Talent Edge Weekly - Issue #88

Covers workforce strategies, 6 predictions for the future of performance management, mental health at work, and learning practices of effective learning cultures.

October 17, 2021

Welcome to this week’s issue of Talent Edge Weekly—the weekly newsletter for human resources practitioners, bringing together insights about work, the workplace, and the workforce from various sources.

If you find value in this issue or any of its resources, please share them with your network by using the social media icons at the top of the newsletter.

Have a great week, and I look forward to sharing more ideas in next week’s Edge!

Brian 

Brian Heger is a human resources practitioner with a Fortune 150 organization and has responsibilities for Strategic Talent and Workforce Planning. To connect with Brian on Linkedin, click here.

THIS WEEK'S CONTENT

  • FINAL UPDATE: How 20+ Companies (Now 149) Are Adjusting Their Return-to-Office Dates and Vaccine- Mask Mandates Due to Delta Variant | BrianHeger | I share my final update on how 149 firms are approaching their return-to-office dates and vaccine mandates.

  • Report: Preparing for the Short and Near-Term Future of Work | Deloitte Development | A 30-page report that includes several questions for firms to consider as they develop and execute both short- and long-term workforce strategies.

  • 6 Predictions for the Future of Performance Management | Gartner | Shares six ways how employers will shift performance management over the next three to five years.

  • 2021 Mental Health at Work Report | Qualtrics and ServiceNow | A 31-page report that shares findings from a recent study on mental health at work; shares strategies for enabling mental health.

  • The Workforce Learns 2021 Report | Degreed | A 34-page report that explored four conditions and 15 learning practices that lead to positive learning cultures and learning experiences at work.

THIS WEEK'S EDGE

Ten weeks ago, I published an initial list of how 20 companies were approaching their return-to-office dates and vaccine mandates. And as Covid-19 cases surged because of the more contagious Delta variant, I have updated this list each week as firms increasingly announced their decisions on these topics. As the number of company announcements on this topic has recently declined, I will discontinue updating this list. This list, the most viewed resource on my website, includes 149 companies based on 140 references. A few final highlights: 1) Amazon announced it will let company managers decide when corporate employees need to return to the office, if at all. This announcement is a shift from its previous decision that office workers should resume working from offices in January. 2) Roughly 32 percent of firms on my list—that announced a clear return to office date—are returning in 2022. 3) A 48-page Cushman & Wakefield report notes that, as of September 2021, approximately 40% of all global office workers have returned to the office. Most office workers globally are expected to return to the office in the first quarter of 2022. You can continue to access this list via the web link., and I hope you have found this reference to be a helpful resource for you and your organizations over the past months. 

This 30-page report raises several questions for firms to consider as they develop and execute both short- and long-term workforce strategies. The report is organized into three sections: 1) Work: Are we returning to the way we worked before stronger, or adopting new ways of working to produce different work outcomes and create value? 2) Workforce: Are we combining skills, talent options, and experiences to shift workforce design or transforming the workforce? 3) Workplace: Are we updating the context and environment in which work is done or completely reimagining it based on technology and workforce preferences? I find this to be a practical and helpful report given: a) Within each section, it breaks down various workforce practices and topics (e.g., employment brand, workforce planning) b) it raises multiple specific questions for each practice/topic, c) the questions are organized by two-time horizons: 12 months and 2-4 years. For example, for workforce planning, a shorter-term question is, “Have we determined the kinds of work we will shift to virtual (or hybrid) work arrangements on a more permanent basis?” A longer-term question might focus on workforce scenario planning. Short and long-term strategies should be viewed in tandem when developing a workforce strategy. An excellent document of practical value.  

Firms continue to reconsider the purpose and value of performance management (PM). And given the shift in where, when, and how employees work, organizations must consider several implications as they reevaluate their PM. This article shares six ways how employers will shift PM over the next three to five years. The six insights range from “performance reviews and pay decisions will shift to be project-based” to “feedback and development will become more automated.” One insight that caught my attention is No.3: Performance ratings will reflect more context and empathy. Since context affects performance outcomes—and given that context continues to change increasingly—managers’ will be expected to consider contextual factors when evaluating performance. Said differently, managers will practice empathetic PM and ask questions such as: Did a top-performing employee take on a new-in-kind role on a project to learn new skills? Did an employee find it hard to focus on work because of a personal tragedy? Are teams struggling to achieve their goals due to recurring hiccups in collaboration technology? Empathy continues to be among the attributes of culture and leadership that matter most to employees and will need to permeate most talent practices.

At the beginning of this year, I mentioned in my article, 2021 HR Trends and Priorities: A Summarized View of 9 Sources, how employee well-being (EWB) is a priority for many organizations. And as workers place greater emphasis on their well-being, EWB will be a focus for many organizations in the years to come. This 31-page report shares findings from a recent study on a critical component of EWB: mental health at work. The study is a follow-up from a 2019 study that includes statistically significant sample sizes for demographic groups across gender identity, racial and ethnic communities, generational divides, the LGBTQ+ community, and more. While there are several insights throughout the report, one point to reinforce is that mental health's future is culture, not simply perks. This point speaks to the narrative around mental health being framed as an individual issue to solve using benefits and perks. While these perks and benefits (e.g., mental health day or an internal self-care campaign) provide support, a large part of mental health at work is affected by how an organization operates and how its people are valued.As firms refine their EWB practices,they should keep in mind "the future of workplace mental health is culture change — of openness, transparency, and, compassion from organizations and leaders, of safe and supportive environments for mental health, of healthy and sustainable ways of working."

LinkedIn’s 2021 Workplace Learning Report notes that upskilling and reskilling is the top priority for L&D pros globally. And, according to BCG’s 2021 research on 32 HR and people practices, upskilling, reskilling, and learning and development ranked #2 in terms of the most significant gaps between current capabilities and future importance. As learning functions address these areas, this 34-page report by Degreed examines the behaviors, values, and assumptions that lead to positive learning and career growth experiences at work. Based on survey results from over 2,400 workers from 15 countries across multiple industries, respondents were divided into two groups: 1) Promoters- those who rated their cultures as positive and 2) Detractors - those who rated it as neutral or negative. Companies with positive learning cultures have four conditions that are present for promoters and absent for detractors: 1) Guidance on what and how to learn 2) Diverse and active development experiences. 3) Feedback and insights on progress. 4) Opportunities to practice, apply, and stretch skills. The report offers 15 actions (e.g., give employees a reason to update skill profiles more regularly) that enable these four areas. One key insight is that instead of focusing on creating and offering more content, L&D teams need to shift their strategies more towards creating these four conditions and 15 practices for continuous learning. 

MOST SHARED RESOURCE FROM LAST WEEK

2021 Women in the Workplace Report | LeanIn.org and McKinsey | A 62-page report that shares new findings on the impact of the pandemic on the experiences and careers of women. 

TWEET OF THE WEEK

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Partial View of Book Recommendations

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