Dr. Scott Cawood, CCP, GRP, CSCP, CBP, has always been deeply fascinated with work. It’s a focus that’s driven his career, which has spanned decades and included highly diverse experiences, ultimately bringing him from CHRO to CEO.
An in-demand speaker, presenter, and author—his second book, The New Work Exchange: Embracing the Future by Putting Employees First, hit shelves this past June—Cawood has turned his gaze toward the future of the HR profession and of work in general. He is intimately familiar with the angle; as CEO of the member-based association WorldatWork since 2015, he has set out to safeguard the human resources and total rewards professions, keeping them current and relevant as our workplaces rapidly change and the expectations of both employers and workers shift.
A self-described “work nerd,” Cawood’s passion for the workplace and how it functions (or not) inspired him to earn degrees in organizational communication, labor and industrial relations, education, and a doctorate degree in organization and work-based learning. He’s forged these disciplines into a singular passion for organizations dedicated to great work. Under his leadership, WorldatWork has dedicated itself to figuring out how to make work and the employee experience better for people and top organizations across the world—as well as anticipating how the future of work will be shaped.
At the root of it all is a simple philosophy: that we ought to treat our colleagues as people first—not simply as means to an end within a corporate context—and that approaching them as such generates greater output. Cawood’s exploration of the concept has entailed focusing not only on what workers can bring to their organizations, but also how they learn, how they absorb their surroundings, and what they require not only to survive, but to thrive.
“We’re in this to make a bold and deep impact on individuals through the stuff that we work on and in organizations,” he states succinctly, noting that much of his role revolves around curating learning experiences for people.
To Cawood, a people-first approach in the workplace does not simply represent good citizenship in practice, but also pragmatism at play. He is quick to point out that when basic needs are primary in one’s mind, far less energy can be meaningfully devoted to learning, skill acquisition, and social interaction—all vital to unlocking the full potential of teams. The rigidity of workplaces past, Cawood argues, constrained or hid our colleagues’ full outputs. Fostering a culture in which all individuals are valued as they are, then, is essential not only to our social health among our peers, but also to our organizations’ overall productivity and ability to innovate.
As generational shifts, changing practices, and evolving technology affect the workplace, what we know as human resources is also progressing. It’s a complicated challenge, acknowledges Cawood—but one that also serves as a call to action.