Human Capital Trends 2012: Leap Ahead
Article:It’s fitting that 2012 is a leap year, since a number of converging market trends are driving HR organizations to make significant leaps in capabilities and performance. HR faces a critical, dual imperative in 2012 — a focus on enabling both their organization’s overall growth agenda and on driving efficiency in the business of HR. This dual focus demands decisive action as the stakes are greater than ever.
The top eight human capital trends outlined in the report include:
- In 2012 growth is job #1
- Operation globalization
- Fast-track to the top
- People risk is risky business
- Seeing around corners
- #social #mobile @work
- Clouds in the forecast
- Stay in front with an effective sales force
Businesses are calling on HR to leap ahead and help manage change in the face of complex challenges that touch so many parts of the enterprise. Understanding the 2012 Human Capital Trends — what they mean for both leading HR and for leading the business — is a great place to start.
The Obsolete Jobs Club
Article:From an economic standpoint, it’s hard to lament the loss of the Wal-Mart greeter. The prospect of getting paid minimum wage to stand at the front of a store in a “How May I Help You?” vest is hardly the stuff that inspires future generations to dream big about their careers. Yet news in late January that the world’s largest retailer has removed greeters from the overnight shift at its 3,800-plus U.S. stores—and is redefining the role of daytime greeters, too—evoked a reaction that borders on disbelief. Analyst David Strasser of Janney Montgomery Scott called the strategy “risky,” while editorial writers at the Chicago Sun-Times admitted that the move “bums us out.” Never mind that customers will likely be better served by having those workers stock shelves instead. For some, the idea that a 30-year tradition at America’s largest private employer might end is cause enough to mourn.
The Human Risk Factor
Article:When you think about the human resource arena, the word "risk" rarely, if ever, comes to mind. After all, risk typically connotes dangers such as kidnappings, oil spills, cyber warfare or theft. Recruiting, benefits administration and employee development may be perceived as challenging, but hardly risky.
So it's interesting that the 2011 Lloyd's Risk Index, a poll of 500 C-suite and board-level executives that was released in December by the venerable London-based insurance institution, found "talent and skills shortages" to be the No. 2 risk facing businesses, up from 22nd place in 2009. The No. 1 risk in the latestIndex was "loss of customers," while "reputational risk" was No. 3.
PNC Bank: Creating Risk Leverage
Article:PNC, a large commercial bank headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa., has pioneered an analytical approach to linking financial performance, compensation and risk management -- demonstrating the value HR can bring to complex business problems by partnering with various stakeholders, according to Transformative HR, a new book by John Boudreau and Ravin Jesuthasan.
Foreign Finance Fail for Expats?
Article:A new law that requires foreign banks to report information on their U.S. account holders may create some difficulties for expat employees. Smaller banks not wishing to accept the administrative burden may refuse to allow Americans to have bank accounts. It may also impact company payroll processes.
Wariness of NLRB Increases
Article:All HR executives should be concerned about recent developments at the National Labor Relations Board. Where once you may have just skimmed the news about the agency, you may now want to pay closer attention.
Will Shortage of Talent Derail the Brazilian Economy?
Article:Brazil is on track for yet another year of above-average GDP performance. This boom, however, poses challenges for the country. Chief among them is a shortage of qualified labor.
Tackling Business Problems
Article:We’ve talked about this since the financial meltdown. Now it’s time to do it: Unlink pay from performance. The evidence keeps growing that pay for performance is ineffective. It also may induce executives to take company-killing risks. There are other ways to motivate employees that yield better results at lower cost.
Spending Up For Learning, Development
Article:Organizations substantially increased spending on learning and development over the past few years, according to the two new reports.
The American Society for Training and Development's 2011 State of the Industry Report finds that organizations in the United States spent $171.5 billion on employee learning in 2010, up from $125.8 billion in 2009 -- an increase of 36 percent.
Whitewater rafting? 12 unusual perks
Article:These Best Companies are stepping it up with treats like free hotel stays and cupcake truck visits to keep their employees happy.
'Rank and Yank' Retains Vocal Fans
Article:When it's time for annual reviews at LendingTree, there's one question on every employee's mind: Am I a 1, 2 or 3? Managers at the online lending exchange rate workers on a three-step scale, based on individual goals and performance. The top 15% are told they are "1s," the middle 75% are designated "2s" and the bottom 10% are assigned "3s." Managers are also ranked by their respective bosses.
Workplace Wonderland (Slideshow)
Article:Davison International Inc., a 285-employee company that designs and creates kitchen gadgets, toys and other consumer products, relocated in 2006 to a 61,000-square-foot building in Pittsburgh, Pa. Its interior, which followed a year-long, $5 million renovation, is intended to encourage creativity and a positive attitude among staff. One third of its inventions are its own creations. The remainder are commissioned by third parties.
News & Trends in Management
Article:In the wake of the financial crisis, transparency is becoming a priority for a growing number of chief executives. Some dispiriting news for business-school graduates: engineers and other technical experts are becoming more prevalent in companies' top ranks, according to two recent studies.
VUCA: the New Normal for Talent Management and Workforce Planning
Article:If you are among the many strategic leaders frustrated with your inability to anticipate and handle the volatility and the speed of change in the talent management environment, you should take a few minutes to understand VUCA. VUCA best describes the volatile and chaotic business, economic, and physical environment that we all now face. Unless you have had your head in the sand, you must have noticed the chaotic business and economic conditions under which we currently operate. In fact, the last decade was so chaotic that in its cover story, Time magazine labeled it “the decade from hell.”
Transform HR Into a Revenue-Impact Function to Increase Your Strategic Impact
Article:HR and talent management leaders are constantly striving to become more strategic. But more often than not it seems that when they are presented with a strategic alternative that really breaks new ground, they retreat and stick with the status quo. However, if you are serious about making a strategic impact and you take a minute to reflect, it’s hard to think of many things that could have more of a strategic impact than increasing corporate revenues.
Growth and renewal in the United States: Retooling America's economic engine
Article:More than ever, the United States needs productivity gains to drive growth and competitiveness. As baby boomers retire and the female participation rate plateaus, increases in the labor force will no longer provide the lift to US growth that they once did. New research by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that, to match the GDP growth of the past 20 years and the rising living standards of past generations, the United States needs to boost labor productivity growth from 1.7 to 2.3 percent a year. That’s an acceleration of 34 percent to a rate not seen since the 1960s.
photo courtesy of HVargas
Young Adults Choose "Cool Cities" During Recession
Article:The Occupy Wall Street crowd is seemingly ubiquitous across much of America. But it is not surprising that these groups, mostly made up of young adults, are congregating in cities known to be friendly to twenty- and thirtysomethings as confirmed by new Census data on migration.
Previously data showed that rates of migration declined as the recession began and places that grew the most during the fat part of last decade—both states and metropolitan areas—saw those gains begin to evaporate. But the American Community Survey’s new data for the years 2008 through 2010, inclusive, provides the first clear glimpse of migration gainers and losers during the Great Recession and permits a comparison with the three previous economically supercharged years. It also allows for a clean “before and after” comparison of destinations for young adults, whose preferences may differ from movers in general.
How Leaders Kill Meaning at Work
Article:As a senior executive, you may think you know what Job Number 1 is: developing a killer strategy. In fact, this is only Job 1a. You have a second, equally important task. Call it Job 1b: enabling the ongoing engagement and everyday progress of the people in the trenches of your organization who strive to execute that strategy. A multiyear research project whose results we described in our recent book, The Progress Principle,1 found that of all the events that can deeply engage people in their jobs, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.
Hot, Warm, and Cold Trends in Pre-employment Assessment for 2012 (and Beyond)
Article:I’ve never felt better about the evolution of pre-employment assessment. In this coming year we’ll see some real progress toward new levels of assessment adoption that will be based more on results then on hype. But there are some significant challenges to be faced.
As we enter this exciting new year, here are the trends that I feel are going to define the future of pre-employment assessment.
SHRM Says: Fewer Jobs, Tougher Recruiting Ahead
Article:You don’t even have to read the text to know that SHRM’s LINE report has bad news this month. The plus and minus signs say recruiting is getting more difficult while the number of new reqs is going down.
What HR Jobs Are at Risk?
Article:I always assumed I was safe from being replaced by technology. I work in a high touch, highly personal job. Human interaction is at the core of what I do. I always pictured the guy in the auto plant pulling a lever getting replaced by a robot pulling a lever. Not an HR guy.
China's 'Demographic Tsunami'
Article:Wang Fuchuan lies in bed wearing a quilted black jacket, with two comforters pulled up to his chin to keep out the chilly November air. The heating at the Beijing Songtang Caring Hospice is broken, and the 90-year-old’s nostrils are stuffed with toilet paper to stop perpetual dripping. Cockroaches scurry across the floor of his room, which has no toilet or running water. His possessions, a few articles of clothing, are in a plastic bag under his bed next to a pink plastic wash bowl with a sliver of soap. His only entertainment is a transistor radio.
Firms Hail New Chiefs (of Diversity)
Article:Some companies are adding a new executive to their C-suite lineup: Chief Diversity Officer. Tasked with creating an environment where women and minorities can flourish, CDOs generally have a hybrid job description that includes recruitment, human resources, marketing, ethics and legal compliance.
Talent Mobility 2020: The next Generation of International Assignments
Article:The year 2020 is only a decade away, yet the way our global workforce is sourced, organised, and managed will change radically by that time. An explosion of activity in emerging markets has contributed to a significant increase in the need for companies to move people and source talent from all around the world. In this next installment of PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Managing tomorrow’s people series, we decided to explore the issue of future talent mobility in more detail.
Shrinking Spaces
Article:Employers are continuing to reduce individual workspaces to allow for more collaborative and offsite arrangements, leading to communication issues for HR leaders.