Emerging Trends

in Human Resources

Presented by:

Keith J. Greene, SPHR

Vice President, Member Relations
SHRM

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 Top 10 Workplace Trends for 2006-2007

According to HR Professionals

10. Vulnerability of technology to attack or

disaster
9. Work intensification as employers try to
increase productivity with fewer employees
8. Increase in identity theft
7. Rise in number of individuals and families
without health insurance
6. New attitudes towards aging and retirement
as baby boomers reach retirement age

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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 Workplace Trends for 2006-2007

According to HR Professionals
5. Retirement of large numbers of baby boomers
(those born between 1945 and 1964) at
around the same time
4. Increased demand for work/life balance
3. Threat of increased health care/medical costs
on the economic competitiveness of the
United States
2. Increased use of outsourcing (offshoring) of
jobs to other countries
1. Rising health care costs

SOURCE: SHRM Workplace Forecast

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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 Demographic Trends
for 2006-2007

10. Growth in the number of employees for

whom English is not their first language
9. Implications of the Latino/Hispanic
population as the nation’s largest minority
group
8. Growth in the number of employees with
eldercare responsibilities
7. Generational issues: Recognizing and catering
to groups such as Gen Y (born 1980-2000)
and Gen X (born 1965-1980)
6. Increase in the age individuals choose to retire
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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 Demographic Trends
for 2006-2007
5. Growth in number of employees who have both
eldercare and childcare responsibilities at the
same time (“sandwich generation”)
4. Retirement of large numbers of baby boomers
(born 1945-1964) at around the same time
3. Demographic shifts leading to a shortage of
skilled workers
2. Aging of the workforce
1. Aging population driving an increase in health
care costs

SOURCE: “SHRM Workplace Forecast

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© 2003 SHRM
 Actions Organizations Are Planning to
Take in Response to Demographic Trends

• Investing more in training and development to

boost skills levels of employees
• Succession planning
• Changing employment practices to avoid
charges of discrimination based on sexual
orientation
• Changing employment practices to avoid
charges of discrimination based on ethnicity
• Changing employment practices to avoid
charges of racial discrimination
• Training line managers to recognize and
respond to generational differences

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© 2003 SHRM
 Do you (Baby Boomers) want to work
into retirement?
• 71% said yes, with many
80% with many looking for
70% part-time jobs or an
opportunity to move in
60%
and out of the workforce
50% — perhaps during a
40% period as long as 10 years.
30%
• The study, conducted by
Harris Interactive,
20%
involved online interviews
10% with more than 5,000
0% adults aged 25 years to 70
Yes No years. (5/06)

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© 2003 SHRM
WHY Do you (Baby Boomers) want to
work into retirement?

• To remain mentally and physically

active
• I want to try new professions
• Earning money

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© 2003 SHRM
 Steps in Preparation for Possibility of Worker
Shortage Due to Baby Boomer Retirement

• Providing continuous skills training for

incumbent workers (to update workers’ skills
and keep workers ahead of the curve)
• Researching and potentially modifying pay
scales to ensure competitiveness
• Providing baby boomers information
regarding retirement planning considerations
• Offering flexible benefits packages for
employees
• Increasing recruiting efforts overall

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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 Employment Trends
for 2006-2007
10. Privacy concerns of employees
9. More employees with untreated physical and
mental health conditions due to an increase in
health care costs and the number of
uninsured
8. Establishment of a link between pay and
performance
7. Greater demand for flextime
6. A continued change in negotiating strategies,
tactics and processes used by labor and
management caused by business pressure to
remain competitive

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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 Employment Trends
for 2006-2007

5. Work intensification as employers try to

increase productivity with fewer employees
4. Employee backlash against rising benefits costs
3. Employee security concerns
2. Rising health care costs
1. A greater emphasis on employers to develop
retention strategies for current and future
workforce

SOURCE: SHRM Workplace Forecast

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© 2003 SHRM
 Actions Organizations Are Taking or Planning
to Take in Response to Employment Trends

• Increasing spending on learning and training

initiatives
• Shifting to the use of HSAs to offset the
increase in health care costs
• Increasing use of flextime
• Decreasing health care benefits
• Increasing use of customized employee
benefits packages

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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 HR Profession Trends
for 2006-2007
10. Increased focus on selective retention for
keeping mission-critical talent
9. Increased use of HR technology
8. Growing complexity of staffing function as it
links to the financial and operational
performance of the organization
7. Linking employee performance and its impact
on organization’s business goals
6. Business units taking on more of HR’s strategic
functions and tasks

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© 2003 SHRM
 Top 10 HR Profession Trends
for 2006-2007
5. Need to develop retention strategies for
current and future workforce
4. Building people management or human
capital component into key business
transactions (change management, mergers
and acquisitions)
3. Preparing for the next wave of
retirement/labor shortages
2. Growing complexity of legal compliance
1. Central importance of medical health
care/cost management to the HR function

SOURCE: SHRM Workplace Forecast

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© 2003 SHRM
 Actions Organizations Are Taking or Planning
to Take in Response to HR Trends

• Increasing use of technology to perform

transactional HR functions
• Increasing HR’s role in promoting corporate
ethics/corporate social responsibility
• Increasing investment in training for HR staff
• Building people management or human
capital component into key business
transactions (change management, mergers
and acquisitions)
• Measuring human capital

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© 2003 SHRM
 Actions That HR Professionals Are
Taking in Response to Trends

• Increasing employee electronic surveillance

• Increasing use of alternative dispute
resolution
• Adding on to HR staff
• Greater use of contingent workers
• Decreasing other employee benefits as a result
of increased health care benefits costs
• Cutting back on HR staff

SOURCE: SHRM Workplace Forecast

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© 2003 SHRM
 The Top Seven People-Related HR
Issues According to CEOs
1. Retaining Talent
2. Attracting Talent with Critical Skills
3. Improving Workplace Performance
4. Gaining Control of Health Care Costs
5. Using the Web Effectively for
Information/Service Delivery
6. Creating “People Measures” for a
Balanced Scorecard
7. Building New Workforce Skills for the Next
Round of Growth
SOURCE: Towers Perrin
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© 2003 SHRM
 The Top Five Workforce Priorities
According to CFOs

1. Developing Leadership Capabilities

2. Increased Productivity
3. Acquiring Key Talent
4. Retaining Key Talent
5. Measuring Human Capital’s Contribution
to Business Performance

SOURCE: Mercer HR Consulting

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© 2003 SHRM
 The Top Five Challenges
for HR Managers

1. Ensuring compliance with federal and state

employment law
2. Retaining talent in an improving economy
3. Managing performance
4. Developing leadership
5. Dealing with rising health care costs

SOURCE: Business & Legal Reports – 5/06

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© 2003 SHRM
 What Are the Key
Retention Issues to Employees?

• Fairness at Work
• Concern for Me as an Employee
• Job Satisfaction
• The Reputation of My Employer
• Trust in Me as an Employee

Source: Walker Information

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© 2003 SHRM
 What Are the Main Reasons
Employees Resign?
• Poor Behavior and Supervisions Skills of
Front-Line Managers
• Lack of Growth Potential
• Unable to Speak Freely About Concerns
• Lack of Recognition
• Don’t Like the Work
• Inadequate Pay
• Lack of Work/Life Balance

Source: Saratoga Institute

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© 2003 SHRM
“People quit their manager, not
their company.”

Marcus Buckingham

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To Be Successful, HR Professionals Must
Develop Competence in Five Key Domains

• Strategic Contribution – 43%

• Personal Credibility – 23%
• HR Delivery – 18%
• Business Knowledge – 11%
• HR Technology – 5%

Source: HR Competency Toolkit (%

indicates HR’s total impact on business
performance)

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© 2003 SHRM
 The HR Professional MUST Master These
Competencies in order to Succeed in the Future

• Strategic thinking • Finance capability

• Talent • Flexibility/
management adaptability
• Business acumen • Change
• Technology/ management
technical skills • Innovation and
• International/ creativity
global perspectives

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© 2003 SHRM
 The Words of
Coretta Scott King

“It doesn’t matter how strong

your opinions are. If you don’t
use your power for positive
change, you are, indeed, part
of the problem”

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“You miss 100 percent of the shots you
never take.”

Wayne Gretsky

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“There’s no “I” in TEAM. But there is
an “I” in WIN!”

Michael Jordan

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“Employers who don’t treat applicants
well are starting to pay for it.”

Tom Rath
Global Practice Leader
Gallup Organization

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“Good managers play checkers. Great
managers play chess.”

Marcus Buckingham

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“The ability to individualize praise is
what makes it special.”

Marcus Buckingham

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“There is only one valid definition of
business purpose: to create a
customer.”

Peter Drucker

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“The man who has no imagination
has no wings.”

Muhammad Ali

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“Opportunity is missed by most people
because it comes dressed in overalls and
looks like work.”

Thomas Edison

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“Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I
may remember. Involve me and I’ll
understand.”

Socrates

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“Your future depends on many things,
but mostly on you.”

Frank Tyger

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