Conclusion:

How to become a Vanguard

Conclusion:

How to become a Vanguard

Governments may be gradually easing lockdown conditions, but the workplace will never return to the way it was before Covid-19. Employees will continue to demand greater flexibility in where and how they work, and employers need to rethink how they are going to find, manage, and support their people in this ever-evolving environment. When companies embrace these changes and invest in better technologies, talent-acquisition strategies, and employee experiences, they can gain an advantage over their lagging peers.

The survey indicates that all companies need to accelerate their adoption of robust technologies and talent strategies to close skills gaps and better manage full-time and contingent labor. The difference is that Vanguards are already making it happen.

These leaders understand that deploying agile talent strategies and technologies to adapt to this uncertain future is the best way to build resilience and achieve their financial goals.

That makes it easier for them to fill skills gaps through a combination of talent strategies, and to use technology to create a better and more connected experience for all employee and contingent workers.

None of these goals is easy to achieve but all are possible. The experts interviewed for this report offered the following insights into how to create a more resilient workplace for the future.

#1. Amplify workforce fluidity

Take a holistic approach to talent acquisition. Novartis’s Benz notes that the pandemic spurred his company to centralize its talent acquisition strategies, making them more efficient. “Historically, our approach to acquiring talent has been siloed, with individual aspects managed by different functions across the business,” he says. “Our goal now is to implement a much more integrated approach that harnesses strategic workforce planning, predictive analytics, the up- and re-skilling of internal talent, and the use of contingent labor, where appropriate.” He believes this streamlined approach will help Novartis improve workforce management and more easily identify the best talent strategies to meet every need.

Keep an open mind as to how talent enters your organization. Rather than assuming every talent need must be met with a full-time hire, BASF has developed a talent framework that considers all talent options for every project. “When there is an open need, we want our leaders to approach it from a strategic workforce planning perspective and to look for the optimal way to resource that work,” Gerhard says. That may include bringing in contingent labor with a specific technical expertise, training talent, or moving resources to new teams to maximize delivery of key tasks.

Her team is working with BASF’s HR business partners to deconstruct roles into tasks, and to train managers on how to think strategically about talent acquisition as part of this transformation.

Stop fighting for full-time talent. Companies in need of highly specific tech skills are facing steep competition in a limited talent pool. Recruiting for these skills can add weeks to the hiring process, which may delay critical projects, says Lecot.

Instead, his team uses contingent workers to fill many knowledge gaps. “Sometimes, the only ones who really understand this technology are the contractors,” he notes. Adding contingent workers to the team fills the near-term skills gap, while exposing full-time talent to experts who can help them learn on the job.

#2. Build a better employee experience

Let teams decide how to work remotely. Toyota’s Allen notes that, before the pandemic, remote work wasn’t an option. But now, there’s no way to pull it back off the table – and the company’s own data suggests it would be a mistake to do so, in any case. “In surveys, our team members have told us they feel like they are as effective or more effective working remotely, and managers agree,” he says. Customer-satisfaction ratings have also remained high, proving there is no real reason to return to the way things were.

Rather than fighting to get people back to the office, Toyota is empowering its business units to craft their own hybrid work strategies based on the needs of the team and the work. For some, that may mean being in the office a few days a week; for others, it might be twice a quarter. “We are always going to have a hybrid model, so it's up to the VP of those functions to determine what works for their organization.”

Show contractors that you value their work. Farmers Insurance gets many accolades and awards for being a ‘great place to work.’ “That's great for employees, but we need to have something similar for contractors,” says Lecot. As his company has come to rely more on contingent labor, his team is doing everything it can to share the message that Farmers has a supportive culture for contractors, and that it values their opinions. That includes asking contractors their opinions of the work and leadership, and what the company could do to make their experience more productive. A positive work experience is just as important for contractors as it is for full-time staff.

Evolve with the times. “The future of work is going to be a moving target,” says BASF’s Gerhard. And leaders need to accept that changes will need to be made to optimize talent management going forward. She encourages companies to “take an iterative, ongoing, continuous improvement approach” that makes room for trial and error. “Expectations will change over time,” she says. “The key is delivering that ideal employee experience.”

Employee mental health: How can organizations build a culture that supports emotional wellbeing?

The shift to remote working has brought a number of clear benefits for organizations and employees. Yet, the combined pressure of balancing work and home life in the midst of a global crisis has had a detrimental impact on the mental health of many employees. In fact, recent research by Lloyd’s Register found that people working from home during the pandemic are experiencing higher levels of stress and failing to notify their employers of mental-health conditions for fear of a negative impact on career progression.⁴

How can business leaders help to cultivate good mental health across the workforce?

According to many of the executives we spoke to, providing employees with greater flexibility is a critical first step. “During the pandemic, we relaxed many of our policies around attendance and absences,” explains Anthony Allen. “We had people that have childcare issues, were caring for elderly relatives, or were just terrified to come to work because of the virus. We have always been an employee-friendly company and the pandemic gave us the opportunity to really demonstrate that.”

Cummins’ Todd Hill believes that organizations can’t take a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to employee wellbeing: “Different people respond to remote working in different ways. You might have a highly extrovert employee that misses face-to-face contact, or employees who are working in an environment where there are a lot of distractions. Because of this, we’ve created a program called It’s OK, which encourages employees to reach out and talk through any challenges they may be facing, without judgement. Additionally, we run ‘Mindful Monday’ sessions, where we teach employees techniques that can help them to relax.”

⁴https://www.lr.org/en/latest-news/impact-pandemic-mental-health/

#3. Make DEI a corporate priority

Identify your DEI goals. It’s typical for organizations to take a tactical approach to DEI, for example by rolling out training programs or organizing listening sessions. While initiatives such as these certainly have value, to deliver long-term impact they must be part of a wider DEI strategy. “Leaders should ask themselves where their DEI efforts are pointed, and how they align with broader business goals,” explains Jocelyn Lincoln, Chief Talent Officer at Kelly. “If you are planning to enter new markets, for instance, it may be important to ensure your employee population is reflective of the communities you plan to serve.”

Look for ways to improve DEI. If you want people to believe you are committed to DEI, demonstrate that commitment through who you hire, how you vet vendors, and what causes you invest in, says Ed Pederson, Vice President of Product at KellyOCG. This philosophy led KellyOCG to launch the Discover program, which introduces diverse workers into a customer's workforce in a very targeted, intentional way. It was created to help companies meet their diversity goals, while enabling diverse talent to access great opportunities. “At KellyOCG we are in a unique position to join these two groups together,” he confirms.

Take meaningful action. When companies invest time and effort into causes that matter to the employee community, it demonstrates that leaders care about their concerns, Hill says. That spirit is seen today in the company’s commitment to supporting educational opportunities for underserved populations, hosting pride events across the globe, and campaigning for police reform. “We do these things because we want to help all of our employees understand what diversity, equity and inclusion mean at Cummins,” Hill says.

#4. Use leading-edge technology to manage a workforce in flux

Focus on the problem. The pandemic forced companies to adopt leading-edge workforce technologies rapidly to keep employees engaged, but the variety of options left some business leaders feeling overwhelmed.

The key to making the right technology choices is to start with what problems you are trying to solve, says BASF’s Gerhard. Her team relied on employee feedback to guide their technology investments during the pandemic. That led them to create a new employee-networking app, a virtual onboarding solution, and a workforce-optimization tool to address problems created by working remotely. “These solutions help our leaders stay connected and engaged when they have team members distributed throughout the world.”

Source the right talent. “As an IT leader, there is tremendous pressure to continuously build new applications to react to market forces,” says Lecot. His team is constantly being asked to deliver “urgent projects,” which makes it difficult to prioritize work without causing burnout in his team. To mitigate this risk, Lecot uses contingent labor to fill the gaps. “Having the flexibility to go to a contingent workforce for these projects can be easier than trying to hire and train employees to meet these needs,” he says.

Use automation to add value. Every company requires the completion of some highly repetitive tasks, like transcribing data or building spreadsheets. These are important but don’t require a lot of skill. These tasks are usually dumped on the lowest-level employee on the team but now they can be easily automated, says Pederson. For example, his team recently deployed a robotic process automation (RPA) “digital worker” that transcribes new employee information and aggregates it into the company’s master database with no human intervention required. RPAs can eliminate hours of costly manual labor, which benefits the company and the team. “When you take the tactical, mundane stuff off of someone’s plate it frees them to focus on relationship-building, innovation, and business development,” he says.