In the past, we've resorted to treating everyone the same in our discrimination-sensitive, politically correct environments. Given the increasingly diverse workforce, organizations will need to offer more variety in rewards as they try to access the best and the brightest in a seller's market.
Anne Ruddy, CCP, President, WorldatWork

Not only is the workplace changing dramatically, the wants, needs and desires of employees are vastly different now than they were a decade ago - and they are evolving even further. According to human resource association WorldatWork, employers must change the way they view rewards to match the expectations of employees. See whitepaper.

WorldatWork released eight trends that will change the nature of human capital management in 2008 and beyond. The predictions are intended to compel organizations and total rewards professionals to position themselves to take advantage of the coming changes, and not be blindsided by them. Preliminary findings were announced at the WorldatWork Total Rewards Asia Pacific Conference, which took place in early November in Singapore.

"In an environment where the global scope of opportunity and technology are all-pervasive influences, an organization's interaction with a rapidly changing labor force will result in dramatic transformations in workforce management, work design, outsourcing and training," said Anne Ruddy, CCP, president of WorldatWork.

An exhaustive literature review of futurist books and articles coupled with critical analysis by WorldatWork knowledge leaders formed the basis of the effort. Several themes surfaced consistently that will require human resource practitioners to re-think their approach to managing human capital. Total rewards professionals must examine these predictions for opportunities to contribute to the business goals and actively define their role for the future.

Following are the eight predictions on the future of work:

1. The successful organization of the future will excel at acquiring, organizing and strategically deploying global resources.

2. There will be increased global connectivity, integration and interdependence in the economic, social, technological, cultural and political spheres.

3. Technology will advance at an even more rapid pace than in previous decades.

4. There will be continuous, dramatic changes in the labor force.

5. Human capital will become an even greater source of value.

6. The way work is organized and performed will evolve and change continuously.

7. Outsourcing will increase.

8. Self-paced, self-directed individualized virtual learning will dominate business training.

"These predictions have wide-reaching implications for the professions involved in employee attraction and retention," said Ruddy. "An organization's ability to attract, motivate and retain will emerge as the primary indicator of fiscal performance and survival."

The WorldatWork white paper covers several implications for human capital strategy, including:

Labor Force – Workers will value job enrichment, flexibility and career development above job security and stability; employers will need to respond to this shift.

Work Design – Dramatic technological advances, i.e. telecommuting hubs and virtual worlds, will mean that being "at work" won't necessarily mean being at the office. Managers must learn to manage what they can't see.

Outsourcing – Organizations will look for ways to pull jobs apart to find pieces to outsource. Thought must be given to the motivation of workers assigned "pieces" of the work.

Training – Digital communities will flourish, and experts will assert themselves through these communities. Training will be available in small, readily accessible, easy-to-use modules for use at any time.

"In the past, we've resorted to treating everyone the same in our discrimination-sensitive, politically correct environments," Ruddy said. "Given the increasingly diverse workforce, organizations will need to offer more variety in rewards as they try to access the best and the brightest in a seller's market."