Practice Development Counsel

Phyllis Weiss Haserot's
Organizational Effectiveness Issue of the Month

2005 WORKPLACE FORECASTS

January 2005

As I start my third year of publishing the Organizational Effectiveness Issue of the Month (cheers!!), it's time to look at trends and forecasts for another new year. The last two years I cited some interesting trends from the "Herman Trend Alert: 2003 and 2004 Workforce and Workplace Forecasts." [Herman Trend Alerts are written by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, strategic business futurists, www.hermangroup.com] Here's this year's look with my own riff on some of the trends the Hermans highlight.

The Hermans cite as most significant a tendency for people to take control of the management of their careers with an upward trend in the economy and the pace of recruiting, increasing flow of communications through the Internet, and more on-site education and training. Upon reading the trends listed below (restated in my words with Herman's words in quotes), I thought to myself of the forecasts: Sounds like back to the boom conditions!

1. To counteract the "unprecedented" personnel turnover in the market, employers will increase the use of incentives such as childcare, concierge and other employee support programs.

2. The buyer's market of the last several years will turn notably to a seller's market ultimately resulting in "the most severe shortage of skilled labor in history" and people will change jobs seeking their employer of choice based on their own criteria. Many firms will experience the threat of instability if they are not aggressive in attracting and retaining desirable talent.

3. "Offshoring" (moving jobs across geographic boundaries) "will become more of a global phenomenon," but companies will discover that some situations don't work out well and the jobs will return to their home countries.

4. Retirement as we think of it traditionally will continue to undergo a transformation. More about this later in this e-Alert.

5. Education and training at all levels will accelerate, increasingly provided by corporate development programs designed to fill specific needs for both existing staff and new employees. Educational institutions will be pressed to change to produce ready-to-be-productive graduates quickly.

6. Leadership development will be ever more important as the "leadership deficit will be crippling" to many organizations. Leadership skills will be expected before promotions rather than after people are in place.

7. Popularity of flexible employment will grow, particularly flexible hours and telecommuting. Parents of both genders will be influential in eroding the traditional workweek and day and where and how people work in order to spend more time with their children. This is a favorite subject of mine - so more later.

8. More women will obtain significant leadership positions in the workplace, while some women will opt out of the work force - at least for a number of years. And (I add) most will come back looking for new ways to sequence their lives.

9. Companies will re-invent themselves to be more responsive and agile through strategic relationships, knowledge, speed and resources.

10. More people will become independent contractors (a continuation of the freelance revolution of the 1990s boom), and "specialized staffing firms and electronic communities will evolve to connect workers with employers."

What "heads-ups" do we see for firms/employers from these trends?

It's just a matter of time. Demographic, economic and social factors support these trends. Will your organization be a leader or wait till it loses the edge and initiative?

A recent survey of commuters at both Penn Station New York and the Liverpool Street Station in London by Netilla Networks and reported by the Herman Group revealed that 70 % of those interviewed thought their productivity would rise if they were granted flexible/home working arrangements, and 64% of them said they would feel more loyal to their employers under those circumstances. A choice to work flexibly from home or office was the ideal for employers and employees according to 90% of respondents. Most would not like to work at home full time and would miss the social aspects of the office. Significantly for recruiting, 52% said flexibility would influence their next choice of an employer. In another study (by Epson) of European workers, an average of 73% of workers across five countries thought working at home would reduce stress. Another survey by Salary.com reported by the Associated Press this month of 4,600 full-time workers found that nearly 40% said they would choose more time off over a $5,000 annual pay hike. This is an almost 20% rise from three years ago.
These numbers are too high too ignore.

Many studies we've seen indicate that the historical retirement age doesn't fit the needs of either workers or their employers anymore. Leaving aside the pros and cons of Social Security changes, even many of those workers who are well set financially desire to continue working at something fulfilling, that allows them to retain their identity and self-esteem but to put in fewer hours. And employers can't afford to lose their skills and knowledge. Sufficient transition to a younger generation has not, in too many instances, occurred.

Looking at not only the life and work objectives of parents - both men and women - of small children but also the attitudes of senior professionals and managers toward retirement flexibility, we are heading toward a time, perhaps very soon, where there will be no choice but for organizations determined to thrive to explore how the workplace can be restructured to work better for both the people within them and their clients. When it is a seller's market, as demographics tell us it will be for some time unless the U.S. economy severely tanks, employers will have to adjust to serve more flexibly the needs of young families, senior professionals/managers/employees whose retirement or other exit strategy would leave large holes in institutional knowledge and external relationships, and the those in the middle who have to be the bridge and the leaders who make it all work.

Going Forward

We are looking forward to an exciting year as our business happens to focus on several issues reflected in these trends. Practice Development Counsel (and its AuthenticWorks division):
* Facilitates and implements flexibility programs for both junior and senior professionals;
* Coaches leaders and managers on inter-generational relations and work expectations;
* Coaches rising stars on business generation, exercising influence and leadership;
* Designs workplace cultural environments to retain, integrate and support talented professionals.

How is your business positioned? Will you be out in front given the workplace trends forecast?

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Ask about our programs, *Capitalizing on Your Personal Style* and *Get a Seat at the Table* and new coaching groups on *Building Your Influence.*
See www.pdcounsel.com

Studies show that coaching increases skill development by 88%! Explore your, or your colleagues', needs for bringing in more business, internal and external client relations, navigating firm culture, inter-generational relations or other workplace issues in a confidential, free interview with Phyllis by calling 212-593-1549.

We welcome and encourage your comments to pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com

To be put on the list for a free subscription to this e-Alert, send an e-mail to pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com with "Organizational Effectiveness" in the subject line. And for my *Inter-Generational Relations* monthly e-tip, put "Inter-Generational Relations" in the subject line.

tel: 212 593-1549
fax: 212 980-7940

pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com
www.pdcounsel.com

Phyllis Weiss Haserot's Organizational Effectiveness Issue of the Month

2005 WORKPLACE FORECASTS

Phyllis Weiss Haserot's
Organizational Effectiveness Issue of the Month