Contributed by CCHRA
The numbers are telling a tale already well-known to those within the HR profession. Managing talent – recruiting and retaining highly capable employees and providing them with opportunities to perform, excel and advance – is one of the most critical human resources challenges in Canada and around the world according to a new global study looking at the future of HR.
Canadian business leaders expect shortages resulting from changing demographics will lead to increased competition for talented employees. Most are predicting they will move their business to new locations with better access to talented employees and boost global sourcing of talented employees.
The Creating People Advantage: How to Address HR Challenges Worldwide Through 2015 report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Federation of Personnel Management Associations (WFPMA) in collaboration with the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations, is based on a global survey of 4,741 executives in 83 countries. It provides rankings and analyses of 17 HR challenges in seven major regions of the world and suggests specific actions to address those issues.
“The study, the most comprehensive review of global HR practices ever conducted, provides piercing insight into the current and future challenges facing companies,” said Florent Francoeur, past-president of the WFPMA and president and CEO of l’Ordre des CRHA et CRIA du Québec, Quebec’s provincial HR association.
With the number of Canadians older than 65 expected to jump from 13 per cent in 2005 to 24 per cent in 2031, managing demographics is another top priority for Canadian businesses. To compensate, most Canadian executives said their companies will be offering employment options to attract or retain semi-retired or retired employees. While 38 per cent of Canadian companies currently embrace this approach, that number is expected to climb to 78 per cent by 2015.
“Our workforce is aging, and demand for talent is increasing. Finding talented, future leaders has become more difficult than raising financing,” said Kilian Berz, Canadian Organization Practice Leader and managing director of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). “Many Canadian companies serve global clients, but their leaders have limited global experience. It is critical to re-evaluate how to recruit.”
Executives surveyed expect their companies will build their leadership capabilities predominantly by measuring leadership skills through 360-degree feedback and internal coaching by top managers. The use of external coaches will increase and it’s also expected that using financial rewards for good leadership will more than double in popularity, from the 23 per cent of companies currently using these incentives to more than 53 per cent by 2015.
Transforming HR into a strategic partner is yet another key challenge in Canada, where our vigorous economic growth over the past decade is leading to tight labour markets and causing executives to put a premium on managing HR strategically.
“As the executive pool shrinks and as shareholder expectations and board accountability continue to rise, we anticipate HR strategy will be fully integrated into the overall corporate strategy. For some it already is, while for most it is often an afterthought and mostly focused on the upper echelons during talent transitions,” said Marc Gilbert, a partner and managing director with BCG in Toronto.
Finally, managing work-life balance was also rated as a key future challenge in almost every region, and is a top-three priority in Canada.
“In Canada, two thirds of women with children under the age of six are employed, so the importance of this topic in Canada is not surprising,” said Lynn Palmer, CEO of the Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations.
Incomes are rising in Canada, and there is more pressure on companies to make adjustments that will keep working spouses happy – and at work.
“Some 82 per cent of Canadian executives said they expect their companies to offer flexible work arrangements by 2015, and 74 per cent expected their companies would be offering part-time work as a work-life balance initiative by 2015, up from 61 per cent in 2007,” said Palmer.
“Companies are forced to enhance their offering to further employee loyalty,” noted Gilbert. “Employees, especially the most talented ones, often make career choices based on factors such as flexibility and emotional gratification.”
Reprinted from PeopleTalk Magazine, Fall 2008