You are on page 1of 24

http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/jul2008/ca2008078_219021.

htm Human Resources: The Big Issues Around the world, companies are struggling with the aging workforce and less-loyal employees. A new survey reveals executives' worries By Marshall Goldsmith

Companies are facing daunting challenges in hiring, training, and retaining people. Globalization has increased the demand for talent everywhere, while the upcoming retirement of the Baby Boom generation is projected to shrink worker supply in the West. More than ever, employees are demanding a balance between their work and the rest of their livesa trend long present in the West but now prevalent in Eastern Europe, South America, and India. Companies have always struggled to measure and track their programs and activities aimed at improving people's performance and level of engagement. To try to get a better handle on how companies manage their people, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) recently surveyed more than 4,700 executives in 83 countries and markets and published a report based on its findings, "Creating People Advantage: How to Address HR Challenges Worldwide Through 2015". Executives told BCG they feel unprepared to face the massive challenges that confront them in managing talent. The report is unique in its detailed and specific findings by country, region, and industry. I recently spoke with Anna Minto, a BCG partner and co-author of the report, and Chuck Scullion, also a BCG partner and leader of the firm's organization practice in the Americas, about the study. Edited excerpts of our chat follow: What are the key people issues that emerged in the U.S., and how should companies address them? Of the 17 issues covered by the survey, the top three in the U.S. were managing talent, improving leadership development, and managing demographics. For each issue, we asked executives how important it was to their company's future, and we asked them to assess their company's capabilities in that area. On managing talent, the key concerns center on sourcing talent globally and developing customized career tracks and compensation plans. Only 20% of respondents say their companies currently source talented people globally, yet nearly half said they would do so in the near future. If this does not sound startling, imagine a global search for half of the key positions at your company. While only 40% of respondents say their companies now have tailored career tracks and specific compensation schemes for talented people, roughly two-thirds of them believe they will in the near future.

To improve leadership development, U.S. executives expect their companies to start providing financial rewards for good leadership. Only one-quarter of executives said their companies provide financial rewards for leadership today, but 63% expect their companies to be doing so by 2015. The third topic, managing demographics, is a double-whammy in the U.S. Executives need both to replace older employees and address the emerging needs of younger ones, commonly known as Generation Y or the Millennials. To fill the gap left by retirees, U.S. executives expect their companies will start offering employment options to attract or retain semi-retired or retired workers and look to train employees for new jobs. At the same time, companies are trying to keep younger employees, who have less loyalty to their company, engaged and committed. How do these issues differ from the top issues in other countries and regions? Managing talent and improving leadership development are universally important. Managing talent was one of the top three human resources issues in 14 of the 17 countries we analyzed in depth, while improving leadership development was a top-three concern in 10 of them. Even so, companies vary in how aggressively they plan to address these issues. Measuring leadership skills through 360-degree feedback, which you have been advocating for a long time, is in use at less than one-half of the companies in developed economies. By 2015, less than two-thirds of all companies will be deploying it. On the other hand, executives said their companies plan to rapidly ramp up their global sourcing of talent. It's almost as if somebody has screamed "Fire!" in a crowded theater. Everyone will be heading toward the same exitsor, in this case, markets. This heightened thirst for global talent gives an advantage to companies with a strategic focus on people needs. They have spent the time to understand their needs and the local talent markets and build their reputationtheir HR brand, if you willamong recruits in those markets. What about demographics? That is mostly a pressing concern in North America, Japan, and Europe. Elsewhere, the working-age population is still relatively young. Places like India and China will eventually have to cope with a wave of employees moving into retirement, but the day of reckoning is in the distant future. Were there any big surprises in the report? Two. First, one-third of U.S. companies anticipate installing a head of change-management, with authority and standing similar to that of a chief financial officer, by 2015. The position did not even exist a few years ago, and today only 11% of executives say their companies have such a position. That [anticipated] growth suggests the importance of managing change at corporations.

Second, managing work-life balance emerged as the third most important people issue globally. Companies are wrestling with the entry of Gen Y into the workforce, the erosion of corporate loyalty, and the gathering significance of the emotional wellbeing of employeesnot just in the U.S. In places such as India and Latin America, where talented individuals have many employment options at home and abroad, work-life balance has also become a selling point.

http://www.strategic-human-resource.com/human-resources-current-issues.html Keep Abreast of Human Resources Current Issues as a Way of Updating Yourself on Human Resource Management

Empowering People to Drive Productivity Human Resources current issues involve various aspects of the HR function and activities. Let us look at some of these. There are several writers who believe that we need to do some rethinking on strategic HR. One other issue raised is the necessity to do a rethinking on "strategic recruitment." There is much talk about strategic Human Resource management. But surveys had shown that there is not much evidence that its implementation is widespread. It also varies from country to country. The role of human resources is changing as the result of globalization, rapid technological development and progress, and changes in stakeholders' expectation, among many. Skill in managing global human resourcesis fast becoming one of the emerging human resources current issues. Workers migration and expatriate employees pose problematic issues. These require organizations to formulate an appropriate international Human Resource management policy. Many organizations are yet to recognize the need to do this. Another issue, namely, the continued use of job description is criticized. Some argue it is no longer relevant. Another matter that needs attention is the increased presence of Female employees. Female workers are now competing for jobs that are formerly the domain of male employees. Still another issue that calls for attention is employee behavior. It is becoming harder to terminate or dismiss even difficult and under-performing employees.

What more, even the use of strategies in the implementation of human resource management has been questioned as being anti-union and manipulative. Training continues as on-going concerns of organizations. But they are not the only parties concerned with training. It has become a national issue in many countries. The CEO Employment contract is coming under increasing scrutiny. Among the questions raised are whether the performance of CEOs merits the kind of pay they are receiving, and whether they should go if their achievement is not up to the board's expectation. Apart from all these issues which do not fail to surface from time to time, human resource diversity is fast becoming an important human resources current issue.

The Knowledge Organization Change your organization's plans in response to changes in the business environment. Ways to managing human resources must also change in line with changes in your business plan. To do this, you need information on what brought about the current state of things. You need ideas and knowledge on how the HR function can respond effectively to the new situation. Proponents and practitioners of human resource management usually provide ideas which can give new insights. Be alert to new books on HR management and human resources articles on Human Resources current issues. One way of ensuring you do not miss new information is to become a knowledge organization. Here, every one of your employees is encouraged to educate themselves and to widen their knowledge. HR current issues will update your HR people information.

Managing People, Performance and Risk Effective management of employees is important. Doing this motivates employees to do their respective job well. Employees become more focused and will want to continue working for your organization. Manage your employee's performance well by aligning what they do to the achievement of your business objectives. Identify the risks related to your human resource. For example, what are the risks if your good employees leave. Or what will happen if your people are not achieving their defined objectives. What steps can you take to reduce or minimize the risks involved? What can you do to prevent any of the risks from recurring?

Risk is one of the human resources current issues that your organization must manage and control. This is especially true during economic downturn or when organizations are undergoing a difficult phase.

HR Planning To meet all the challenges posed by Human Resources current issues, you need an HR plan. Such a plan needs to determine the possibletrend of HR. Under such a plan, you can improve people's readiness by way of human resource training and development plans under strategic human resource development.

Ongoing Debate The debate on the importance of strategic human resource management continues. These are very clear from the human resources current issues raised without ceasing. There are many human resource issues that are crying for our attention. The list of issues is open-ended. This is an example. There are some writers who are already looking into new theories on people management. They pose questions on the future of human resource management, whether it is undergoing a transition. You may agree that effective management of human resource is important. But do not remain at the talking stage. Take steps to find out how it can help in your organization's success. There are many organizations who continue to manage their people as before. This is to the detriment of the Human Resource function. The way you manage your workforce must change in response to changes in the business environment and new effective ways of managing people. Do not allow negative comments on strategic HR management to divert your attention. Focus on the views of those who had successfully implemented strategic human resource management and had reaped the benefits thereof. Be on the look-out for new developments in the on-going debate on human resource management and its strategic role in organizational success.

Managing Teams Effectively Is the New Direction for HR To Go

The use of teams is becoming more widespread.

The debate on the effectiveness of using teams to accomplish things continues. Mismanaging teams is a real possibility. There is also the danger that some managers may use team to avoid personal accountability. Read the article by Lindsay Blakely on "How to Manage Teams in a Downturn." Effective management of HR in the 21st century is an important management issue. Click here for more information.

Find out what insights on winning combination you can learn from competitive games such as the Fifa Football World Cup competition.

New Information Necessary for Effective Planning Ensure that you keep yourself and your people up-to-date on Human Resources current issues. For example, there is a belief that someone will find better strategic approach in managing human resource before the decade is over. Timely information can help you to plan well as a response to new developments. In this way, no surprise will catch you off guard.

21st Century Human Resources Current Issues Organizations continue to face HR issues including the following:

Steady supply of talents and management Effective leadership development Globalized business environment requiring diversity management skills Good governance in order to build integrity and trust among managers and employees Effective demographic management

These are among the top Human Resources current issues in the 21st century. Other issues will come up from time to time. Readiness on the part of corporate leaders is a necessary ingredient in effectively resolving such issues.

Human Resources - Current Issues


By Jim Masefield

According to definition, the term human resources refers to a managerial person responsible for the smooth running of an office within any kind of a business or corporation. The person that will hold the title of "human resources manager" will be responsible for hiring, recruitment and new employee selection, record keeping of all personal data, employee rewards, and career development. The human resources person will have the most important job of the entire office. With that kind of pressure, it is no wonder then that there are all kind of human resources current issues floating around. One of the biggest current issues that HR personnel are facing right now is the suppression of jobs and being outsourced to other places. With the state of the economy being what it is today, there are an increasing amount of people being laid off and losing their jobs, making the human resource position less important due to lack of employment. Although an HR manager's tasks usually exceed those of a secretary, their top priority will always be to make sure that all of the employees are placed in the right fields and carrying out their work according to the job description specifications. In 2000 there was a new revision of the ISO 9001 which requested legislation to unionize HR development and have all human resources managers and personnel with this position clearly label and define the position's function and particular significance to the company. This has caused some controversy because not all employees want to be unionized, Also, if an employer is being made to tell the functions of a position which might be judged by some as unnecessary, the employee's position might then more easily come into question. The reason for most outsourcing of human resources workers is so that third world countries that have fewer resources still find the possibility to gain training for their people. The United Nations has referred this kind of outsourcing as "foreign aid." This remains a highly debated subject with much controversy for most companies who do not want to lose their people to outsourcing, and, conversely, the people being outsourced are not always pleased with being uprooted from their families, and country

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/3657172

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-most-common-human-resources-issues.htm

What Are the Most Common Human Resources Issues?

Human resources (HR) issues commonly experienced by employers today include diversity, productivity, training, benefits and outsourcing. How each business deals with its specific human resources issues depends on the HR manager or director as well as company policy. Since the main responsibility of HR personnel is to oversee all areas of recruitment, hiring, employee development and termination, it's also this department's job to handle human resources issues. Diversity is a common and important HR issue. Employers must adhere to hiring, promotion and termination practices that don't discriminate against people of different races, ages or sexual orientations. Laws are clear that workplace discrimination won't be tolerated. A human resources director must ensure that the policies of the company are in keeping with anti-discrimination legislature. Productivity is one of the human resources issues that continue to be a common struggle for most businesses. Employers must constantly make sure that employees are getting enough of the needed kinds of work completed so that the business is running efficiently in order to be profitable. If the company has employees who aren't pulling their weight, it decreases productivity which can decrease profitability. HR management has the responsibility of designing the workplace structure and implementing programs that help increase employee motivation and productivity.
AdChoices

Jobs In Dubai HR Powerpoint Slides Russell J. Thomas Law Employee Training HR Recruiters

3000 Employers hiring in Dubai Apply now and start working. www.jobsindubai.com Excellent Powerpoint Slides on HR Management and Personal Development www.exploreHR.org Employment attorney specializing in business litigation and labor law. www.RJTLawFirm.com Empower Your Staff with the Skills They Need for Success. Contact us! www.teamasia.com/public-training Reach the new hires trying to reach you, for free. my-next-gig.com

Training is needed in virtually every business and industry. All types of workplace training require human resources planning since budget and/or company time are involved. Some training is on the job, while other types may involve the company sending employees for outside training paid for by the business. Training sessions and seminars must be factored into a companys time and budget. Training is classically one of the most common human resources issues as its a necessary component of employee development. Benefits are human resources issues. HR directors work with the heads of companies to create benefit policies. In human resources, a compensation package refers to salary plus included benefits. Common employee benefits include health insurance, life insurance, a dental plan and employee product discounts. When employees are terminated, benefits are too, so HRmust keep records of the exact hiring and termination dates of each employee. Outsourcing refers to companies giving work to independent contractors outside the company rather than to in-house employees. Independent contractors are freelance workers who pay their own taxes and insurance. Outsourcing is one of the most common human resourcesissues today as more businesses are hiring freelancers rather than creating more overhead costs by taking on additional

in-house employees. Overhead costs include equipment and workspace as well as benefits such as medical insurance.
AdChoices

Jobs In Dubai HR Powerpoint Slides Russell J. Thomas Law Employee Training Related Videos
o

3000 Employers hiring in Dubai Apply now and start working. www.jobsindubai.com Excellent Powerpoint Slides on HR Management and Personal Development www.exploreHR.org Employment attorney specializing in business litigation and labor law. www.RJTLawFirm.com Empower Your Staff with the Skills They Need for Success. Contact us! www.teamasia.com/public-training

Play How Transferable Skills Help a Lawyer Change Careers

Play How Televerde Trains Women Inmates

o
Play How to Increase Productivity in Your Business

Related wiseGEEK Articles


AdChoices

HR Management Training HR Human Resources HR Training and Development HR Executive Positions What Does a Human Resource Trainee Do? What Factors Affect Human Resource Management Salaries? How Do I Get Human Resources Work Experience? What Is a Director of Human Capital? What Are the Best Tips for Human Resources Staffing? What Is the Importance of Human Resource Management? How Do I Get a PhD in Human Resource Management?
AdChoices

HR Recruiters HRIS and HRMS solutions Team

Reach the new hires trying to reach you, for free. my-next-gig.com Grow your business without sacrificing HR mgt initiatives. gurango.com/HCM Score Cognition of 3-6 Person Teams Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc.

NeuroDynamics EEG Cool, Fun People Wanted Discuss this Article anon144567 Post 5

www.b-alert.com to guide travelers. No experience needed. Must speak English fluently www.hangingwithlocals.com

does anybody know when this article was written? year will be enough. thank you. Editor's reply: The "modified" date at the bottom of the article is sufficient for a works cited page. Thanks for visiting wiseGEEK!

anon102845 Post 4

Can a higher level employee be transferred under a lower level employee? Can an I.E. managerial level be under a supervisory level?

mick726 Post 3

If i report a co-worker can my hr director tell my co-worker that i am the one who reported them?

Related Topics

Human Resource Management Issues Human Resource Management Human Resource Issues Current Human Resource Issues Current Issues In Human Resource Management SurfNturf- I agree with you. I think that training will become more automated which will enhance productivity levels. But I personally think that the biggest challenge a human resource professional faces is with outsourcing positions and balancing the in house employees as well as the virtual employees. Sometimes productivity can decrease of in-house employees because they feel that their positions will eventually be eliminated because of the virtual workers. Special care is needed to make sure the in house employee is productive and focused on their job.

mutsy Post 2

surfNturf Post 1

Great article- I want to add that many companies are offering self-paced training especially for its virtual workforce. Here the employee observes certain training modules requested by the human resource department and a quiz or test is generated at the end of the training.

The score is then supplied to the human resources department and a conference call may ensue to determine if there are any additional training issues. This new method of training is not ideal for all situations but it does look like it might be a future trend. Companies save money and time by training this way, so I do feel more and more companies will go this route.
https://email.rutgers.edu/pipermail/hrdiv_net/2004-December/001411.html

Current Issues in HR - Summary


Steve Werner swerner at UH.EDU Thu Dec 9 12:08:29 EST 2004

Previous message: Org Consulting Text Next message: Conference Announcement Messages sorted by: [ date ] [ thread ] [ subject ] [ author ]

Hi, last week I asked for some topic ideas for a current issues HR class. Because of the large off-net response, I thought I would provide a summary of the suggestions for those who were interested. Many thanks to all who contributed: I believe the changing demographics (national and international) due to an aging population and in some countries a contracting population is just starting to impact HR. I have used the current topics approach to enrich an HR management class. One key topic that always gets a lively response is the topic of the rising costs of health care and businesses' responses to it. This might also include a discussion of the roles companies play or should play in addressing this social concern. For many firms it is no longer a benefit but an entitlement that only creates rising employee dissatisfaction as prices escalate. You can also get healthy discussions on the role of government and the use of businesses to drive solutions to societal problems through incentives or mandates. It is also useful to get the students to look at how it is addressed in other countries. I designed and taught a similar course for MBAs last summer, and it was quite a success. Some of the issues that I covered included "corporate ethics and corruption," "technology, creativity, and innovation," "women in the workplace," "the future of labor unions," and "downsizing and outsourcing" among others.

A topic that I could suggest is "human centred design of production processes". This is a way to link HRM-issues (like occupational health and safety, empowerment, worker motivation), to OM issues (like human productivity and quality). The topic is hot in Europe, for example, in Sweden in discussions about the current trends of moving from parallel production lines to serial (neo-Tayloristic) production lines in the Volvo-corporation, and elsewhere (also in services), and how this effects workers and performance. The handbook requires me to cover "the key theoretical, policy, social and economic implications of the restructuring of work and employment". Topics covered MAY include: * theories of work and employment restructuring; * the impact of information technology; * the growth of the service sector and 'knowledge work'; * new forms of work such as teleworking; * the growth of part-time and casual work; * work intensification; * women's employment patterns; * the impact of change on economic performance; * the role of labour market institutions; and * training and skill formation. If your program doesn't include a course in Organization Development and Change, I would consider a module on selected Org Devt and Change methods or trends. As people move up in HR management, OD competencies become much more important. It might be interesting to demonstrate how to apply OD techniques (process) to a specific strategic or cultural goal (content) such as innovation, resilience, social capital, involvement, or trust. You could also combine OD with some HR Strategy issues. More and more HR/OD people have to deal with Mergers and Acquisitions. I think it would very interesting for students to see all the things that go into the integration process. In addition to important administrative HR issues - e.g. mapping policies, jobs, compensation, benefits, etc., the biggest challenges often have to do with culture clashes. Communication and change management coaching are crucial. For an employee relations module, I would go beyond the standard topics (such as discipline and discharge), and focus on the HR soft skills that are critical to maintaining strong employee trust and commitment - listening, empathy, emotional control, facilitation, investigation skills, involving others, mediation, conflict resolution, communication, fairness, etc. Many HR people make enemies by taking a legalistic (cold professional) approach to sensitive situations such as family emergencies, injuries/disabilities, and harassment. If you ask around, you should be able to gather some funny, outrageous, heartbreaking, and gross examples of situations faced by HR people in the real world. (Body order problems are surprisingly common, and many organizations have had to figure out how to sensitively work with employees going through sex-change operations.) A few quick things: 1) I'm using the McGraw-Hill/Dushkin Annual Editions: HRM 05/06 "book" (really just a compilation of very recent HRM-related articles) 2) I plan to permeate the course with HRM Ethics. While I'm tempted to cover this as its own separate topic, my current plan is to make sure that ethics is discussed for each major HRM content area (particularly staffing).

3) I'll probably have debates on certain topics (e.g., using IQ tests for selection; living wage; etc.) I include a section on Safety and Health, with sections on Workplace Violence and Aggression (including domestic violence that makes it to the workplace, which for women is more likely than coworker violence; of course coworker violence; convenience store murders);sections on wellness, including weight, smoking--it's okay to discriminate because both cost more, but is it wise? Moral?, and other areas employers can influence; AIDS (lack of workplace risks, but fears people have). Students find these contemporary issues interesting. You might consider HR outsourcing, which is a very large (and growing) business that often isn't covered in our traditional HR classes. It has evolved into much more than simply farming out payroll or benefits statements (take a look at the Hewitt Associates website to get a sense of the scope). I am not sure I'd want to spend 4 weeks on it necessarily, but there are some big-time implications for HR (and for budding HR professionals). I have focused on risk- and cost-shifting in the area of employee benefits. Typically this topic is a bore to teach, but with escalating health care costs and traditional pensions under attack (note steel and airlines), it brings up questions about our private system of welfare. Books by jennifer Klein and Colin Gordon are instructive in this area. And, of course, the news is littered with reports. Headhunters and talent raiding play a huge role in the labor market. See HRMJ (vol. 41(2) [talent raiding] and the book Headhunters by Finlay and Coverdill. I usually bring in a local headhunter as a guest speaker. Students love the topic.Professional Employer Organizations.Employee Electronic Monitoring/Workplace Privacy (see the book The Naked Empoyee by (can't remember author).Non-Compete Agreements - ties in a bit with headhunting but I give a whole class to the topic. See the HBS case "Sheila Mason & Craig Shepherd" Measurement and evaluation are topics that are getting a lot of attention these days. My observation is that while many HR practitioners are becoming familiar with terms like ROI and metrics, they have no idea why they are important or how to identify, develop, or use those tools. HR Magazine has had many measurement-related articles recently, including a cover story within the last year (12/03 issue?). I agree that workplace privacy is a relevant current HR issue. The book that Tim referred to in his message, The Naked Employee, was written by Frederick Lane. In my opinion the book is provocative: the author seems to be biased against employers in a number of ways and he speculates freely on ways that employers will abuse current and future technologies to invade their employees' privacy. If you want to generate some lively discussion, this book could do it! However, you may have to provide some balance in the resulting discussion. Two issues are particularly relevant: 1) the impact of off-shoring not only on US workers but employees as a whole; 2) employee security post 9/11 and the impact on business operations.

A longer-term issue is how HR can contribute to creating a competitive advantage. This should include the development of human, social, and organizational capital. Perhaps you might think of "Dealing with Harassment" as a topic. HRM is the key point where both harassment (violence in the workplace, bullying, etc.) and sexual harassment must be appropriately dealt with for organizational morale and legal reasons. This may be more of a long shot, but I'd nominate employee well-being issues. This, of course, would include healthcare costs, which are quite a concern for organizations these days. But it could also include how to create healthy workplaces (both physically and psychologically healthy), current stressors (e.g., job insecurity; role overload) and their effects (healthcare costs; presenteeism, etc.). Things like how to go beyond the tired old once-a-year stress management seminar and tackle the causes of employee ill health. You might also try HRM in Alliances. I was just reading SHRM's "Workplace Forecast: A Strategic Outlook," which reports a bi-annual survey conducted by SHRM of HR managers. It provides a great overview of current issues, at least from the HR practitioners point of view. Once again, many thanks to those who provided input. Happy Holidays, Steve Steve Werner, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Management C.T. Bauer College of Business University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-6021 Ph: (713) 743-4672 Fx: (713) 743-4652 email: swerner at uh.edu web: www.bauer.uh.edu/~werner

http://humanresources.about.com/od/businessmanagement/a/top_ten_trends.htm

Top Ten Human Resources Trends of the Decade


Four Human Resources Trends
By Susan M. Heathfield, About.com Guide

The top ten trends of the decade for Human Resources staff and the employees served at work were not obvious nor were they easy to pick from my original list. Depending on your company size, your location, and the health and progress of your company and industry, the top ten Human Resources trends may have differed for you.

Although the selection was a challenge, and I still go back and forth, these are my top ten Human Resources trends of the decade. These Human Resources trends are presented in no particular order aside from the first trend, which has swamped HR the past couple of years.

Now that you have had a look at the top ten Human Resources trends I've presented, plus several of my runner ups, what are yours? Do you agree or disagree with the Human Resources trends I have selected? Please share your thoughts on the "Readers Respond" form below.

It's the Economy

With US unemployment at 10.2%, as I write this, and extended unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies keeping many families afloat, this economic downturn has left no one unaffected. Even people still employed have watched as their 401(k)s and savings sunk to new lows. Almost no employees have received a raise without a promotion this past year. Normal bonuses and profit sharing have been replaced with mandatory furloughs and more work to replace that of laid-off coworkers. Mourning the loss of laid-off coworkers with feelings of guilt, anxiety, and fear has also chipped away at the employees comfort level at work. Looking over their shoulder andprotecting their own job has become commonplace. No one can predict how bad the economy could become or how long the downturn will last. So, business leaders dont know whether they are managing from an economic perspective that the economy has been reset forever or a down economy that will recover. Business leaders are struggling to manage in times they have never before experienced and the employees, who may also be experiencing stressful economic trauma outside of work, are watching and concerned.

Millennials Are on the March

A generation of employees who were pampered and scheduled by their Baby Boomer parents have taken the workplace by storm. They bring pluses and minuses to your workplace, but come on, who ever heard of a play date before 1990? So, not only is your workplace trying to absorb these offspring of the Baby Boomer generation - and millennials bring special challenges employers are dealing with helping three generations of workers happily co-exist to serve customers as a team. The economic downturn has made the three generation situation worst with Boomers who planned retirement, to make way for up and coming employees, unable to retire - and not happy about it. Millennials and Gen X employees are supervising Boomers and Boomers are mentoring those who wish to learn from the leaving generation. For the employer, managing millennials is a skill managers need to develop. The millennial quest for work-life balance and for having a life outside of work is legend. Employers accommodate these talented young people and develop their strengths and ability to contribute, or you'll lose them to an employer who will. Many of them have options. They bear no resemblance to the "company man, touted as the ideal employee in earlier years. And, the workplace is changing to accommodate them.

Employee Recruiting and Networking Online

This decade has brought about the transformation of employee recruiting and social and media interaction and networking. When I first started writing about recruiting, the big job boards like Monster, had not been around very long. Employers have seen a transformation in how people find each other for networking and jobs this decade. From large job boards like Indeed to niche job sites, from networking on discussion lists to sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Ecademy, networking and recruiting will never be the same again. Human Resources employees have either kept up with the new ways of interacting and communicating or they are doing their organizations a disservice.

Social media networking is the new way to find employees, find jobs, get answers to questions, build a wide-spread, mutually supportive network of contacts, and keep track of colleagues and friends. Social media and online recruiting bring the employer new challenges. Developing social media and blogging policies, deciding whether to monitor employee time online, and checking candidate backgrounds online, just scratch the surface of new employer challenges. But, dont let the power of this online media pass you by.

Made to Order Employment Relationships Perhaps its the push from the millennials, and definitely its the availability of technology that facilitates the customization, but the made to order work relationship has become a dominant force in the past decade. Teleworking or telecommuting, a rare privilege in the 1990s, has taken workplaces by storm. One giant computer company reports that 55% of its employees not only telecommute, they work from home all of the time. A New York City publishing company allows telecommuting two days a week and employees can bargain for more. Teleworking is not the only component of the new made to order work arrangements. Flexible anything has become the new norm. Flexible work hours, flexible four day work weeks, flexible time off for appointments, and the most important trend of all: Paid time off (PTO) allows employees to take time off when they need the time as it consolidates sick leave, personal time, and vacation time into a bank of days for employees to use.

Additionally, trends such as bringing baby or the family pet to the office also fall within this workplace flexibility.

Superficially, all of these components of the made to order Human Resources employment trend offer benefits for employees. But, they offer benefits for employers, too. Employers dont need to police employee time. They need to make work and communication more transparent and measurable so the flexibility yields results. Their employees are more motivated and engaged, and less stressed out about family and life issues, because they have the time necessary to address work-life balance issues.

The Big Blur Online, all the time, and availability via technology, has blurred the line between work and home. Employees work at home in the evening on collaborative reports and email. They shop at work and take brief breaks by playing online games. Employees do their banking at work and their work accounting at home. Almost no one goes on vacation without their smart phone, laptop, and kindlelike device. Employees taking PTO email colleagues with the number of their cell phone if they wont have access to email. No generation has ever been this connected, and for good and bad, some employees never stop working. This interferes with down time, relaxing time, andwork-life balance, but most employees just see it as a way of life. Employers need to make sure this degree of connectivity is not required. They must also back away from old rules about what an employee was allowed to do at work. Employers do need to heed wage and hour lawswhen dealing with hourly employees who must be paid for every hour they work. Indeed, this work home blurring is a nightmare for employers who must pay for overtime. So, most employers forbid hourly employees, for the most part, to work at home. This emphasizes the differences betweenexempt and nonexempt employees, already a distance.

The Rise of Technology No Human Resources trend list would be complete without an explicit mention of the impact of technology on all aspects of the field. I have mentioned the power of technology all through these trends, but will still cite technology as a major trend. Technology has transformed the way in which Human Resources offices manage and communicate employee information and communicate with employees, in general. In a world in which identity theft is prevalent and can cost an employee countless working hours over several years to correct, safeguarding employee records is critical. Identity theft is so serious and rising that every employer needs a plan to prevent. Did words like Intranets, wikis, webinars, and blogs exist in common language ten years ago? I dont think so; only the early and earliest adopters used them. Now, employees use them internally to stockpile information, work collaboratively, and share opinions and project progress. They can even work virtually and with distant teams simultaneously. They hold meetings and share visuals with teams from all over the world. Employee Training and Development Transformed This decade has seen the rise of technology-enabled opportunities for training, employee development, and training meetings and seminars. Podcasts, teleseminars, online learning, screen capture and recording software, and webinars provide employee development opportunities. Additionally, during this decade, as the technology-enabled delivery options expanded, so did othertraining and development opportunities and definitions, including increased expectation for learning transfer to the job. Online learning, earning an online degree or credits, and all forms of web-enabled education and training provide options that employees never had when training occurred in a classroom. Employers are saving millions of dollars in employee travel expenses, and the employees access to the training does not walk out the door at the seminars end. This is the decade when employers experiment with classroom training in a virtual world called Second Life. You can expect even more progress and experimentation in the years to come. Plus, another Human Resources trend that flourished, though did not start in this decade, is the concept of alternative forms of employee learning such as coaching and formal mentoring. They hit the mainstream in this past decade. Tension Increases Over Government Intervention in the Employer-Employee Relationship A debate exists in the US between people who think the government is already intervening too much by making laws that require employers to provide particular benefits for employees, and those who dont. People who support the government intervention believe that the US government has been negligent in not mandating benefits such as paid sick leave. They consider it the right or humanitarian action to take. Opponents want benefits for employees but argue that employers should make benefits choices that their employees desire and that they can afford. Opponents argue that employer mandated benefits will

cost the country jobs and opportunity. Small business, the engine of job creation in the US, is currently sitting on the sidelines because of the uncertain economy including threatened government mandates and potential changes to health care. One of the more significant examples of government intervention occurred with the passage of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993. The affects of its passage continued to be an employers nightmare this past decade as, especially, its intermittent leave requirements created recordkeeping quagmires and made trial lawyers smile. I expect I will be including this Human Resources trend after the next decade, too. The Rising Cost of Health Care Much as Id prefer to leave this Human Resources trend off the table, its not going away. The continually rising cost of health care insurance and health care is affecting what employers can provide in terms of additional benefits for their employees. The rise of employee payments for part of insurance coverage, the practice of seeking insurance first from a spouses employer, increased payments for covered family members, and higher health care provider co-pay office fees are all highlights of the rising cost of care. Americans disagree about what needs to be done in this arena. (I support capping fees to trial lawyers and limiting payouts in medical malpractice suits, providing incentives to people becoming family practice physicians, and making basic insurance more affordable.) But, most agree that something does need to happen so that Americans can retain the best health care system in the world. Legislation is currently pending, which as I write this piece, is not supported by over 56% of Americans, so we shall see. Health care costs will remain a Human Resources trend in the next decade. Globalization, Outsourcing, and Offshoring Increasing government regulation in the US along with increasing corporate taxation (maybe highest in the world), higher wages, and less desirable, business friendly policies and incentives are causing employers to rethink locations for their operations. High taxation, high regulation states are seeing an outpouring of business (and jobs) from their locations. The US is seeing an overall rise in outsourcing jobs to overseas locations that are viewed as more friendly to business. In an era of globalization, this makes sense. Employers seek global, rather than local markets, so that economic factors in one location do not hinder progress. Employers see the positive impacts of locating offices and factories in global markets and tapping the strengths of local employees who are familiar with business and employment practices in the new locations. Whether work is off-shored, outsourced, or the company is simply expanding globally, the challenges to Human Resources with a globally-located workforce are serious. If a US company has five employees in Hong Kong or six in Europe, local Human Resources offices do not make sense. In fact, the US HR Director, with assistance from local employment agencies, probably hired the staff. Managing and working with these global locations, while obeying the laws and honoring the customs of the host country, is a challenge for managers, Human Resources, and coworkers.

I remember hiring my first employee in Hong Kong. I learned the monetary system, the required holidays, the government regulations, and more. I also found that, until I had local, trusted employment staffing assistance, the new employee and subsequent employees took advantage of my limited knowledge. It's a whole new world of global challenges out there. Get ready. Human Resources Trends of the Decade: Honorable Mentions I considered these Human Resources trends and they are worthy and deserve a mention. Several of them will see their biggest impact in the next ten years. This includes diversity which is already affecting workplaces and legislation. See my favorite piece about diversity: Search for Similarities: Just Like Me. Discrimination laws have had a profound impact on recruiting and hiring practices and in all areas of equal opportunity employment. The labor union movement in the US is in the process of undergoing a radical change. Recently, public sector employees became the majority of union members leaving private sector union member numbers behind. Additionally, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) has stated publicly that their members include illegal immigrants. This will produce changes in the next decade about Political Action Committees (PACs), raise questions about who is funding union activities, and also impact the illegal immigration debates in Congress and for employers. In the wake of the horrific events of 9-11-2001, much of which most employees watched unfold on their televisions at work, a feeling of a loss of safety swept the nation. When tragedy struck the workplace, employers responded with new building evacuation plans, safety and crisis management plans, and business continuation strategies. People who lived closer to the events and who lost family members and friends were most profoundly affected. But, the events of 9-11-2001 will never be forgotten in America. Hopefully, this will never be a trend, but several readers nominated this event. The evolution of performance management as an employee development, goal setting, and performance evaluation strategy is an important Human Resources trend in my book. It allows an employer to develop an employee from onboarding until they leave your company. It moves evaluation and goal setting away from an annual appraisal administered by the employees manager to a mutually beneficial defined contribution and development plan. Well see considerably more from each of these trends in the next decade. Hold on to your seat. The next wave of Human Resources trends for the next decade will soon leave the station. Are you ready to enhance and take advantage of them in your workplace? Please share your best trends of the decade and your worst trends of the decade. Have comments on these top 10 trends and Human Resources trends of the decade, in general? Share your thoughts about the top 10 Human Resources trends of the decade.

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Labor&title=Current-issues-in-humanresources&id=40280

Current issues in human resources


0 Email0 0 ShareThisNew

Is there such a thing as a road map and destination towards strategic human resource management? Is there a difference in managing HR between big and small businesses? -- Moon Shadow.
My answer to your first question is this: Yes, theres such a road map or template in doing strategic human resources because the need for transformational management is greater than ever. Youll readily understand this when you think of our customers having ever-increasing choices, with technology changing the rules of both the design and delivery of management services, and with changing demographics in the work force, among other factors. On your second question, allow me to share with you this story between a father and his eight-year-old son: Father: Im worried about your being at the bottom of the class. Son: Dont worry, Dad, they teach the same stuff at both ends. Strategic HR applies to every organization, whether big or small, and regardless of ones business, even if youre in a tokwa (bean curd) factory because competitiveness is no longer a formal approach and a monopoly for big organizations. The only difference in having a strategic HR between big and small organizations is the degree or depth of implementation and coverage.

RELATED STORIES

Bill seeks firms 10% of capital for labor cases

Labor productivity tracks sluggish economic pace

Owning a slice of your company

Management Tip: Keep your GenXers engaged

Fewer women in top US tech jobs - survey

Building the case for the new HR starts by understanding business realities brought about by outsourcing and its legal issues, dizzying globalization, increasing employee diversity, continuing decline of employee loyalty, the war over talent, technological change, or customer preference for ethical and socially responsible companies. Indeed, there are many issues to talk about when it comes to people management. Among the basic issues,

we can explore the following components towards transitioning HR from a mere administrative function to a function that makes a real difference in business results. To help us do just that, let me share with you the thoughts of Ralph Christensen in his book Roadmap to Strategic HR (2006). These alone are more than enough to proceed in analyzing how you can move forward: Assess the organizations readiness for change. Develop and institutionalize a framework and language for HR. Understand the senior HR leaders role as organizational architect. Clarify line managements role and engage top management in creating and owning the HR strategy. Create a human and organizational plan. Understand the five HR processes through a strategic lens. Clarify the roles of generalist and specialist. Design the structure of your new HR organization. Assess and upgrade your HR talent. Recognize the roadblocks and political land mines in making the transition to strategic HR. Mr. Christensen says you dont view these 10 components as linear occurrences, to assume that you start with Step 1 and proceed in sequence through Step 10. The author recommends that you roll them out in a much more integrated and systemic fashion rather than do it step-by-step. This is where big and small organizations should differ. But first things first: You really have to discover your organizations readiness for change. The assessment gives you a baseline from which to work. The framework gives you a language with which to talk about what you are doing. *** ELBONOMICS: Those who fail to learn from others are condemned to wallow in mediocrity. Send feedback or workplace questions to elbonomics@gmail.com or follow Rey Elbo on Facebook and Twitter for his random management thoughts.

You might also like