The employment landscape is constantly evolving at a rapid pace within our broader societal structure. And yet there are some growing trends that are common across the board.
But don’t allow the banality of these trends to cause you to overlook them. Your response to these workforce movements will influence your company for years to come.
Succession Planning
Before Baby Boomers exit organizations (to the tune of about 10,000 per day), companies need to plan their next move. Who will replace these veteran workers? And are those future replacements receiving the proper training needed to take on leadership responsibilities?
Succession planning affects every level of your organization. Instead of casting one employee for a supervisory, managerial, or executive role, succession planning identifies a broad group of candidates who are mentored and trained to fill higher positions within the company.
And succession management takes it a step further. Supervisors make daily effort to prepare their employees to take on more responsibilities. This approach speaks to the need for consistent training and development within your organization.
More Millennials in Leadership
As the Boomer generation prepares to retire and leave behind their legacy in the workplace, Millennials are moving up in the ranks. They’re predicted to comprise more than three-fourths of the workforce by 2020. And they are next in line to fill leadership positions – but not in a traditional manner.
There are individual variations within any generational cohort. Millennials are no different in that respect. But there are some generational commonalities in their approach to employment.
Relational. Vocal. Self-starters. Independent thinkers. They value their family and friends, community roles, and their impact in the workforce. It should be no surprise then, that according to one survey, Millennials desire to purposefully lead in order to help others gain success.
This group is not only far more technologically advanced, they’re more apt to use social platforms in ways that increase company growth.
Their values perspective and approach to leadership will undoubtedly influence the way companies are run and employees are recruited.
Innovative Talent Search
If you’re stubbornly adhering to traditional talent acquisition methods, now is the time for you to embrace change.
Boomerang employees are increasingly considered as valuable candidates in the talent pool. And broadening your talent search to include global candidates is more realistic now than ever.
Data insights have become a powerful tool when recruiting new talent. Mobile applications, mobile and social advertising, and even gamification are more technological avenues that help recruit and retain employees wherever they live.
Instead of confining future candidates to old systems, methods, and expectations, go to where they are and draw them in to your organization.
Remote Employee Management
Many companies are still reluctant to allow their employees to work from home. But the telecommuting trend increased by 80 percent between the years 2005 and 2013 – excluding self-employed individuals. This trend has not slowed.
Flexible work options are increasingly enticing to younger talent. They prefer flexibility to higher paychecks.
As this breaks another traditional model, companies are struggling to determine how to go about managing employees outside of the office. Do managers need additional training? If so, in what capacity? And how do you make remote employees feel as though they’re part of the company?
With planning and openness to change, it’s wholly possible. Learning how to successfully manage remote workers rests on:
- Proper training
- Scheduled and open communication
- Multiple communication avenues
- Putting reasonable performance measurements in place
- The proper tools to help with productivity
- Flexibility to make changes when needed
With online resources and applications like, Asana, Trello, HiveDesk, Google+ Hangouts, Basecamp, and others, management becomes more feasible.
Employee Well-Being
Holistic health promotion and prevention programs are more growing trends within the workplace. More and more companies have begun to understand the value in nurturing holistic wellness in work environments.
Employees who actively engage in company wellness programs tend to be more satisfied at work, have a more positive perception of their employer, and are more content with their benefits packages. Companies benefit, too.
Companies save money when they focus on employees’ wellness because employees request fewer sick days, are at lower risk of experiencing health problems, and take out fewer disability and workers’ compensation claims.
The current challenges companies face isn’t encouraging employees to begin a healthy lifestyle regimen. But now, they’re brainstorming ways to gingerly encourage employees to maintain their regimens.
Which of these employment trends do you need to focus on in order to keep your company moving in the right direction?