Eye on the Workforce

There has been one overriding priority corporate issue for HR specialists over the last five years: Health care costs. But we are not interested in that priority in this blog. No, we are interested in the second highest priority in 2011:  "Large number of Baby Boomers retiring around the same time." In 2007, this issue was only #5. In 2006 it wasn't even on the radar.
(Source:  The SHRM Workforce Forecast 2011)

In 2011, the first baby boomer, born in 1946, will turn 65. For the next 18 years a very large number of workers are expected to retire. HR specialists realize the significant loss of intellectual capital and experience that will result if nothing is done. Of course, the recent financial crisis has delayed retirement for many of these seasoning citizens, which may be good news for those who need extra time to react to this demographic shift. If it's you, use that time wisely.

If your organization has a large number of workers in this demographic group, you will want to take special care to harness the knowledge and experience they have. Here are some ideas to get you started, but work with your HR specialists. They will be happy you see the same problem.

Mentoring . . . Chances are that your mentoring program, if it existed, has fizzled during the economic downturn. Crank it back up powered by the expertise  of workers with decades of experience. Remember that mentoring is more than coaching. It is a fast-track career development tactic for your best people - you know, the ones who are looking for new opportunities at other companies.

Centers of Excellence/Communities of Practice . . . Insert older specialists into groups that focus on process improvement so that they can impart their wisdom.  The least they can do is keep the organization from making the same mistakes over an over. Besides adding expertise they can exert a calming influence on the group or add the perspective of time to decision-making.

More ideas in my next post.

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.

It turns out that college students are not learning the skills they need to get your projects to a successful completion.  Sure they may have the technical knowledge. They may know important facts associated with their job. But, according to new research compiled in a new book Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, many students are graduating college without critical capabilities you need.  (If you're not going to run out and buy the book, find a summary and excerpt here.)

Check out this overview:  "Growing numbers of students are sent to college at increasingly higher costs, but for a large proportion of them the gains in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication are either exceedingly small or empirically nonexistent."

Boom!

You must weed out candidates that lack these capabilities before they get into your project.

In your selection process, check for the ability to think critically and exhibit complex reasoning. Present candidates with difficult problems and have them resolve these problems. Not just technical problems but business problems. Have them discuss how to manage their affairs interacting with competing stakeholder groups. Make them respond to scenarios appropriate to their role in the organization. Realistic, challenging scenarios. Work with HR or recruiters to get this right. This educational problem has been going on for years, so don't assume any candidate is good at critical thinking or complex reasoning.

Next, obtain examples of written communications or have them write out examples of their analyses of situations that you give them. Have them summarize, promote, explain, motivate - whatever you need.

Weed out those who cannot perform!

If you want to succeed in today's difficult projects in tangled matrix organizations, make sure you onboard workers who are up for the task.

With everything else you have to worry about, should workplace bullying be on your radar? Does it really happen that often?

Maybe you need to see what is called "bullying."

Definitions used in studies discussed here are

• "repeated mistreatment: sabotage by others that prevented work from getting done, verbal abuse, threatening conduct, intimidation, & humiliation" and
• "repeated, health harming abusive conduct committed by bosses and co-workers"

Have you seen this kind of behavior? What effect did it have on workforce performance?

See if your instincts are correct. Which of the following do you think are true?

1. Over a third of workers have experienced bullying firsthand
2. Bullying is 4X more prevalent than illegal harassment
3. The majority of bullying is same-gender harassment

Each of these statements is true according to the studies. An additional 15% witness bullying. That's nearly half of workers affected by it. So it should be on your radar.

For your part, you can work to prevent bullying. Support project values that promote respectful interactions. Intervene appropriately when you see it, but see your HR rep for assistance prior to any action. These situations must be handled carefully by the organization. However, with guidance from HR, your actions can be well-defined and constructive.

Just talking about HR programs can help improve worker performance, according to this study by the SHRM Foundation.  The study shows that you can build job satisfaction merely by talking about work-family programs.  Among the findings, "...offering work-family programs can result in improved attitudes and performance, even when use of these programs is low."

So remind workers of the many programs available to them, e.g.

• paid/unpaid elder care leave
• flexible spending accounts for dependent care
• elder care resource and referral
• child care resource and referral
• flexible spending accounts for elder care
• and on-site child care

To maintain a higher morale over time, highlight different benefits periodically, perhaps during weekly meetings. Explain how your organization supports the use of these programs to maintain work-life balance.

You don't have to lie about  anything or exaggerate. Just promote actual programs. Show you care. Help push workers out of their anxiety. Give them a way to improve their lives.

As an additional advantage, those workers who actually do use work-family programs "have lower work-to-family conflict than those who don’t and this lower conflict translates into improved attitudes and performance." Better performance? You could use that.

Think of this as another way to retain those high-performers without spending a lot of project money.

Don't know what to say? Work with HR to find out what to communicate or have HR reps communicate for you. Use newsletters, meetings and any other media you can.