Workforce Trends: Globalization and Your Workforce

 

Back in the day - 2003 - human resource professionals had different priorities for managing the workforce. For example, their top concern was "the use of technology to communicate with employees".

Why do you care? Because HR professionals are following strategic goals of your organization  and there may be touchpoints with your projects. Results of their actions may affect your resources or interfere with your plans. Their priorities are also alerts to you about the environment you are working in now.

For example, In 2003 one of the top ten priorities was "Focus on domestic safety and security." That issue doesn't even  make the list this year.  The emergency management and disaster recovery plans generating series of meetings during that year are in place. New efforts have replaced those now.  About the same priority level as safety was in 2003 is 2011's "8. Greater need for cross-cultural understanding/savvy in business settings." Think about the culture change involved in that priority reshuffle.

The need for cross-cultural understanding is not the only change that globalization has made to the priorities of human resources professionals. Here are the ranks of other globalization-related items in the 2011 top ten list:

• 3. Increases global competition for jobs, markets and talent
• 7. Economic growth of emerging markets such as India, China and Brazil

Other trends have about 60% or more HR reps reporting that that they are having a major strategic impact:

• Increased expansion of U.S. companies into the global marketplace
• Growing importance of managing talent globally

Unlike 2003, priorities in 2011 will mean more of these actions, according to the report at least:

• Integrating HR practices across operations, including international borders
• Expanding to sell products and services into the global marketplace
• Giving more consideration to regional political issues when making decision to invest abroad

Stay ahead of the pack by continually preparing to succeed within these priorities and business actions.

By the way, it is worth asking - Are you getting the support you need in your organization to succeed in this way?

Source:  The SHRM Workforce Forecast 2011

More on this report in future posts.