60 HR Predictions for 2008

By Floyd Kemske
The top 10 predictions in Workplace Flexibility,
Global Business, Work and Society, Workforce
e!elopment, efinition of "obs, and Strate#ic $ole of
%$&
Workplace Flexibility
'ollaborati!e cultures (ill be the (orkplace model&
'reati!e employment contracts (ill support more time
off, flexibility in hours and (ork location,
technolo#ical )ob aids and more pay at risk (ith
si#nificant upside potential&
'ompany intranets (ill become a ma)or tool for
communication, trainin# and benefits administration*
%$ (ill play a leadin# role in de!elopin# this
important tool&
+ntelli#ence throu#h kno(led#e transfer capability
(ill separate the best employees from the rest&
,mployees (ill ha!e more and more choices about (ork
arran#ements, allo(in# them to meet their indi!idual
needs&
Work hours schedulin# (ill become less important as
or#ani-ations focus on performance and results&
'ompany facilities (ill become .!irtual. throu#h
(ork/at/home, telecommutin# and outsourcin#&
The (ork(eek (ill be less structured0employees (ill
still (ork 10/plus hours, but at !aried times and
places other than the office&
2e#islation (ill lead to #reater portability of
health, (elfare and retirement benefits&
Free/lance teams of #eneric problem sol!ers (ill
market themsel!es as alternati!es to permanent (orkers
or indi!idual temps&
Global Business
The role of corporate %$ (ill chan#e to that of
creator of o!erall !alues and direction, and (ill be
implemented by local %$ departments in different
countries&
Technolo#y, especially the +nternet, (ill enable more
businesses to enter the #lobal marketplace&
%$ professionals (ill ha!e ad!anced acumen in
international business practices, international labor
la(s, multicultural sensiti!ities and multiple
lan#ua#es&
%$ professionals (ill need to be kno(led#eable of
other cultures, lan#ua#es and business practices to
help their companies find and enter more markets&
%$ people (ill ha!e to understand other cultures and
help people (ork (ith, and transfer amon#, !arious
cultures&
3e#a#lobal business alliances (ill #ro( in number and
scope, re4uirin# #reat finesse on the part of the %$
professional&
There (ill be an explosi!e #ro(th of companies doin#
business across borders, and it (ill be the most
si#nificant chan#e for the economy in modern times&
'ultural understandin# and sensiti!ity (ill become
much more important for the %$ professional of the
future, (hereas multiple lan#ua#e ability isn5t #oin#
to become a necessary competency&
The continued emer#ence of a (orld marketplace (ill
re4uire de!elopment of an international (orkforce&
Small teams of %$ professionals (ill focus on
pro!idin# performance impro!ement consultin# ser!ices
to a !ariety of locations around the (orld&
Work and Society
Family and life interests (ill play a more pre!alent
role in people5s li!es and a #reater factor in
people5s choices about (ork0there (ill be more of a
.(ork to li!e. than a .li!e to (ork. mentality&
,mployees (ill demand increases in (orkplace
flexibility to pursue life interests&
ual/career couples (ill refuse to make the sacrifices
re4uired today in their family li!es and more people
6not )ust (omen7 (ill opt out of traditional careers&
Families (ill return to the center of society* (ork
(ill ser!e as a source of cultural connections and
peripheral friendships&
Workers (ill continue to stru##le (ith their need for
(ork8 life balance, and it (ill #et (orse&
+nte#ration of (ork (ith 4uality/of/life initiati!es
(ill create solutions to problems formerly seen as the
responsibility of #o!ernment&
'ommunity in!ol!ement and social responsibility (ill
become part of an or#ani-ation5s business !ision&
.'ocoonin#. (ill become more popular as (orkers look
to their homes for refu#e from the pressures of a more
competiti!e (orkplace and depersonali-ed society&
"ust as defined/contribution plans ha!e be#un to take
o!er from Social Security, companies (ill take on
responsibility for elder care, lon#/term care and
other social needs throu#h cafeteria/style benefits
pro#rams&
Those people (ho refuse or are unable to adapt to ne(
technolo#ies (ill find they5re (orkin# harder and
accomplishin# less&
Workforce Development
2ifelon# learnin# (ill be a re4uirement&
The focus of trainin#8learnin# acti!ities (ill be on
performance impro!ement and not )ust on skill
buildin#&
,mployees (ith !aried skills and competencies (ill be
!alued more hi#hly than those (ith a depth of
expertise in a sin#le area&
9roblem sol!in# and decision makin# (ill become a
re4uired curriculum (ith practical (ork problems as
the trainin# medium&
Trainin# (ill be deli!ered .)ust in time,. (here!er
people need it, usin# a !ariety of technolo#ies&
'ompanies (ill demand constant personal #ro(th, and
employees (ill respond positi!ely to hi#her
expectations&
+t (ill not be possible to sur!i!e in the (orkplace
(ithout basic computer skills&
9eople (ho can learn ne( skills8competencies 4uickly
(ill be hi#hly !alued in a faster chan#in# (orld&
Team pro)ects and special assi#nments (ill be a ma)or
factor in personal de!elopment&
:s the computer/sa!!y #eneration is more assimilated
into the (orkforce, employees (ill become much more
producti!e in complex tasks and less dependent on
other people and departments&
Definition of Jobs
;r#ani-ations (on5t pay for the !alue of the )ob but
for the !alue of the person&
<ersatility (ill be the key factor in determinin#
employee !alue (ith strate#ic thinkin#, leadership,
problem sol!in#, technolo#y and people skills close
behind&
'ompensation systems (ill be linked to business
outcomes&
:ll )obs (ill re4uire hi#her le!els of computer
skills&
9ositions (ill be or#ani-ed in teams focused on a
task, not or#ani-ed around a hierarchy&
9ositions (ill be defined by the competencies needed
to be performed&
,mployees (ill be more independent, mo!in# from
pro)ect to pro)ect (ithin their or#ani-ations&
3any )obs (ill be redesi#ned to be much broader in
scope, especially in mana#ement positions, resultin#
in leaner head counts&
,mployees (ill be increasin#ly measured by ho( much
!alue they contribute to the business, not by (hether
they fulfilled predetermined ob)ecti!es&
Work (ill be more challen#in#, and )obs (ill become
increasin#ly complex&
Strategic Role of HR
Successful %$ departments (ill focus on or#ani-ational
performance&
%$5s !alue (ill be to ha!e the ri#ht people ready at
the ri#ht time= recruitin# leaders to )oin the
company5s mix of talent and keepin# the .bench. full
of enabled, competent (orkers&
The focus of the %$ function (ill be human capital
de!elopment and or#ani-ational producti!ity* %$ may be
renamed to reflect this&
%$ (ill e!ol!e from strate#ic business partnership to
strate#ic business leadership 6dri!in# chan#e and
results, not )ust monitorin# them7&
: key %$ role in the future (ill be multidisciplinary
consultin# around indi!idual, team, business unit and
corporate performance&
3ana#ers (ill #ro( to depend more and more on %$
professionals as they reali-e that #ood people
mana#ement can be the strate#ic ad!anta#e in the next
decade&
2eadin# chan#e (ill become %$5s #reatest contribution
to the corporation&
3ore and more businesses (ill use %$ as a strate#ic
partner&
%$ (ill ha!e a .seat at the table. as part of the top
mana#ement team and report directly to the ',; in most
companies&
: key %$ role (ill be mana#in# increasin#ly scarce
human and intellectual capital