solutions for Singapore and Malaysia at LinkedIn, provided a compelling data-driven picture of Singapore, a microcosm of the region’s dynamism. “Over the past five years, LinkedIn’s talent pool has grown by 34%, and there’s been a 65% year-on-year increase in professionals identifying as ‘open to new opportunities,’ ” she revealed.
This signals a workforce that is both expanding and increasingly fluid. With applications per job rising by 5.79% year-on-year, the need for organizations to differentiate themselves by empowering their talent has never been greater. The “superworker” model, therefore, is not a theoretical ideal but a competitive necessity for attracting and retaining top performers in the region.
Navigating the talent landscape
Ng emphasised that sustained business momentum in the Asia-Pacific region hinges on a forward-thinking talent strategy. “Asia’s business momentum is powered by rapid digitalization, regional expansion and a strong appetite for transformation,” she said. “To keep this momentum going, organizations need a forward-thinking talent strategy.”
She identified several key trends shaping this strategy:
- Broad-based hiring growth. Contrary to some global trends, hiring in Singapore remains robust across key sectors. “Job postings in technology (15%), manufacturing (5%) and financial services (2%) are also growing steadily, underscoring broad-based demand,” Ng said.
- The critical AI skills gap. A significant challenge, particularly for small businesses, is the AI literacy divide. “LinkedIn’s research shows that many SMEs are lagging behind: Only 1-2% of employees in SMEs in Singapore have AI literacy skills, compared to five to six times that in larger firms,” she said. “Building AI literacy and investing in reskilling is critical for every organization—so everyone can thrive in an AI-driven economy.”
- The primacy of human skills. While technical skills are in high demand, Ng stressed that sustainable growth requires a balanced approach. “Organizations that balance technology with human skills—like communication, leadership and adaptability—are best placed to accelerate performance and sustain growth,” she advised.
Redefining the HR function in the age of AI
For this transformation to take hold, the HR function must evolve from process administrator to strategic enabler of change. Bersin identified four key domains where AI is already catalyzing a quantum leap in HR’s impact and capabilities.
Talent acquistion
Talent acquisition is undergoing a complete revolution. Tools like LinkedIn’s Hiring Assistant are not just incremental improvements; they represent a new operating model. “What we are experiencing is not a step change in productivity but a quantum leap in the impact that a recruiter can have when they embrace AI,” Bersin said.
Ng provided evidence of this shift, noting that a skills-first approach, powered by AI, “increases candidate matches by 4x” in Singapore by widening the talent pool beyond traditional credentials.
Learning and development
L&D is being rebuilt from the ground up. AI is enabling a shift from centralized, static content libraries to decentralized, dynamic learning ecosystems embedded within the business. “The sources that historically were dedicated to creating content can move from a central organizational model to where learning resources are embedded in the business to address the learning needs as they surface,” he said.
This is crucial in a market experiencing a “212% surge in members adding AI literacy skills to their profiles,” as Ng highlighted. Mentorship and inclusive development programs also are critical to helping employees apply these new skills with confidence.
To that end, Ng announced the launch of LinkedIn’s Career Hub, a personalized career development platform that helps employees discover new career paths, build in-demand skills and connect with opportunities. “It’s designed to help organizations grow and retain critical talent by linking skill-building directly to career movement, so both individuals and businesses can stay ahead of the curve,” she said.
HRBPs
The role of the HR business partner is being elevated. With AI-powered tools like Bersin’s Galileo, routine but time-consuming tasks can be automated, freeing HRBPs to focus on high-value strategic counsel. “You no longer need a human HRBP to research and build a job profile, develop career plans for employees or build and implement a PIP for an under-performing employee,” he said. “These can all now be done with a digital HRBP … It also allows every manager to have a digital HRBP by their side.”
Employee experience
Finally, conversational AI is revolutionizing the employee experience by transforming HR service centers. By handling Level 1 inquiries instantly, AI provides immediate support to employees while freeing human employees to manage more complex, escalated issues that require empathy and nuanced judgment.
The new currency of talent: Skills velocity
In addition, the accelerating pace of change has given rise to a new talent currency, Bersin said, an imperative for “skills velocity.” He defines this as “the speed at which you acquire proficiency in new skills” and says it is supplementing the traditional need for deep, static expertise.
This concept is particularly resonant in Singapore, where, as Ng pointed out, “by 2030, nearly 70% of the skills needed for any given job here will be different.” Organizations must therefore build a culture that prioritizes and rewards rapid learning and adaptability, she said.
Talent marketplaces are emerging as a critical tool in this effort. They serve a dual purpose: facilitating internal mobility and providing real-time data on emerging skill demands.
Bersin shared an example: “One company I am familiar with asks that before anyone in the business goes to procurement for a contract employee, they post the opening for a couple of weeks on their internal talent marketplace. That allows the organization to create agility, build new skills in their own organization, and it also provides real-time signals on what skills the business needs.”
Is AI driving a ‘COVID-like moment’?
Implementing such profound change is fraught with challenges. However, Bersin offered a counterintuitive lesson learned from observing global transformations: speed and imperfection are allies. He compared the current AI disruption to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Think back to the beginning of COVID when the world shut down and we had hours to move from in-person to remote work,” he said. “The amount of change we went through in a short amount of time was amazing. We did it because everyone was aligned with the need. Employees had permission to experiment and fail fast.”
The lesson for leaders is to “go fast, focus less on perfection and more on progress, and provide the psychological safety that employees will be OK if they make a mistake,” he said. “In many ways, AI is causing a COVID-like moment just to start working on the change.”
And in this environment, HR leaders must take the lead, Bersin advised: “I would argue that HR needs to model the change and approach for the rest of the organization.”
