21st Century Presents HR Challenges

For HR professionals, the new century will take up where the old one left off - with the struggle to recruit and retain a trained, satisfied workforce. Recruiting will continue to be a key issue, John A. Challenger, CEO of the international outplace firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, tells Human Resource Management News. "The search for people with the proper experience is making HR a primary, critical factor in a company's competitive position. One dot-com executive said the focus on recruiting is the #1 business strategy," he says. No Relief from Shortage HR cannot expect quick relief from the worker shortage. With the unemployment rate standing at high "the type of worker being sought in the coming years increasingly is more skilled or higher educated than in the past. The pool of such people is running dry," Of the studies made during last 10 years industry sectors in India, the biggest demand for workers might have came from manufacturers, of consumer durable goods, of IT companies and from service sector and also from infrastructure. In the coming years though the economy is growing at slower rate than the earlier years reported plans to hire new employees and there will be more recruitments in future especially young people with specialized skills. Growth doesn't come cheaply. The some occupations expected to experience the fastest employment growth - computer engineers, computer support specialists, systems analysts, and database administrators, financial specialists, people with special talents and innovative ideas in manufacturing and service sector. As projected Indias future growth will be mostly in service sector and also in manufacturing as the government and policy makers are giving more emphasis in such sectors. Challenger foresees HR using best practices to create an environment that attracts people and makes them want to stay. "HR will be tailoring the softer benefits. Instead of stock programs, they will listen to individuals and give them access to things that work for them, that make the environment their kind of place. For one person that might mean coming in at 10 a.m. so that they can see the children off to school. For another person it might be tuition support." Companies should be prepared to handle downsizing, even in today's tight labor market. HR should be prepared to handle the challenge of taking care of those people, he says, because "it says something about the organization to the people who stay. A lot of time HR has to be the one to stand up for the people in the face of all the cost cutting."

End of the Weekend Among the changes that Challenger foresees is the end of the weekend. "Technology, as well as the change in the traditional workweek and how jobs are defined, will combine to give us more autonomy over when we work," And more and more that means working on weekends. "We are paying more for productivity and performance and output - when you can do it or when it needs to be done. Time is going to be more flexible in the coming years." To stay competitive, employers will rely on what Challenger calls "Inter-econ workers" who will be willing to work the flexible hours associated with an increasingly Internet-oriented, nonstop marketplace. These workers are comfortable with the latest technology and rely heavily on portable tools such as cellular phones and palmtops. There is already evidence of this new, more flexible worker.. These work arrangements have many advantages, but Challenger cautions that they may cause workers even more stress. Finding Balance HR's job will be to put together programs that help employees find the right balance between home and work, according to Challenger. That will be especially important for people who are work for years, who are turning their attention away from their children toward their elderly parents, who are living longer and need care. Increased use of telecommuting can help maintain a proper balance, he says, allowing employees to work at home and avoid lengthy commutes. While "telecommuting is the next big transforming movement," it creates its own potential problems, according to Challenger. "How do you create teamwork, morale, synergy, a connection among employees? It's harder to create synergy in isolation." HR is accustomed to dealing with a diverse workforce, and will find a way to direct these workers toward a common purpose. People will continue to find a sense of community outside work, Challenger believes, but they may feel the loss of the central workplace. "We may see the creation of a 'director of socialization' as more people are asked to be on the road and are not linked to a central office,". With the 21st century underway, non profit, government, and private organizations seek to adapt to an ever-changing professional environment. Within these organizations, human resources, HR, departments face particular challenges. Their role, human resources management, includes the hiring of new employees, the administration of benefits, and the monitoring of regulation compliance. To best prepare themselves for the changing face of human resources management, HR departments must rise to the challenges of retaining and building a talented workforce.

1. Multi-Generational Workforce
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One major challenge human resources departments face is serving multiple generations within a single workforce. Today Generation X, and Generation Y staff members may work in the same organization, often with differing needs, expectations, and strengths. While millions of Generation X and Generation Y are currently employed in the work place, the 21st century will see extreme changes in workplace expectations and environment. For the incoming workforce, the "hired for life" mentality of the past will be obsolete as workers increasingly change employers after 3 to 5 years of work. Placing more emphasis on proper work-life balance, they will be motivated by learning opportunities and positive feedback. To retain these employees, human resources departments must be ready to respond to these needs.

Changing Role
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As they prepare themselves for the 21st century, human resources departments must adapt to their changing role within an organization. Moving from a traditional to a strategic approach, human resources management in the 21st century will be much more dynamic than in the past. The basic personal functions that characterized traditional human resource management, such as maintenance of personal files and records and the processing of documents, will be replaced by a focus on promoting the abilities, skills, and knowledge of employees. HR departments can best prepare for their changing role by adopting a "human investment perspective" that is more active than reactive and that no longer relies on the hierarchical organizational structures of the past. Instead, the focus will be on catering to the needs of consumers and employees and using business strategies in human resources policies and practices.

Recruitment Challenges
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Recruiting a workforce that reflects today's reality is another challenge for human resources departments. To address the challenge of attracting a new generation of employees, HR professionals can tap into the popularity of the Internet. With online job postings and company websites, human resources departments are now able to conduct around-the-clock recruiting. With this wider scope, recruitment efforts can no longer be limited to the HR department and will increasingly involve numerous departments and actors within an organization. To develop a workforce that reflects the diversity of consumers and clients, HR departments should reach out to minority groups that were discriminated against and excluded in the past. Recruitment strategies can include the use of minority recruiters, targeting universities with high minority enrollment, and forging relationships with minority organizations and people from deprived section of the society.