HR professionals have had their hands full in recent months. In fact, a recent survey showed that this has been the most stressful year of their working lives. And with unemployment expected to remain high and a majority of people in the labor force looking for new jobs due to the pandemic—HR executives are looking for ways to re-build their workforce.
Gartner’s Brian Kropp says 2021 will be another year full of reinvention. But how far will HR teams have to stretch and where should they start? We’ve reviewed the latest research from leading organizations like Gartner and have highlighted five HR trends worth looking into this year.
Online HR trends resource XpertHR asked 563 U.S. employers in a September 2020 survey to rate expected workplace challenges in 2021 and found that recruiting and hiring while the nation struggles to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic tops the list.
The number of skills that employers are looking for has risen dramatically, with a Gartner analysis showing that companies listed about 33% more skills on job ads in 2020 than they did in 2017. Unfortunately, organizations can’t reskill the capabilities of their existing workforce fast enough to meet their changing needs.
While some companies will hire and pay a premium price for skills when the need manifests, other organizations will instead expand their use of contingent and contract hiring or expand their partnerships with organizations to “rent” employees for a short period of time to meet the skill needs that they are facing.
“As the speed of in-demand skills accelerates, companies will shift their investment away from build strategies and focus more on buying and renting talent than they have ever before,” said Kropp.
Covid-19 has been more than an accelerator into the future, Deloitte found it’s brought a dramatic shift to new ways of working—highlighting “superteams” as the way of the future.
Combining people and technology to produce outcomes more quickly and at a greater scale than would otherwise be possible, Deloitte’s recent report suggests using technology to design work that helps humans perform at their best. “Your tools can help people collaborate in teams, break down silos among functions and businesses, create knowledge, learn in the flow of work, and personalize and humanize the work experience, they stated.”
As organizations shift to a “thrive mindset” by embracing disruption as a catalyst for growth, Deloitte says, “Increasing their reliance on superteams may help them drive growth, navigate uncertainty, and unlock the potential of their workforce.”
Remote, flexible work was the name of the game in 2020 and will remain paramount in 2021 as customized work schedules and flexible pay will accelerate transformation. According to ADP, approximately 44% of employers now have official flexible working policies established, up from 24% prior to the pandemic.
Gartner’s 2020 Reimagine HR Employee Survey revealed that only 36% of employees were high performers at organizations with a standard 40-hour work week. Organizations that offer employees flexibility over when, where and how much they work, see 55% of their work force as high performers.
Kropp said, “In 2021, I expect to see a rise of new jobs where employees will be measured by their output, as opposed to an agreed-upon set of hours.”
If an unprecedented pandemic has taught us anything—it’s to be prepared for anything.
“Crisis adds to organizational complexity, straining design, culture and value proposition,” shared Gartner in their recent HR report. “Whether it’s a pandemic, a natural catastrophe, or something else that proposes an imminent threat to your business, you can plan for the unexpected by creating a crisis response plan. Because at the end of the day, if employees don’t feel safe or supported at work, then they aren’t able to bring their best selves to work.”
Although it may seem impossible to predict what’s around the corner, creating a crisis HR response plan and getting your team on board will help ease minds—ensuring you have a plan in place to turn to should the need arise.
McKinsey & Company shows how HR can drive workforce planning by reviewing how disruptive trends affect employees, identifying future core capabilities, and assessing how supply and demand apply to future skills gaps.
Moving to a skills focus also requires innovative sourcing to meet specific work-activity needs (for example, the gig economy and automation), and changing which roles companies need to source with traditional full-time-equivalent positions and which can be done by temporary workers or contractors.
In their survey, McKinsey & Company shared that, “70 percent of global executives said that two years from now they expect to use more temporary workers and contractors than they did before the COVID-19 crisis.”
By shifting the supply and demand equation, organizations can build a talent marketplace that actively addresses both sides of the workforce planning equation.
Searching for a way to rebound and recover faster this year? Check out how these leading organizations are reaping new benefits by following some of the above HR trends.
An experienced, accomplished and passionate leader, Mario is a quintessential “people person” that loves relationship building and dynamic problem-solving—which allows him to learn something new every day.
Bringing more than 35 years of executive experience to the Hyer team, Mario retired in 2018 as the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Franchise Business Unit of PepsiCo North America. With an impressive track record of leading large and complex businesses to exceed profit targets, revenue growth, market share and organizational goals—he instilled a spirit of partnership among both company-owned and independent bottlers. That spirit of partnership still exists in the work he does today.
He holds a BS Degree in Business Administration from the State University of New York at Oswego.
Mario and his wife, Susan, reside in Brewster, New York—but flock to Palm Beach, Florida during the winter months so he can work on his golf game.
Breathing life into an idea and making it a reality, Jen has spent countless hours building the Hyer platform with three goals in mind: giving people a sense of purpose by providing them with meaningful work opportunities; helping businesses solve workforce problems; and giving back to the communities we serve.
Her passion for helping solve business challenges has fueled Jen for more than two decades. Prior to co-founding Hyer, she worked at PepsiCo—where she was responsible for overseeing the Sales and Go-to-Market IT systems for Pepsi North America Beverage—which spanned 35,000 users across US and Canada. In her role, Jen worked with Dave and Pankaj to spearhead the Sales Transformation initiative, which drove significant top and bottom line benefits for the company.
Jen holds a B.S. in Business Administration and a Master’s Degree in MIS from the State University of New York at Albany.
Going on Who Wants to be a Millionaire? If 80’s & 90’s music and hairbands come up—use your phone a friend on Jen—she’ll have your back.
Standing at the forefront of expertise and innovation, Hyer Founder and CEO, Dave Dempsey knows a thing or two about fulfilling work. Backed by nearly four decades of executive experience—Dave launched Hyer in 2019 in an effort to change the way work gets done—while empowering people along the way.
Prior to starting Hyer, Dave spent 37 years at PepsiCo, building a strong reputation throughout many strategic and executive roles—most recently serving as the Vice President of Sales Transformation. Over his tenure at PepsiCo, Dave was the proud recipient of multiple awards—recognizing him for his proven results, outstanding ethics and overall drive for success.
While Dave is thrilled to have received Pepsi’s most prestigious honor, the Chairman’s Award, the most notable honors that top his personal list include his family, friends and faith. Dave is also a highly respected and competitive cornhole player, currently retaining the title for reigning champion at family events.
Dave holds a BA in Marketing from the University of Hartford in Connecticut.
Pankaj is not your average CTO. He has the ability to think creatively and analytically at the same time—making him our go to guy for nearly any problem. With deep knowledge of technology and infrastructure—coupled with strategy—Pankaj is able to think outside the box and give form and shape to ideas that continually drive results. From legal and financial to market research and branding—his expertise and dedication has helped position Hyer for growth time and time again.
Bringing more than two decades of experience to the Hyer team, Pankaj led Pepsi Beverages Mobility Strategy—which was part of a $100 million dollar sales transformation program designed to support their 30,000+ strong sales force. Driving the development, deployment and oversight of 19 sales and GTM mobile apps—his work enabled the sales team to achieve stellar results.
Pankaj holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Engineering from the prominent Indian Institute of Technology.
If bass guitar strikes a chord with you, his band Raagatonic might be up your alley!
Dan knows a thing or two about solving operational headaches—and works tirelessly to ensure things run not just smoothly—but efficiently. Continuously helping customers improve the way they go about their business; Dan also leads efforts to attract and retain Taskers in meaningful ways.
Passionate about providing a new way for people to make a living outside of the normal corporate structure, Dan was Hyer’s first (and #1 Tasker)—which gave him a deep appreciation for the 50,000+ Taskers who have since followed.
Before joining Hyer, Dan worked for PepsiCo where he managed sales efforts that drove 12 million in gross revenue. Dan received B.A. in Business with a focus in marketing from John Carroll University—go Blue Streaks!
If you’re looking to start a garden—Dan’s the man you want to ask for advice. Just don’t hit him up on beach volleyball night.
When it comes to digging in and making sense of numbers, Joey is our go-to guy. Managing the day-to-day accounting and finance functions at Hyer—he lends a hand to ensure overall operations are running smoothly (and on budget).
Working alongside family—Joey jumped at the chance to join the Hyer team early on as he firmly believes the Hyer App has tremendous potential to positively impact the way work gets done.
Prior to joining Hyer in 2019, Joey spent several years working in due diligence and has extensive knowledge in financial analysis and revenue trends. He holds a BBA in Accounting from Loyola University in Chicago.
While Joey loves to talk numbers—if you really want to kickstart a conversation—just ask him about his can koozie collection.