Here is an abridged version of issue 225 - The Best of February of Talent Edge Weekly. The abridged version only includes links and brief descriptions of the 18 sources covered.

While the full version of the Best of February issue provides many more insights and supplemental resources, this abridged version is for those who just want easy access to the 18 resources.

I. Workplace Trends

Return-to-office, 2024 human capital trends report, GenAI, 4-day workweek study, and the impact of work-from-home on working mothers’ participation in the workforce.

• Return-to-Office Mandate Updates from 7 Organizations | Brian Heger | A one-page snapshot of a segment of organizations that have updated their return-to-office guidance.

• 2024 Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends Report | Deloitte Insights | Shares Deloitte’s new 122-page report on the most pressing workplace issues. One topic is “microcultures.”

• How Generative AI Is Changing The Future Of Work: Navigating the Transformation to Come | Oliver Wyman Forum | Shares insights for organizations to consider as they develop and implement strategic plans for integrating AI into the workplace.

• Generative AI and the Workforce | The Burning Glass Institute | A new 26-page report on how GenAI will impact industries, companies, and jobs; shares questions organizations should be asking in response.

• Making It Stick: The UK 4-Day Week Pilot One Year On | University of Cambridge, University of Salford, and Autonomy Research | A new paper that provides a one-year update from a study conducted on the 4-day workweek.

• Has the Rise of Work-from-Home Reduced the Motherhood Penalty in the Labor Market? | University of Virginia and University of Southern California | Presents research on the impact of work-from-home opportunities on working mothers’ participation in the workforce.

II. Talent Practices

Overhiring, talent acquisition strategies, employee retention, mitigating talent risks, skill-based organizations, the ROI of upskilling, addressing pay gaps, and change fatigue.

• Why Do Companies Hire Too Many People? | Josh Bersin | Shares five tactics for mitigating overhiring in organizations.

• Layoffs and Strict Return-to-Office Mandates as Sources for Talent Acquisition: A Worksheet | Brian Heger | A worksheet designed to identify organizations to recruit from based on their stricter return-to-office mandates and/or recent layoffs.

• How Employee Turnover Fueled Boeing’s Quality Control Nightmare | Fortune | Discusses how changing workforce demographics and the loss of experienced workers in Boeing’s assembly plants have had a negative impact on quality control.

• Talent and Workforce Risks Template | Brian Heger | An editable template to help identify and address 10 talent and workforce risks.

• Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? Questions About Becoming a Skills-based Organization | The Talent Strategy Group | Raises 17 questions for critically evaluating an organization’s pursuit of becoming a skill-based organization.

• Skills-Based Hiring: The Long Road from Pronouncements to Practice | Harvard Business School and The Burning Glass Institute | New research examines the impact of removing academic degree requirements on the increased hiring of candidates without degrees.

• Is Your Upskilling Program Paying Off? | BCG | Shares a three-step approach to assist companies in better evaluating the "return on learning investment."

• A Better Way for Companies to Address Pay Gaps | Harvard Business Review | Covers how a pay equity analysis can help address systematic biases in an organization’s salary structure.

• Employee Fatigue Has Broken Change Management — What

  Can CIOs Do? | Gartner | Covers how organizations can consider “change fatigue” when determining the timing and pace of technology changes and implementations.

III. HR EFFECTIVENESS

Chief HR Officers impact in three areas, talent priorities of interest to boards of directors, and a template for (re)evaluating HR priorities.

• The Role of CHROS in Winning Through Change and Disruption | The Conference Board | Provides ideas on how Chief HR Officers can support their organizations through hybrid work, AI, and leadership development.

• Time to Rethink Talent in The Boardroom | Deloitte Insights | Provides insights into which talent and workforce-related topics boards are prioritizing. I share a bonus resource.

• HR Initiative Prioritization Template | Brian Heger | I share my one-page editable template for reevaluating HR priorities and initiatives. Can also be used for non-HR functions.