Monday, March 4, 2013

Eight Workplace Trends that Will Impact Our Work in 2013

This is our third annual workplace trends report. As part of our annual goal setting process for the human resources team, we brainstorm trends and observations that may impact our work. We use this exercise as a way to get us to a 30,000 foot level before setting our team goals for the year. These are the most interesting things we discussed. 


Created with Haiku Deck, the free presentation app for iPad 
  1. Staffing -- There is a mismatch between the skill sets in demand and the skills sets of those who are out-of-work. Community colleges provide an opportunity for people to retrain for jobs that are in demand like lab technicians, radiation therapists, paralegals and machinists. · Employer branding becomes more purposeful and valued. · Employers look to hire innovators as we witness the success of innovation driven organizations. · Recruiters focus more on sourcing currently employed top talent instead of those who are actively looking. · Candidate assessments are back in vogue as employers become more sensitive to the cost of hiring people that aren't a good fit. · Employers focus more on the candidate experience as the competition for top talent gets stiffer. 
  2. Health -- The quantified self movement continues to build momentum as more apps and gadgets are introduced. · CDHP's, consumer driven health plans,  continue to become more prevalent shifting more of the costs of care to employees. Better tools become available making the cost of care more transparent. · More employers implement wellness premium discounts. · There is more exploration of raising the medicare age. · The shortage of primary care physicians becomes more critical and convenience care centers play a bigger role in community health. · The aging of our population increases the demand for care coordinators. · There is more data about the cost of stress, but the focus shifts from stress management and balance to building resilience and happiness.
  3. Learning -- Learning continues to evolve in a way that is more flexible and collaborative. · Content curation becomes more important and valued as people feel like they're drinking from a fire house when it comes to sorting through all the new information coming at them. · Professional communities where consumers serve as subject matter experts and help one another become more common. 
  4. Engagement -- As employers recognize how much more an engaged employee contributes, they focus more on the things that increase engagement. One of the most interesting things I heard discussed at the SHRM conference last year was providing performance feedback in Twitter like terms. Just in time and in 140 characters or less. I haven't seen any tools to support this yet, but it's an interesting concept. · Employers also look to recognition programs to reward employees. Especially, since salary increases have been modest in recent years. 
  5. Technology -- Cloud computing increases collaboration and leads to a decline in VPN use. This makes it easier for people to work remotely. Unless, of course, you work for Yahoo. (I am wondering if Yahoo's actions will prompt more discussion about managing from a distance which could be beneficial in many settings.) · Mobile apps continue to explode. · Cutting edge employers allow candidates to apply for jobs from their phones.
  6. Financial -- Graduates find it difficult to dig out from mountains of college debt and this isn't a short-term problem. The debt burdens them for years. · Auto enrollment and auto escalation of 401k contributions become more common as employers try to help people prepare for retirement even as many people plan to work past their normal retirement date. See the NPR series Working Late. · The cost of commuting continues to rise and cuts into the paychecks and time of workers.
  7. Societal -- Americans are more accepting of same-sex marriage. There are now nine states where marriage licenses are issued to same sex partners which impacts employee benefits and applies pressure to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. · It seems the "storm of the century" has become an annual event. The disruption we've witnessed will cause more businesses to plan for disaster recovery. This also heightens the awareness of sustainable business practices and causes them to gain more respect and appeal. 
  8. Information Sharing -- Most reporting has been based on historical metrics -- what happened last year. This has limited use for decision making. In the future, most historical metrics will be replaced by predictive analytics and focus on helping people understand what is about to happen so they can take action. · People will rely more on graphical depictions and video to communicate. 
If you think we've overlooked something, leave us a note in the comment section below. 




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