Hold on to your hats because 2018 is going to be exciting, challenging, and rewarding as many trends take center stage. Employers should take the time to look at what’s coming now so they have the bulk of the year to adjust and prepare for what’s ahead. In this post, we look at the top 5 workforce trends to watch this year.
5 Workforce Trends to Watch in 2018
There are five trends that employers, business owners, and HR directors should be aware of as we move into 2018. They are:
1. Employee engagement will become a financial and business issue
Soon, employee engagement will neither be a luxury nor a watercooler conversation. It will be a necessity for businesses that want to remain competitive in their industry. Most younger employees would rather work from home or at a coffee shop than in a cubicle. So, businesses that want to attract and retain the talent they need will be forced to do something about their work environment and culture. Essentially, the quality of the workplace experience will become a financial/business problem if not addressed because top talent won’t want to work in a lackluster, behind-the-times environment.
Companies that get this are already transforming their work environments. To transform your work environment, focus on including more of these elements:
• Informality
• Opportunities for engagement between and amongst colleagues and workers and management
• Open plan designs with spaces devoted to different purposes such as having coffee or being social
• Flexible work arrangements for employees looking after kids and/or aging parents
To improve your workplace culture, an essential aspect of employee engagement, and an absolute must when creating desirable workplace experiences, try to:
• Focus on employee well-being from a holistic point of view
• Offer inventive perks (e.g. bring your dog to work, scholarship funds for kids, unlimited vacation time)
• Be socially responsible and give back to employees and society
Google is perhaps the most famous example of transformative workplace cultures, and an excellent company to emulate. Not only does Google provide perks like massage, unlimited healthy gourmet meals and snacks, and spaces to hang out in, they also address many other employee needs and preferences, such as1:
• Free workplace childcare
• Paid leave for new parents (22 weeks for mom, 7-12 weeks for dad)
• 50% 401k match
• On-site gym
• Beer and wine on Fridays
The take away? Even if your company can’t afford to provide all that companies like Google offer, it would be wise to start making changes to your workplace environment and workplace experience sooner rather than later, especially if the bulk of your workforce is middle-aged or nearing retirement. Ask younger employees what they need to stay. You may be surprised to learn not everything is about money—especially with the younger
generation.
2. Leadership will take on a new look and feel
Closely related to shifts in workplace environment, experience, and culture is the issue of leadership. Younger employees will drive employers to re-evaluate how they approach leadership. Managers will be expected to create trust and be transparent with employees through increased communication and closer manager-employee relationships.
Employers will benefit from improving their approach to leadership now, because millennials will make up 46% of the workforce by 2020 (they currently account for 38% of the workforce in the United States).2
3. AI will create new challenges and opportunities for HR
The rapidly changing benefits landscape has employers wondering about artificial intelligence (AI), even if at this point, it’s just in the back of their minds. However, employers are right to wonder.
In 2014 alone, more than $300 million was invested in AI startups, and that’s a 300% increase from the amount invested in 2013. Not to mention, 44% of executives think that AI will provide data that can be used to make decisions that benefit the company and its employees.3
Even though significant adoption of AI is still a part of the distant future, it is a trend that employers will need to start considering today.
Two areas HR should focus on when it comes to AI are:
• The labor environment. The labor environment will continue to change rapidly which means your HR staff will not only need to bring current employees up to speed with the skills and training they need to succeed today, they’ll also need to look into the future and surmise what skills and abilities will be needed to thrive ten, fifteen, and twenty years from now, because AI may either replace certain jobs or replace certain tasks that fall within the realm of existing jobs.
• Benefits. Technology that makes life easier for HR is carving out a large niche for itself in the benefits industry. Among the various types of software, decision support software will likely become more important as it uses technology to help employees get answers to their questions in humanistic ways.
For those looking into the future, and wanting to make changes now, benefits technology is the place to start.
4. Access to information for the hourly employee will become a reality
The number of hourly workers has risen steadily since the 1970s.4 Yet, many employers struggle to manage these workers effectively, dealing with constant turnover and scheduling nightmares. However, it’s important that these employees feel motivated at work because they’re often the ones that interface directly with customers.
Three forces drive engagement for employees: purpose, mastery, and autonomy. While it can be harder to help hourly employees in these areas given the constraints of their employment and schedules, the internet has made the autonomy aspect of the engagement puzzle doable.
Salaried workers have had information available at the fingertips at work and at home using laptops, smartphones, and other devices for years. But, hourly workers don’t often have access to those devices at work, which limits their ability to find information which they can use to solve problems independently at work.
As access to information becomes more widespread, hourly employees will turn to the internet to acquire the information they need to solve problems. For example, the hourly customer service representative at Walmart may search for a product on their smartphone to tell a customer whether the store carries it if they aren’t able to find the information they need with the tools their employee provides.
5. Retirement will become a top concern for employers as employees struggle to prepare and baby boomers leave the workforce
Believe it or not, around 10,000 baby boomers retire every day.5
And, retirement savings among younger workers is, well, alarming when you consider the fact that many have less than $10,000 saved.
So, it’s no surprise that two issues will surface this year regarding retirement.
First, employers will need to be proactive about replacing the talent they’ll lose as baby boomers retire. Second, employers will need to find innovative ways to help younger employees prepare for retirement.
To help workers prepare for retirement, employers can adopt financial planning benefits, student loan assistance benefits, and other non-traditional benefits.
However, it’s important to start now, because it takes time for retirement savings to accumulate.
Employers are Facing A lot, But They Aren’t Facing It Alone
When faced with so many to-do items, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Just remember, other companies are experiencing these same issues, and help is always around the corner. Partnering with an organization that can help you with human capital management and benefits will take a lot off your plate. Learn more about where to start, including more about where to start with FSA administration from top FSA administrators, and more, today.
1. http://www.businessinsider.com/google-employee-best-perks-benefits-2017-11/#employees-in-mountain-view-california-and-new-york-city-have-an-on-site-gym-6
2. https://www.sixdisciplines.com/thesixdisciplinesblog/leadership-training-trends-in-2018
3. https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2016/02/10-stats-artificial-intelligence-foreshadow-future-society/
4. https://talentmanagement360.com/managing-and-motivating-hourly-employees/
5. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2014/07/24/do-10000-baby-boomers-retire-every-day/?utm_term=.08ed49c31e50
