Workforce Management Featured Article
Workforce Recovery After Downturn Brings Familiar Problems
Depending on what reports you pay attention to, you may or may not see that the hiring slump that faced a lot of businesses is on the up and up. Some companies are recovering from the economic downturn, but the vision for growth has changed quite a bit in the last two years, at least according to PwC.
Two years ago, workforce cuts left the younger generations in the worst position versus other people. The overall climate led to disengagement, whereas now PwC is seeing that this recovery is bringing not only disengagement, but skill shortages.
What are decision makers to do as they rebound from hard times and look to replenish their workforces once again?
CEOs say that it’s about building trust, fostering diversity and seeing how the role of human resources impacts the overall organization and process. HR is developing more of a consulting function while CEOs are taking a more strategic approach to hiring. Since engagement is a hot button topic, it is one of those items that managers should keep at the top of their lists.
Companies with engaged employees outperform those without. Engaged workers stand apart from their not-engaged and actively disengaged counterparts because of the discretionary effort they consistently bring to their roles. These employees willingly go the extra mile, work with passion, and feel a profound connection to their company. They are the people who will drive innovation and move your business forward. While the benefits are clear, employee engagement is a struggle for most companies.
That said, we’re on the cusp of how and when we do work, so much that management needs to ditch the old-fashioned work checklists and focus on the employees of tomorrow. PwC polled professionals in all kinds of roles from around the world, and what they’re finding about the workforce of tomorrow is that it’s greener, that capitalism will reign supreme, and that technology will empower a low-impact yet high-tech business model and that the workforce of tomorrow will have more stringent demands.
“Most of the HR professionals in our survey don’t believe they’re prepared for meeting the needs of a workforce that demands more freedom, autonomy and flexibility,” writes the PwC report.
That’s why it should be an industry imperative for HR departments to rely on workforce management solutions (WFO). WFO gives organizations the tools to better strategize priorities and objectives with their human resources. The benefits of workforce management are realized in cost and time efficiencies, as overstaffing and understaffing both result in time and cost inefficiencies.
When staffing levels accurately meet the work projections, organizations save money and have a happier workforce both of which result in better quality and service to its customers.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi