2016 is coming to a close fast so more companies are looking into 2017 and what are the trends that could impact the workplace in the near future. Research Director at Future Workplace and frequent Forbes Contributor Dan Schawbel compiles an annual end-of-the-year trends list on what he predicts could affect business and operations for the coming year.
For 2017, here are the top 5 trends we could be seeing in workplaces everywhere:
- Companies focus on improving their candidate experiences.
Companies have always created marketing experiences for customers, and prospects, in order to delight them, increase loyalty and grow their revenues. Next year, you will see the walls come down between your HR, marketing and customer service departments in order to develop experiences for both candidates and employees. A recent study found that nearly 60% of job seekers have had a poor candidate experience and 72% of them have shared their experience on an online employer review site such as Glassdoor.com. When employers don’t notify candidates of their application status, they are discouraged from ever applying for another job at that company again, which limits their future talent pool. Furthermore, a bad candidate experience can turn away customers who may be your candidates, thus resulting in a loss of potential revenue. - The blended workforce is on the rise.
In the past five years, the gig economy has become a major trend impacting the global workforce, and has created a new kind of diversity, with full-time permanent employees working side-by-side with freelancers. A study exploring the gig economy found that 93% of companies already identify the blended workforce as they’re seeing freelance workers teaming up with employees to work on projects together. Multiple studies from Intuit to The Freelancer’s Union predict that at least 40% of the workforce will be freelancers in the next few years. As more companies hire on-demand to solve key problems and cut costs by removing healthcare coverage, and other employee benefits, more freelancers and full-time workers will need to work together. With many freelancers working at remote offices, the ability to manage without borders is going to become a critical skills globally. - Annual performance reviews evolve into more continuous reviews.
One of the biggest discussions in HR circles is performance reviews, how to transform them and implement something new that serves both managers and employees. Professionals today desire instant feedback, a behavior they’ve adopted from the instant gratification they receive on social networks like Twitter and Facebook. The annual performance review is coming to an end on a global scale as generation Zs and millennials are currently receiving feedback either daily (19%), weekly (24%) or regularly (23%). In the United States, 28% of gen Z and 17% of millennials receive feedback regularly. GE abolished their annual reviews and instead created “Touchpoints,” where there is a daily development focusing on results and changing business demands, which has resulting in a five times increase in productivity in the past year. - Augmented and virtual reality revolutionize recruiting and training.
While there has been a lot of hype around new forms of reality in 2016, companies are going to take it a lot more serious in 2017 as new equipment, programs and use cases surface. Virtual reality hardware revenue is set to reach over eight billion in the next two years and the amount of money invested will be over four hundred million with 25 million users by that time. Virtual and augmented reality can help close the experience gap for job seekers and allow employee training to be more engaging, less expensive and free of distractions. For instance, The British Army is already using VR in their recruitment process, General Mills has a virtual reality tour of their offices and GE implements VR at career fairs where students wear headsets to explore their oil-and-gas recovery machines. - The war for talent heats up as the employer and employee contract continues to evolve.
The average tenure for employees, regardless of age is a mere 4.6 years in the United States and based on numerous studies we’ve conducted, millennials leave after two years. Through hardware, including smartphones and wearables, and social networking sites, talent is more freely available and talent has more opportunities to choose from. 76% of full-time workers are either actively looking for a job or open to new opportunities and 48% of employers are unable to fill their job vacancies because of the skills gap and high attrition rates. This is why you will see an even greater emphasis on the employee experience in 2017 because companies are being forced to focus more on corporate culture and values than pay in order to retain employees.
To see Dan’s full list, read his full article at Forbes.com.
At SoloPoint Solutions, we review how upcoming workplace trends could possibly impact how mechanical, electrical and manufacturing engineers get hired and retained. To see if we have an engineering talent that matches your workplace culture, call us today at (408)246-5945 or (714)708-3639.