navigating the changing world of work world 2020 manpower booklet may 2010

Navigating the Changing World of Work

1 Navigating the Changing World of Work

Navigating the

Navigating the Changing World of Work 2

Demographics / Talent Mismatch......................................................................5

Introduction......................................................................................................3

Individual Choice.............................................................................................. 19

Rise of Customer Sophistication.......................................................................31

Technological Revolutions.................................................................................37

Implications to the World of Work.....................................................................43

Manpower Inc. Research...................................................................................45

About Manpower Inc........................................................................................46

Changing World of Work


Introduction

Manpower’s pursuit of delivering innovative high-impact workforce solutions to enhance the competitiveness of the organizations and the individuals we serve is anchored in what we know. Based on our local expertise and global reach we know that there is an increasing velocity of change happening every day in the way work is performed. We have identified four megatrends impacting the World of Work. We didn’t stumble upon these trends, but researched them with intense curiosity.

The Demographics and Talent Mismatch is the conundrum that both individuals and companies are feeling right now. As the working age population declines and companies are looking for talent, they’re looking in a much more specific way, yet individuals are also being more selective when they can.

Individual Choice is creeping in wherever possible. Individuals are exercising their choice as they realize they have the power to opt for or against

We power the World of Work.

We generate power by

connecting:

the visions of clients,•

the motivations of people,•

and what’s now and what’s •next in the World of Work.

The World of Work trends

that we’ve identified are

foundational—they’re

foundational to how we act,

where we invest and where we

focus our thought leadership.


a given job, which in turn is requiring companies to think differently about how they attract, retain and stay relevant to an ever select group of talented individuals.

Rising Customer Sophistication is happening across the board. The transparency and velocity of information exchange throughout the entire value chain is creating innovation and tension at every level within that chain.

Technological Revolutions are at the heart of almost all of this. Having the power to change where, when and how we work, enabling organizations and individuals to be more agile and innovative is happening on a daily basis and we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg.

The World of Work trends are foundational—they’re foundational to how we act, where we invest and where we focus our thought leadership. They are drivers of secular

growth at the core of our business as well as in our specialty areas and outcome-based solutions. It is our grasp of these trends that gives us the confidence that we are addressing our clients and candidates with real solutions – solutions that are practical, adaptable and flexible.


Demographics


and Talent Mismatch

Demographic and economic shifts are accelerating the talent mismatch.

The pressure to find the right skills in the right place at the right time will increase as working age populations decline, economies rebound, emerging markets rise, and the nature of work shifts.


The recession has cast a new light on talent supply and management around the world. Unemployment is persistently high in developed and even in many developing countries, yet organizations worldwide report difficulty filling key positions. There are not enough sufficiently skilled people in the right places at the right times. Simultaneously, employers are seeking ever more specific skill sets and combinations of skills that will help drive the organization forward.

Employers are also facing ongoing, systemic talent shortages—such as those in the healthcare and energy industries—are not going to fill the gaps one hire at a time. Instead, they must recalibrate their mindsets to consider candidates who may not meet all of the job specifications, but whose capability gaps can be filled in a timely and cost-effective way.

The key to success with this new mindset is the ability to identify a

Teachable Fit

As the talent mismatch

grows more severe, the

“teachable fit” is a practical

framework that becomes

fundamental to talent

strategy—and employers

need a talent strategy that

not only keeps up with

business strategy, but

accelerates it.


“teachable fit.” “Teachable fit” is a concept that focuses on four questions:

What capabilities are essential •to performing the job?

Which of these are teachable •in an efficient way?

Is there adequate time and •money to develop these capabilities in the candidate?

Do candidates have the •capacity to develop them?

In any problem of supply-demand imbalance, employers have two options: to hold out for the perfect candidate or find the “teachable fit.” The focus here is on increasing the supply by changing the employer’s mindset regarding sources of available talent. To fill large and systemic talent gaps, four potential labor pools are promising: location migrants, industry migrants, internal role changers and workforce entrants.

Location migrants. The global workforce is on the move, and candidates may be willing to relocate for work—especially when the recession eases. However, employers are still learning to capitalize on this trend, while many governments are still unsure about whether or how to facilitate productive work migration. Three-fourths of workers said they’d consider relocating for a better job opportunity, one-third said they’d be willing to consider relocating anywhere in the world, and

Teachable Fit


40 percent said they’d consider moving permanently.

Industry migrants. Some industries are cutting their workforces, while others are

growing faster than the talent supply. Consider the talent available in low-growth industries that can migrate into new fields. Some of these people may have highly valued skills—such

as those in sales, finance, and management—that need translation to a new industry. Others may have skills adjacent to growing needs—such as technicians and field support—

Teachable Fit

MiningUtilitiesManufacturing

Federal GovernmentWholesale & Retail Trade

Other ServicesProfessional & Business Services

HealthcareEducation

-1.5 -1.0 -0.5 0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5

Shrinking Industries Growing Industries

Average annual rate of change (%)


and require more extensive training to bridge skills gaps.

Internal role changers. Often the best source of “new” talent is the people already in your company—if your organization has the foresight and ability to redeploy them into different roles or even careers.

Workforce entrants. The underemployed and under-skilled are another potential pool, especially as local governmental agencies and others move to help them with training and

other programs to enable their transition into the workforce.

Training and development are the keys to successfully tapping into the talent pools listed above, especially among the last three groups. This is where the concept of “teachable fit” comes in.

When employers can’t find candidates with the full range of skills needed for particular positions, they can recruit candidates who possess adjacent skills with an eye toward filling the gaps in their

capabilities. The important point here is to understand how fillable those gaps are—both in terms of technical skills and candidate mindsets—and at what cost. “Teachable fit” is a practical framework that can predict how successfully a candidate’s skills gaps can be filled.

The framework is an analytical tool that maps the capabilities needed for a given role against an individual’s likelihood of meeting those needs. The capabilities are divided into four groups:

Teachable Fit


Knowledge of business or academic disciplines or industries. Formal or explicit knowledge comes through study and is confirmed by academic degrees and business certifications. Informal or tacit knowledge comes through experience and association with knowledgeable colleagues. The key here is to recognize the importance of tacit knowledge and the means of attaining it.

Skills including both “hard” skills (e.g., technical or administrative

skills) and “soft” skills (e.g., conflict resolution or strategic thinking). Skills tend to be applied and pragmatic. They are acquired through practice and grow with experience. Hard skills can be confirmed by certification or apprenticeship. It is vital to recognize the importance of soft skills, rather than focusing only on candidate assessments on the easier-to-measure hard skills.

Values and Mindset represent what an individual seeks in life and on the job—one’s attitude

toward work. These are revealed through both conversation and behavior and are relatively difficult to shape. They are also capabilities associated with jobs. Some jobs require more day-in-day-out initiative and self-management than others. Some jobs depend on continuous learning and adaptation. The key here is to recognize these important traits when defining the job requirements.

Personality and Intelligence are basic characteristics. Some

Teachable Fit


Teachable Fit

people are naturally outgoing and empathetic and thus natural fits for customer service roles; others are the opposite. Some roles rely heavily on analytical intelligence, others on synthesis or creativity, others on emotional intelligence and many on combinations of the above. Again, the idea is to be as precise as possible about what a job or role calls for in terms of these traits.

After examining the four areas of capability, the employer then weighs each on two scales:

Is it important? How essential is the capability to performing the work well? The tendency may be to over-emphasize knowledge (e.g., through conventional academic degree requirements) and hard skills, when in fact the knowledge and skills directly required by the job may be basic. Similarly, the tendency may be to under-emphasize soft skills and traits when in fact they are absolutely essential to success in the role and the workplace. Employers should avoid this pitfall. According to

research from talent and career management expert Right Management (a Manpower company) the key factors leading to accelerated performance aren’t top-notch technical skills or previous experience, but such qualities as cultural fit and interpersonal savvy.

Is it teachable? To what extent and with what degree of difficulty can the capability be developed? Look first at the available methods—courses, mentors, opportunities to


practice, and so on—both inside and outside the organization. Don’t assume that because a capability is theoretically teachable, an organization is equipped to teach it. A staff may be experienced, but the question is whether they are willing and able to double as instructors. Carefully consider the time and cost needed to develop the capability. If either is prohibitive, then for practical purposes the capability is not teachable.

In developing each job taxonomy for “teachable fit,” the idea is not to generalize capabilities or lower standards. Rather, it’s to be more detailed and specific about the pragmatic requirements of the job, and more focused on the gaps that can be filled. This approach can help determine what capabilities really matter for success. By dissecting job roles, employers can identify the skills that can migrate across industries or be developed with relative ease.

As the global economy continues to improve, today’s talent mismatch will become more pronounced. Employers must recognize that the talent imbalance is not something they can fix one position and one well-qualified candidate at a time. The “teachable fit” framework is a key step in an approach that is more expansive, systematic and sustainable—a talent strategy that not only keeps up with business strategy, but accelerates it.

Teachable Fit


Teachable Fit

Capabilities Important?1 (low) - 5 (high)

Teachable?1 (low) - 5 (high)

KnowledgeBusiness or academic disciplines

Academic/Professional Discipline

Industry/Function/Process

Skills Demonstrated aptitudes and practices, both “hard” and “soft”

Technical

Problem-Solving

Communication

Planning/Organization

Collaboration/Teamwork

Values & Mindset Attitudes that people bring to jobs and jobs need in people

Self-Management/Autonomy

Initiative

Motivation to Learn

Personality & Intelligence Basic character and mental traits

Service Orientation

Analytical

Capacity to Learn

Teachable Fit Framework

Fixed

Flexible


Today’s global workforce is on the move as never before. Most employers and governments, however, are a long way from fully understanding the complex issue of talent mobility and its growing role in the talent shortages that are affecting today’s global labor markets.

The complexities are many. These are not the one-time, one-way migrations of yesteryear. Talent goes where talent is needed, and flights home are readily available for

those who wish to return. Work is moving too, as businesses set up operations near new markets and sources of supply.

Propelling the movement of talent around the world are widespread demographic changes—in particular the big gap in population growth between developed and developing countries. According to the United Nations, the world’s population is expected to increase by 2.6 billion over the next 40 years, and almost all of

The Borderless Workforce

Propelling the movement

of talent around the

world are widespread

demographic changes

– in particular the big

gap in population growth

between developed and

developing countries.


that growth will take place in the less developed regions.

Other factors are also accelerating the movement of workers. As a general rule, globalization creates further globalization: more people are exposed to communications about foreign cultures and more are traveling on vacation as well as for work. English as a second language is growing fast; China, for example, is accelerating its English teaching programs to ensure that its managers and

customer facing staff become more proficient in the world’s most prevalent business language.

So how should employers respond to the forces of talent mobility? Many see it as an opportunity to cut labor costs and elevate their skills mix. Others see it as a threat to their hold on their best talent. Of course, employers have only limited control over the factors that determine where workers work, and why.


No54%Yes

31%

Don’t Know15%

Employers Concerned About Losing National Talent

Source: Manpower Inc., Borderless Workforce Survey, 2008



The Taxonomy of the Talent Migration

Brain Waste: When a country is unable to retain highly skilled/educated people, who then willingly travel to other destinations and perform functions that are beneath their skill level. Individuals often accept this “trade-off” for better living conditions.

Brain Drain: When the migration of people possessing a higher education and in-demand skills exceeds that country’s ability to educate/train suitable replacements. Country of origin loses any return on its original investment in education and training.

Brain Circulation: Skilled personnel live and work in foreign countries for a certain period of time, then return to their country of origin or travel to a new destination country.

Brain Exchange: Transnational organizations engage in a comparable exchange of staff members between country operations.

Brain Globalization: Talent mobility as a component of international commerce. Transnational organizations and globalization require international mobility.

Brain Export: Common among some developing countries that choose to educate and export talent with the intention of comparable exchange in the medium- and long-term, via remittances, technological interchange or skills enhancement.


Some employers benefit from far-sighted, fact-driven governments that plan national talent strategies in detail and over the long term. Others chafe against inward- looking government immigration policies that make visa applications extremely time-consuming— to the point where many top foreign candidates go elsewhere. Talent mobility, then, is both the product and cause of an uneasy mix of unemployment and talent scarcity. It presents governments and employers with challenges

of a scope and scale they have not previously encountered – yet it offers them opportunities that they find difficult to imagine.

The increasingly mobile workforce has many faces. All sorts of workers are on the move – Jamaican agricultural workers each year head to Massachusetts in the U.S., Indian construction workers to Dubai, Latvian stone workers to Northern Ireland in the U.K., and British finance controllers to Shanghai, where 40,000

foreigners now work (“Number of Foreigners Working in China Soars,” People’s Daily Online, April 4, 2006 http://english.people.com.cn/200604/04/eng20060404_ 255781.html).

The skills mix is broad as well. At the upper end of the skills spectrum are the professionals and managers whose movements form a kind of internal labor market within multinational companies. They may also involve short-term assignments or commuting across borders.



The talent shortages, exacerbated by soaring wages, have sparked a big jump in the movement of skilled tradespeople as well. There also continues to be strong movement of low-skilled workers. In fact, laborers comprise the leading category now being filled with workers from foreign countries.

In the many cases where employers hire for specific positions – either directly or through agencies – foreign

workers will generally end up in jobs for which they are a good match. But where workers tend to act on their own, they can end up in jobs for which they are significantly over-qualified. That mismatch between skills and roles is one of the factors contributing to a big shift that has never been so apparent before: a huge “reverse-migration” movement.

Reverse migration, however, is not new and may have benefits beyond those for

individuals. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) argues that the temporary employment of foreign workers introduces flexibility into the labor market. This can help dissuade employers from resorting to the use of undocumented workers.

So what spurs people to leave their homes – other than the obvious issue of jobs elsewhere when there are none at home? There are many parallels that cut across all levels of



demographics and skills. Clearly, money and economic growth are significant drivers for those less skilled, and both physical and cultural distance militate against them moving.

For white collar workers, there can be many other factors moving them away from home. Many go for the adventure, to acquire new skills, to learn a language or improve their language skills. Still others see such moves as fast paths to accelerate careers; younger

up-and-comers can often take on more responsibility and gain more experience and business skills more rapidly in a foreign country than they ever could at home.

In the new global economy, more and more forward thinking employers choose to send their “high potential” managers overseas to gain the experience of other cultures and working styles. In fact, for managers in many multinationals, a cross-border assignment is now

considered mandatory for those aspiring to the executive suite. In the past few years, the percentage of S&P 500 CEOs with international experience has increased from 26 percent to 34 percent (“The Route to the Top for Today’s Enterprise Leader,” Spencer Stuart, 2008, http://content.spencerstuart.com/sswebsite/pdf/lib/GMstudy0408.pdf).

Not everyone believes that talent mobility is a good thing. There are the obvious factors



of dislocation from family and friends at home, cultural alienation and prejudice in the new workplace. And there can often be language issues – sometimes even within a nation’s borders – along with fierce competition with other migrants and with locals who see the newcomers as stealing jobs.

Talent mobility is a growing part of the solution to employers’ shortages of talent. But it is arguable whether even the best multinationals have

harnessed talent mobility as it must now be harnessed. It is not as simple as enhancing the current expatriate-deployment programs or adding enticements to relocation packages. What is needed is a holistic, far-sighted strategic approach. The process of forecasting and talent mobility planning will become an integral component of the business planning process as talent shortages worsen in the years ahead.

The process of

forecasting and talent

mobility planning will

become an integral

component of the

business planning

process as talent

shortages worsen in the

years ahead.



Individual


Choice

Individual Choice is eliminating the one-size-fits-all approach and elevating the need for one-size-fits-one.

Individuals are exercising the power of choice in all situations, choosing for and against opportunities. The increased specificity of skills that employers are seeking, coupled with the increased confidence in choice that individuals are exercising, is profoundly impacting governments, organizations and individuals worldwide.


Due to the indisputable fact that the working-age population is shrinking, the global talent squeeze will only get tighter, especially after we fully emerge from the current financial crisis. The recession doesn’t mitigate matters over the long term. Even now, positions at all levels continue to go unfilled in such service-sector fields as engineering, IT and healthcare. To address the problem, governments and enterprises must figure out how to expand their workforces. To do that, they

should look to one particular demographic group that is woefully underrepresented in the formal economy and has much more to contribute: women.

It is clear the world of work is undergoing a transformation. As the service sector continues its ascent, the need for workers is great and growing—even now. Economists say the number of service-sector jobs will grow by at least 500 million between 2004 and 2015. In the developed world, meanwhile,

The Underleveraged Solution

In the developed

world, meanwhile, the

population is aging and

the number of young

people entering the

workforce is shrinking.

There simply will not be

enough qualified workers

to fill the jobs that will

drive growth.


the population is aging and the number of young people entering the workforce is shrinking. There simply will not be enough qualified workers to fill the jobs that will drive growth.

The solution is to expand the labor pool. In 2008, the International Labour Organization (ILO) found that at the global level, the employment-to-population ratio – an index to how well economies are taking advantage of the productive potential of

their working-age population – was 49.1 percent for women in 2007 compared to 74.3 percent for men. The contemporary world of work sorely needs women to participate in higher numbers and appears to offer greater potential for the kind of flexibility that women so often need. Yet all too often women can’t, or won’t, participate.

The benefits of women participating in the workforce are striking, but there are many barriers. Some of the barriers are

cultural and therefore difficult to address at the policy level. But many are structural—vestiges of an age when the five-day, 40-hour week was the norm. That model is impractical for many women who bear primary responsibility for childcare and other family obligations. Companies and countries that evolve quickly to bring women into the workforce today give themselves a better chance to prosper over the long term. Those that don’t will struggle to stay competitive.



Getting women into the workforce is vital, but it’s just as important to keep them there. A paradigm shift is in order. We must value results and knowledge gained rather than time spent in the office. Paths toward advancement must be created for women—and others—who do not sit in an office five days a week, eight hours a day, so that they can achieve success at a pace that works for them.

Policies that support the rights of women and allow them to develop professionally while balancing work and home duties will reward organizations with higher employee engagement and retention levels.

A paradigm shift is in

order. We must value

results and knowledge

gained rather than time

spent in the office.



What percentage of your workforce is planning to retire in the next five to 10 years and what impact will it have on your organization? This is a key question that should be on the agenda for discussion at management meetings worldwide, as talent shortages worsen and replacements for those exiting the workforce become more difficult to find. But, even armed with this knowledge, few employers are finding any long-term solutions to prevent the obvious talent

shortages and brain drain that are clearly emerging.

The challenge presented by an aging workforce and pervasive talent shortages is complex and multi-faceted, which is why employers are still struggling to determine how best to plan ahead and gain a strategic advantage; it is not just a question of how to get older workers to remain relevant and continue contributing to the workforce; it is also about how to get the most out of the

The New Agenda for an Aging Workforce

The challenge presented

by an aging workforce

and pervasive talent

shortages is complex

and multi-faceted, which

is why employers are still

struggling to determine

how best to plan ahead

and gain a strategic

advantage.


younger generations, whose numbers are too small to fully replace those who have gone before them, and how to do this in a way that is consistent with the company’s culture.

Strategic plans to attract critical talent to the organization and retain the near-retirement population in key roles will become a key focus at this point, as it is now clear where the organization should be dedicating resources to ensure a steady supply of key talent. At

the same time, the organization will need to identify and develop high-potential employees to replace those exiting due to retirement. This cycle of demographic forecasting and workforce planning will become an integral component of the business planning process as talent shortages worsen.

One of the key reasons that employers are not doing more to try and recruit or retain older workers as part of their talent management strategy is simply

that they do not yet understand how to do so effectively. Employers have done much in recent years to provide better worklife balance for working parents; they have not yet gained a full understanding of what work-life balance means to the older worker.



The key to engagement of the older adult in the workforce is to focus on the same issues that are important to other age groups:

Performance-based compensation: Sending a clear message about the value of the individual rather than just paying more due to job tenure allows the older worker to know how he is performing compared to his peers.

Having a clear understanding of what is expected: Don’t assume that an older employee knows what is expected of her just because of her tenure. New management and a rapidly changing business world can leave an older worker uncertain of her priorities; just as it can her younger peer.

Having a sense of belonging: As the demographic composition of work groups evolves, care should be taken to ensure everyone is included in team-

building activities and informal communication channels.

Being treated equally and with respect: Disparate behavior toward older workers can happen in subtle ways such as planning team-building activities that the older worker cannot relate to, or giving all of the new learning opportunities to the younger members of the team. Supervisors need to be vigilant in recognizing the diversity of their team and making decisions that provide equal treatment.



Access to tools, resources, information and training: As with all other employees, the older worker needs the same level of tools, resources and information to perform effectively in her role. Further, it should not be assumed that because an individual is older and quite capable she is no longer interested in receiving training. Companies that create a culture of continuous learning for all employees will be the most successful in engaging their workforces.

Open and honest two-way feedback: Often, the older worker whose skills have faded is unaware that she is falling behind because supervisors and peers do not want to hurt her feelings. This is a disservice to the individual, who continues to require honest feedback in order to address performance issues adequately. Conversely, if the older worker does not have a two-way communication channel with her supervisor, she may feel unable to express her wishes to adjust her work relationship

due to changing priorities in her life. As a result, the supervisor misses the opportunity to retain the employee in a modified role and instead, loses her to retirement prematurely.

Strong teamwork: As with all employees, a strong sense of teamwork results in greater productivity for the team members. This remains true throughout an individual’s career, regardless of his full-time or part-time status.



Recognition: It is never a mistake to recognize a job well done. The need to provide recognition of employees across all age groups and levels is often overlooked by management, especially during the extremely busy periods when recognition matters most.

Opportunities for career advancement: Career development and advancement opportunities should remain available to all employees throughout the duration of

their careers. It is a mistake to assume that an individual is “coasting to retirement.”

Understanding how the role contributes to the success of the business: As business continues to evolve, it remains important for all employees to have a clear understanding of how they are contributing to the company’s overall goals.

A sustainable and growing economy will not be possible in the talent-poor future without a strong and vibrant labor market

that includes talent pools that are currently under-represented in today’s workforce.




Traditionalist

Born 1928–1945

Boomer

Born 1946–1964

Generation X

Born 1965–1979

Generation Y

Born 1980–

Each generation has different assumptions, motivations and expectations about work and makes different choices when it comes to where, when and how they work.

Regardless of generation, individuals need to think about the choices they make, as they are choosing against one thing when opting for another.

Organizations need to adopt more flexible mindsets, adjust work arrangements and people practices to recruit, retain and leverage the multi-generational workforce to win.

The Multi-Generational Workforce


Rise of


Customer Sophistication

Customers’ expectations around price and value will rise, shifting the key competitive differentiator from a company’s access to capital to access to talent.

Customers have more access to information, experts and lower cost channels which increases visibility and subsequent pressure on companies to deliver value. Employers have become more sophisticated in assessing their workforce and are looking for specific skills that enable their companies to do more with less to meet ever-rising consumer needs.


The recent economic crisis has changed the employment landscape forever. Employers have learned hard lessons about the need to transform their talent-acquisition strategies in the face of growing global competition. Now, as the business environment begins to improve, employers must be poised to respond quickly to a rapidly changing marketplace and growing disconnect between where labor is needed and where it is available. That means developing more flexible

workforces while keeping fixed costs low—doing more with less.

As the recession recedes, employers will rely more and more on external talent or contingent workers—whether they are temporary employees, contractors, outsourced workers or consultants—to achieve business goals in a more strategic, flexible way. A full 14 percent of employers across the globe now turn to contingent employees to try out candidates prior to hiring for permanent

Rules of Engagement

As the recession

recedes, employers will

rely more and

more on external talent

or contingent workers

to achieve business

goals in a more strategic,

flexible way.


positions, to provide longer-term flexibility, to quickly find talented people possessing specialized skills, and to outsource non-core business functions. Demand for specialist contractors and outsourced workers will rise, especially in knowledge-driven areas where technology allows talented people to work from anywhere in the world.

Contingent workers can indeed improve a company’s talent level, strategic options and productivity. Yet their contributions are by

no means a given. The key to maximizing contingent workers’ ultimate value, and for retaining the best individuals, is engagement—the degree to which workers are committed to the company and its business goals and overall strategy.

Study after study has shown that workers who stay engaged are more productive and more likely to recommend the workplace to others. And engaged contingent workers are more likely to stay or to accept

a repeat assignment, and more willing to accept a permanent position at the company should one become available. Perhaps most important to the pending recovery, engaged workers improve the bottom line.

Still, far too many companies struggle to engage their contingent workforce, primarily because they treat them as outsiders. More than a quarter of employers worldwide, for instance, do not expose their contingent employees to the

Rules of Engagement


same induction and assimilation processes as their permanent employees receive, a key cause of lower engagement levels. This is the case despite contingent workers wanting to be engaged and to feel that they are part of the host organization and are making a real contribution.

Companies can do much to help boost the engagement of their contingent workers. Consider these three approaches:

Segment the contingent workforce. Organizations

Levels of EngagementTemporary employees performing generalist tasks are typically the least engaged. Their efforts are not as clearly linked to overall performance, and they are less likely to be made to feel part of the team. To engage them, they must be treated with respect, and made to understand clearly how their job contributes to the organization’s goals.

Contractors, who most often have specialized niche skills, often feel a lack of engagement unless their performance is linked clearly to the company’s. Promoting their engagement involves making sure they have the tools they need to do their jobs, and are given honest feedback on their performance.

Outsourced workers, especially those hired directly by the outsourcing firm, often feel strongly engaged, but workers who have been transferred from the host company to the outsourcing firm may not. In both cases, maintaining their sense of belonging is key, as is making sure they receive recognition for the work they do.

Consultants typically feel more loyal to their own organizations, yet that can contribute to a sense of engagement with the host organization, as the work they do is typically the most directly connected with the host’s performance. The more that connection can be established, the more engaged and productive they will be.

Rules of Engagement


should develop customized, flexible strategies to accommodate different segments of the contingent workforce, just as they would with permanent employees.

Make them part of the team. Successfully engaging contingent workers rests largely on integrating them fully into the workplace, and keeping them integrated. Loyalty matters and making contingent workers feel like outsiders is no way to promote it.

Don’t ignore career development. Even though they are not permanent

employees, an ongoing program to improve the skills—and thus the value—of contingent workers will ultimately help the host organization meet its business objectives. By demonstrating the willingness to develop talent across all employee segments, companies can not only build their capabilities but also their employer brand, and thus attract and retain top talent in the future.

As the supply of talent continues to dwindle due to demographic shifts and globalization, employers will find themselves competing for

contingent labor as aggressively as they compete for permanent staff. In such an atmosphere, more and more workers of all ages are likely to find the flexibility of contingent work more suited to their lifestyle needs—whether that work is performed onsite for a client or virtually. If companies can develop the management processes required to keep their contingent workforce truly engaged and harness their potential, they have a real opportunity to create a workforce designed to meet their strategic business goals.

Rules of Engagement


Technological


Revolutions

Technological revolutions facilitate new ways of working.

Rapidly changing technology and greater global arbitrage increases individuals’ and organizations’ choice of where, when and how work is performed, and with whom.


Companies have often played catch-up in understanding how to harness new technologies without over-managing them. The latest technology innovation to hit the workplace is social media—Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Ning, Plaxo, Hi5 and Second Life—that let individuals connect, communicate and share information with revolutionary ease and power.

The growth of these social networks has been staggering, and people are using them

everywhere, including in the workplace. That’s what has business leaders worried. What are their concerns and how realistic are they?

Productivity loss. As social networking increases in popularity, employees, especially younger ones, will blur the distinction between the work use of social media and personal use, redefining the very meaning of work. Employers must get ahead of this curve, finding ways to use social media itself to help

Social Networks vs. Management?

In the case of social

networking, the benefits

are real, as social

networks are evolving

into commercial

networks—a means of

conducting business.


employees achieve the proper balance.

Reputation. A Manpower survey shows just four percent

of employers worldwide say their reputation has been damaged at some point by employees using social networking. Despite the

occasional high-profile incident, the potential for damage to a company’s reputation may be lower than many believe.


Technology has long transformed the way we work

1960 1970

Photocopier International Fax Standard

PC

Cell Phone

1980 1990 2000

Wi Fi

WWW

Online Social Networks

Laptop Computer

BlackBerry®

Pocket Calculator


Security. A persistent danger inherent in the use of social networking sites involves the risk of outside intrusions into company IT networks. Such attacks can mean the loss of sensitive data, as well as IT service disruptions. Network security software can certainly help mitigate these risks by blocking access to certain sites. Organizations should also develop and enforce formal guidelines on the use and abuse of social networking.

Corporate governance processes, however, should not limit the creative and value-adding activities of employees; rather, they should develop an atmosphere and promote a corporate culture that encourages such efforts. Corporate leaders need to look for ways to harness the popularity and business value of social media in order to boost organizational performance and further corporate goals.


Does your organization have a formal policy regarding employee use of external social networks such as Facebook and Twitter?

Global20%

Unsure

No

Yes

5%

75%

Americas29%

Unsure

No

Yes

2%

69%

Asia Pacific25%

Unsure

No

Yes

14%

61%

EMEA11%

Unsure

No

Yes

2%

87%


Twitter, Facebook and other platforms have already proved themselves to be a real boon to business. Fifty-four percent of Fortune 100 companies use Twitter to connect with customers, and 29 percent have a fan page on Facebook. And respondents to the Manpower survey cited “brand building” as the most promising use of social media. But we’re only just beginning to understand how they can be leveraged, so it’s vital to keep an open mind.

This kind of organizational change requires careful planning and management. Leaders must understand how social media can help their organization and should look to their employees for ideas. Equally, given the community-based nature of social media, it is important to empower employees to help lead the evolution—an ongoing process to be sure. Every technological change has led to an accompanying, often slower, cultural change as companies adjusted to a new way of

working. In turn, the adjustment often led to a new understanding of the meaning of work itself. In the case of social networking, these benefits are real, as social networks are evolving into commercial networks—a means of conducting business. Only by creatively channeling its use, however, will organizations succeed in reaping those benefits for sustained competitive advantage.



Implications to

"The winners in the changing world of work will be the

companies that master the art of leading a

multi-generational workforce and aligning a dynamic

mix of permanent and contingent workers to

optimize their performance, increasing their

flexibility and accelerating the execution of their

strategy, building talent capabilities, keeping

fixed costs low and doing more with less."

Jeff Joerres, Chairman and CEO


the World of Work

Driving Structural Changes —How do the trends impact. . .?Work Models

Managing a diverse and virtual workforce•Injecting flexibility in workforce mix: contingent and permanent•Leveraging technology for efficiency, productivity and innovation•Developing solutions to the market faster, more agile, differentiated, global•

People PracticesNimble and contemporary leadership•Connecting and collaborating colleagues•Embracing transparency and unfiltered communications•

Talent SourcesAgile talent strategies to attract, select, train and reskill in new ways•Reach undertapped and untapped talent pools: Consider talent migration, leverage women, engage older •workers and develop younger workersFind the “Teachable Fit”•


Manpower Inc. Research

The Borderless Workforce•

The New Agenda for the Older Workforce•

Rules of Engagement: Harnessing the Potential of the •Contingent Workforce

Social Networks vs. Management? Harness the Power of •Social Media

Teachable Fit: A New Approach for Easing the Talent Mismatch•

The Underworked Solution: Women and the Talent Crunch•

To obtain full copies of the Manpower research included in this booklet, please visit Manpower at http://www.manpower.com/ResearchCenter.


About Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. (NYSE: MAN) is a world leader in innovative workforce solutions; creating and delivering services that enable its clients to win in the changing world of work. With over 60 years of experience, the $16 billion company offers a range of solutions and services for the entire employment and business cycle including permanent, temporary and contract recruitment; employee assessment and selection; training; outplacement; outsourcing and consulting.

Manpower’s worldwide network of nearly 4,000 offices in 82 countries and territories enables the company to meet the needs of

400,000 clients per year, including small and medium size enterprises in all industry sectors, as well as the world’s largest multinational corporations. The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction across their total workforce, enabling clients to concentrate on their core business activities. Manpower Inc. operates under five brands: Manpower, Manpower Professional, Elan, Jefferson Wells and Right Management.

In 2010, Manpower was named to Fortune magazine’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies

in the staffing industry for the eighth consecutive year. In the same year, it was also named to the FTSE4Good Index Series, for companies that meet criteria in conducting socially responsible business practices globally. In 2009, Manpower was recognized as one of America’s Greenest Big Companies by Newsweek magazine and was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for the second consecutive year.

More information on Manpower is available at www.manpower.com.