TalenT ManageMenT:The nexT wave

Plan SOURCe aSSeSS DevelOP Manage ChanDleRMaCleOD.COM

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Note: Numbers on graphs may not add to 100% due to rounding of individual percentage figures.

3 Executive Summary

5 The war for talent is over, and the talent won

6 4 Generations, 1 Workplace

8 What do the generations want?

9 Millennials

10 Gen X

11 Baby Boomers and Traditionalists

12 The increasing importance of ‘the why’

13 What can employers do better?

14 The end of the 9-5 workday

14 Flexible work arrangements

18 Managing OHS responsibilities of the ‘invisible workforce’

19 Workplace flexibility and diversity

22 Indigenous Australians

24 Digital will fundamentally change HR as we know it

25 Mobility is driving ease of use and impact

25 Analytics is driving customised talent management

28 Are employees experiencing technology overwhelm?

28 Pros and cons of technology in talent management

28 Gamification: game changer or fad?

30 Recommendations

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Tip: click on contents and links to navigate through the document.

executive SummaryAs the global economy stabilises, employers are increasingly being forced to shift their focus from cost reduction to talent retention, engagement and development.

Today’s workforce is more dynamic and more demanding than ever. Data is becoming a valuable currency. Employees are demanding more flexible, dynamic and diverse work arrangements. A multigenerational workforce – four generations working side by side - breakneck technological advances and increasing globalisation are forcing the business world to re-think previously successful people strategies.

This whitepaper explores emerging trends in talent management and examines how we are managing talent in an environment increasingly characterised by change.

For Talent Management – the next wave we surveyed 233 senior managers, leaders and specialists and 287 employees across Australia and New Zealand to gain their insights into talent management. Fieldwork carried out in July-August 2014 was supplemented with insights from a range of publications, research reports and articles from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore, including Chandler Macleod’s Skills Utilisation: how effectively are businesses utilising the skills at their disposal.

Effectively managing valued talent may well be the competitive ‘tipping point’ for organisations in an increasingly competitive global economy. But surprisingly, our research showed large gaps between employer and employee perceptions when it comes to talent and engagement - while employers think they know what employees want and need to remain engaged and productive, our research suggests otherwise.

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Key findings:

� Organisations have not yet adapted their talent management strategies to reflect changing workforce dynamics in terms of generational diversity. Today, the workforce is made up of four generations (Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists), however half (52%) of the organisations we surveyed do not have any generation specific talent management strategies in place. Both employers and employees believe this is a mistake; both cite the lack of differentiated strategies for a multigenerational workforce as the main mistake made by organisations when managing a generationally diverse workforce.

� Employers and employees are out of step regarding what works when it comes to talent management. For Millennial employees, employers focus on development, regular goal setting and continuous review of talent, however Millennials rate the provision of flexible work conditions twice as effective as these strategies. Similarly, employers underestimate the importance to Gen X of training to keep up with the times, and while 17% of employers believe that social media is an effective strategy to manage Millennials, only 1% of Millennials see this effective in practice.

� There is a growing desire from employees of all generations to work for organisations with a solid reputation, reward for performance, clear career trajectory and a culture of collaboration. 91% of employees consider it important that their workplaces provide some greater purpose than making money, and 33% of employers have re-shaped their talent management practices to include a greater focus on meaning.

� Two in three (67%) employers are using data driven analysis or big data to make talent management decisions. Half (46%) agree that analysis of big data will evolve HR into a strategic function of the organisation. However, just 13% of employers are calling big data a ‘disruptive force’ within HR.

� Flexible working is here to stay: the desire for flexible work conditions spans all four generations and uptake of new technology is increasingly facilitating the trend towards flexible working arrangements. But although 76% of employers agree that flexible working arrangements provide a positive return on investment, one in three believe there is an inverse relationship between flexible work arrangements and productivity.

� Although organisations have a range of strategies in place to manage offsite employees, many offsite staff are not aware of these. Despite this, both employers and employees believe that those who work offsite are more motivated than their onsite counterparts.

� 72% of organisations have provisions for cultural considerations in their management processes, with the most widely used strategies being the provision of flexible time for cultural occasions (49%), cultural awareness training (43%), and organisational support for different cultural needs, customs and social values (41%). Few Australian organisations, however, are adequately working with Indigenous Australians. Only two in five have policies in place to attract and retain Indigenous workers, and less than 1% believe they are more successful at attracting and retaining Indigenous workers than non-Indigenous workers.

� While the views of employers in Australia and New Zealand are largely attuned, some differences are evident in the talent management practices of employers on either side of the Tasman.

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‘The war for talent is over, and the talent won’ – Josh Bersin (6) In an interesting dichotomy, high unemployment rates in many developed nations have not created the talent surplus some predicted.

Despite high unemployment in many locations, employers are still flagging current and future talent shortages, particularly in critical functions. According to Deloitte, skills in short supply will extend beyond technical skills to first-line supervisors, sales, customer service, manufacturing, finance and other business functions. Retailers, hospitality companies, software organisations and all manner of service providers will need people who understand how to sell, communicate, serve customers, and solve problems4.

Attraction, retention and engagement of talent are high on the agenda of CEOs and business leaders around the world. While individual economies are sensitive to local and regional economic factors, 63% of CEOs globally are concerned about the availability of key skills, and 93% recognise the need to change their strategy for attracting and retaining talent2.

72% of Australian CEOs cite the availability of key skills as the biggest threat to their business growth1. More than one in two (59%) of New Zealand employers are experiencing difficulty finding employees with the right skills - the highest proportion since 200741. Hong Kong CEOs cite ‘people issues’ as their top business challenge40. In Singapore, 90% of organisations report challenges due to scarcity of talent. In Indonesia, four out of five organisations are facing a challenge with talent attraction and 63% face a problem with talent identification, however the biggest problem for Indonesian organisations is talent retention (83%)35.

No matter where they are located, over the past five years organisations have reduced costs, restructured, rationalised spending, and aimed to maximise output, often with fewer resources. As the global economy strengthens, we will see a power shift, with top talent employees in key skills areas exerting control.

The skills shortage fuels this challenge; despite Australia’s highly skilled workforce, policymakers say there is still a need for more skills development at all levels, but especially higher level skills. In February 2014, nine out of ten – a massive 91% of employers surveyed for Chandler Macleod’s Skills Utilisation: How effectively are businesses utilising the skills at their disposal? – indicated a current skills shortage within their organisation3.

Deloitte refers to the ‘open talent economy’ (making comparisons to the open source software concept) – a collaborative, transparent, technology-driven, rapid-cycle way of doing business34. These changing conditions mean that come the upturn, the importance placed on job security by employees will not last. Employees with sought after skills, along with high performing employees will become increasingly valued, and will begin to exert control.

According to CEB’s Talent Report 2014, high-potential employees are seen as almost twice as valuable to their organisations as employees who are not high-potential. The need to ‘do more with less’ in an uncertain economy saw many organisations strip out poor performers. Today’s businesses have emerged with a leaner workforce and a correspondingly greater reliance on their best people, many of whom have taken on wider roles as a result of restructuring and often for limited or no incremental increase in compensation. Retaining this high performing talent is becoming a key priority5.

When vying for top talent, workplace flexibility can be a deciding factor: one in three workers report that being able to flexibly integrate work and life is the most important factor in choosing a job.

Today’s employees want work which is meaningful, rewarding, and enjoyable. Top performers are seeking out career growth. Mid-level staff are striving for leadership development. People are freer to change jobs as businesses compete for talented individuals and high performers. And companies who can’t engage and attract Millennials will lose out.

Millennials in particular will demand increased internal talent mobility and career development, lest they take their talents somewhere else (which they can, and will), including increased visibility into internal postings and access to development resources and assessment tools that help them grow their skills—within the organisation6.

‘In 2014 if you aren’t reinvesting in HR, you’ll likely fall behind’.

Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2014 - Engaging the 21st-century workforce

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4 generations, 1 workplaceIn today’s workplace, 20 year old employees can find themselves working alongside colleagues who are older than they are by 50 years or more.

Generational stereotypes often seem overplayed in the media – think ‘lazy, entitled’ Millennials, ‘cynical, depressed’ Gen X’s, ‘power hungry, competitive’ Baby Boomers and ‘unimaginative, cautious’ Traditionals.

While much of this is rhetoric, differences do exist. Millennials in particular have different expectations of their career experience than previous generations. The Millennial employee expects a patchwork career, isn’t typically loyal to a single employer, and expects to be in charge of their own career path. Traditional semi-annual reviews are too infrequent for Millennials; they want to know that they’ve done a good job, and they want to know now.

Deloitte’s research uncovers emerging trends in performance management that are a better fit for the new world of work, increasingly characterised by self-forming teams responding to rapidly changing business challenges34.

Traditional approach emerging Trends

Hierarchical Networked

Direct Coach

Top-Down Bottom-Up

Process-Focused Outcome-Focused

Autocratic Democratic

Measures Improves

External Rewards Intrinsic Rewards

Fixed Organisation Matrix Organisation

Annual Cycle Feedback Just-In-Time Feedback

Weakness-Based Strength-Based

From: Deloitte, Human Capital Trends 2013 Leading indicators (34) http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/Consulting/us_cons_humancapitaltrends2013_040213.pdf

Millennial workers like:

9 Working in teams

9 Being coached and mentored

9 Having the opportunity to attend educational programs

9 Working with technology

9 Receiving frequent feedback and positive reinforcement

9 Being given explicit instructions

9 Networking

9 Having choices about when, where and how to do their jobs

9 Making a difference

- Society for Nonprofit Organizations33

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It is clear that engagement and management strategies that worked for say, the Traditionalist generation (3% of the workforce and soon to become insignificant), will have to be rewritten when it comes to Millennials. While Gen X is currently the largest generation of active workers, the Millennial generation or Generation Y is the largest to emerge since the Baby Boomers, and as this group quickly grows as a proportion of the workforce, employers will need to make major adjustments in their strategies.

ThinKing aBOUT The wORKfORCe in yOUR ORganiSaTiOn, ROUghly whaT PROPORTiOn Of yOUR wORKfORCe fall inTO eaCh Of The fOllOwing geneRaTiOnS?

30%

MillennialS

39%

geneRaTiOn x

27%

BaBy BOOMeRS

3%

TRaDiTiOnaliST

Client Survey: n=257

Our research found that just over half (52%) of employers do not have any generation specific talent management strategies in place. Only 3% of organisations surveyed have strategies in place for all four generations.

whiCh Of The fOllOwing geneRaTiOnS DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn have SPeCifiC TalenT ManageMenT STRaTegieS in PlaCe fOR?

Millennials (born after 1981) 37%

Generation X (born 1965-1980) 35%

Baby Boomers (1946-1964) 11%

Traditionalist (born 1925-1945) 4%

None of these 52%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Client Survey: n=257

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Less than half (48%) agree that age has an impact on the needs of the workforce, but employers are currently making some generational considerations.

ThinKing aBOUT The DiffeRenT geneRaTiOnS wiThin yOUR ORganiSaTiOn. DO yOU agRee OR DiSagRee wiTh The fOllOwing STaTeMenTS?

 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

It is difficult to manage a multigenerational workforce

21% 25% 41% 10%2%

Age is a strong predictor of the needs of our employees

4% 44% 30% 19% 3%

The younger generation set the tone for the employment

contracts in our workforce1 11% 29% 51% 9%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257

Despite, or perhaps because of the fact that only 48% of employers agree that age has an impact on the needs of the workforce, the majority of employers believe they are catering well for the needs of their multigenerational workforce.

hOw well DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn CaTeR TO The neeDS Of eMPlOyeeS Of eaCh Of The fOllOwing geneRaTiOnS?

 Very well  Quite well Neither well nor poorly Quite poorly Very poorly N/A

Traditionalist (born 1925-1945) 40%6% 25% 22% 6% 1

Baby Boomers (1946-1964) 18% 56% 19% 4%3%

Generation X (born 1965-1980) 17% 57% 19% 4% 11

Millennials (born after 1981) 16% 49% 25% 6% 4%1

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257

what do the generations want?In our research, we asked Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers what talent management strategies work for them. All four generations rate flexible work conditions as the most successful strategy, with Millennials rating it twice as effective as any other strategy. However, only 12% of Millennials, 21% of Gen X’s and 27% of Baby Boomers give their employers good marks in this area.

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Millennials*Employers that have talent management strategies in place for Millennials focus on employee development, regular goal setting and continuous review of talent.

Millennials themselves are telling a very different story, rating flexible work conditions as twice as effective as any other strategy. This supports findings in a 2013 study by Millennial Branding which found 45% of Millennials will choose workplace flexibility over pay10.

After flexible work conditions, Millennials value employee-focused development and regular goal setting. This likely reflects the need of the Millennials to seek collaboration and feedback instead of being told what to do11.

whaT STRaTegieS DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn have in PlaCe fOR MillennialS?

anD whiCh have Been SUCCeSSfUl fOR MillennialS?

anD whiCh Of TheSe DO yOU COnSiDeR TO Be effeCTive?

 Strategies used  Successful strategies - employers’ view Successful strategies - Millennials’ view

Employee focused development

Continuous review of talent

Regular goal setting

Continuous coaching and feedback

Provision of flexible work environments

Online/digital training

Career planning for greater projects and mobility

Provision of training to keep up with the times

Provide flexible work conditions

Social media

Recognition by peers and not managers

A targeted employee value proposition

Gamification

Other

None/don’t know

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Client Survey: n=95, Client Survey: n=95, Candidate Survey (Millennials) n=67

Of note, 17% of employers believe that social media is an effective strategy to manage Millennials, only 1% of Millennials saw this as effective in practice.

Despite the tremendous growth of social media, it seems leaders are not convinced of its business value. Oxford Economics Digital Megatrends 2015: The role of technology in the new normal market found that while social media has become a cultural phenomenon, one fifth of business leaders are not using social media in the workplace at all and one third consider social media irrelevant to their business. Among sceptics, the concerns centre on a loss of control over messaging and difficulty measuring return on investment30.

Yet, usage continues to grow. Facebook’s user base continues to expand at over 40% a year (to 829 million users in June 2014), with approximately 81.7% of daily active users outside the US and Canada, seeing it rapidly displace national social networks that were previously popular in Europe, Latin America and most parts of Asia31. Twitter is the fastest growing social network in the world, with 44% growth in active users between June 2012 to March 201332.

*The terms Millennial and Generation Y are increasingly used interchangeably in literature. For the purposes of this research, the definitions used in Mercer, 2014 Making Accountability Work! Effective Employer Strategies in a Multigenerational Age have been utilised.

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gen xOrganisations with Gen X specific talent management strategies identified provision of flexible work conditions as the most widely used strategy. This is also the strategy most likely to be considered successful by both employers and Gen X themselves (24%).

Employers have underestimated the importance to Gen X of training to keep up with the times, ranked equal second in importance to Gen X. Similar to Millennials and Gen Y, very few Gen X (1%) see Social Media as effective in practice.

whaT STRaTegieS DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn have in PlaCe fOR gen x?

anD whiCh have Been SUCCeSSfUl fOR gen x?

anD whiCh Of TheSe DO yOU COnSiDeR TO Be effeCTive?

 Strategies used  Successful strategies - employers’ view Successful strategies - Gen X’s view

Provide flexible work conditions

Employee focused development

Regular goal setting

Continuous coaching and feedback

Provision of flexible work environments

Career planning for greater projects and mobility

Provision of training to keep up with the times

Continuous review of talent

Provide succession training

Online/digital training

Social media

Recognition by peers and not managers

A targeted employee value proposition

Offered transition to a mentoring role

Retirement planning

Provide training for working with younger generations

Gamification

Other

None/don’t know

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Client Survey: n=90, Client Survey: n=90, Candidate Survey (Gen X) n=114

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Baby Boomers and TraditionalistsEmployers are more in step with Baby Boomers and Traditionalists – they focus on flexible work conditions and environments and regular goal setting, the first two of which are also ranked most successful by employees. However, employers assume regular goal setting is far more successful than it is (68% cf. 8% employees).

whaT STRaTegieS DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn have in PlaCe fOR BaBy BOOMeRS OR TRaDiTiOnaliSTS?

anD whiCh have Been SUCCeSSfUl fOR BaBy BOOMeRS OR TRaDiTiOnaliSTS?

anD whiCh Of TheSe DO yOU COnSiDeR TO Be effeCTive?

 Strategies used  Successful strategies - employers’ view Successful strategies - Boomers’ and Traditionalists’ view

Regular goal setting

Provide flexible work conditions

Provision of flexible work environments

Employee focused development

Continuous coaching and feedback

Offer transition to a mentoring role

Retirement planning

Continuous review of talent

Career planning for greater projects and mobility

Recognition by peers and not managers

Provide succession training

A targeted employee value proposition

Provide training for working with younger generations

Other

None/don’t know

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Client Survey: n=31, Client Survey: n=31, Candidate Survey (Boomers and Traditionalists) n=126

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what they want what employers think they want

Millennials & gen y 1. Flexible work conditions

2. Employee focused development

3. Regular goal setting

1. Employee development

2. Regular goal setting

3. Continuous review of talent

gen x 1. Flexible work conditions

2. Flexible work environments

3. Training to keep up with the times

1. Flexible work conditions

2. Employee focused development

3. Regular goal setting

Baby Boomers & Traditionalists

1. Flexible work conditions

2. Flexible work environments

3. Continuous coaching and feedback

1. Flexible work conditions

2. Regular goal setting

3. Position of flexible work environments

Trans-Tasman Perspective

Compared to their counterparts in Australia, employers in New Zealand tend to focus more on developing the employee rather than providing a flexible work environment when managing a multigenerational workforce. Their top strategies for all generation groups is to undertake employee focused development, regular goal setting and continuous review of talent.

However, New Zealand employees indicate that flexible work conditions are a successful strategy currently being used by the organisation they work in. More New Zealand employees rate a flexible workforce as a top strategy used by their organisation than Australian employees (62%; cf. Australian employees 31%).

asian Perspective

Aon Hewitt’s 2014 Trends in Asia Pacific Employee Engagement study found that Asia Pacific’s employee engagement levels remained unchanged at 61%, three points up from the previous year and on par with the global engagement level. The study linked the rise in engagement to steadying global economic stabilisation. India enjoys the highest employee engagement levels (at 66%), followed by China (64%) and South East Asia (62%). Japan has the lowest engagement levels (at 34%) and was the only major Asia Pacific market to show no improvement in employee engagement levels7.

This coincides with Deloitte research which found that Asian workplaces are facing challenges around employee engagement and talent retention, with 74% of employees expecting greater flexibility in working arrangements, 55% of younger employees not expecting to stay with a company for more than 3 years when they join and 48% of leaders, managers and supervisors struggling to manage across generations35.

The increasing importance of ‘the why’ There is a growing desire from employees to work for organisations with a solid reputation, reward for performance, clear career trajectory and a culture of collaboration12. It is no longer just about how much they can make or if they can become the top employee. They want to work for an organisation that provides a greater meaning beyond generating profits for the owners or shareholders7.

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Surprisingly, employers continue to underestimate the importance of their employee value proposition. Over nine in ten (91%) employees consider it important that their workplace provides some greater purpose or meaning beyond making money, however just 85% of employers believe their workers feel this way. Both male (90%) and female (92%) employees do feel this way, and it is not just important to younger workers but widespread across generations (94% under 35, cf. 91% 35-49, 90% 50 years and over) around Australia and New Zealand and across industries.

hOw iMPORTanT iS iT TO yOUR eMPlOyeeS ThaT The ORganiSaTiOn They wORK fOR PROviDeS SOMe gReaTeR PURPOSe OR Meaning BeyOnD MaKing MOney?

hOw iMPORTanT iS iT ThaT yOUR wORKPlaCe PROviDeS SOMe gReaTeR PURPOSe OR Meaning BeyOnD MaKing MOney?

 Very important Quite important Not very important Not important at all

Employees 51% 40% 6% 3

Employers 42% 43% 14% 1

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257, Candidate Survey: n=308

Astonishingly, more employees than employers are aware that their organisation has an EVP.

When the predicted talent shortage comes to fruition, organisations that can redefine their employee value proposition to include a balance of economic, technological, demographical and social aspects will be able to differentiate themselves and stand out from the crowd by becoming a company that people want to work for.

what can employers do better?Just over half (53%) of employees believe their employer looks after their needs well, and the same proportion (54%) believe their employment contract meets their needs. But just as many employers agree (30%) as disagree (36%) that promoting meaning is more about effective marketing to staff than creating lasting change.

It is not all bad news for employees, almost half (49%) of employers agree that employees have forced their organisation to become more conscious of the impact they have on people, culture and the environment, and 33% have reshaped their talent management practises to include a greater focus on meaning.

ThinKing aBOUT The ORganiSaTiOnS valUe PROPOSiTiOn. DO yOU agRee OR DiSagRee wiTh The fOllOwing STaTeMenTS?

 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

Promoting meaning is more about effective marketing to staff than

creating lasting change34%4% 26% 31% 5%

Employees have forced our organisation to become more

conscious of the impact we have on people culture and the environment

44% 31% 18% 2%5%

We have reshaped our talent management practises to include

a greater focus on meaning46%4% 29% 18% 4%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257

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Trans-Tasman Perspective

Organisations in New Zealand are more likely than their Australian counterparts to have changed their management processes to include a greater focus on meaning (54%; cf. Australian employers 31%), and New Zealand employers are more likely to disagree that promoting meaning is more about marketing to staff than creating lasting change (67%; cf. Australian employers 33%).

asian Perspective

Asian organisations competing in the war for talent typically use strategies related to employer branding and rewards - 80% state that competition is forcing them to enhance their employer brand and most report that they leverage their brand heavily as part of their recruitment strategy (83% in China, 79% in Singapore and 70% in Indonesia). However, 45% report that their brand as an employer is not strong enough to consistently attract the right talent35.

The end of the 9-5 workday In today’s interconnected world, the model of working in the office, at our desks for eight hours a day is becoming quickly outdated.

Millennials are leading the charge for workplace flexibility; 89% surveyed for a recent study commissioned by Millennial Branding and oDesk indicated that they would prefer to work when and where they choose, rather than in a corporate nine-to-five job8.

Chartered Management Institute research shows that 59% of managers predict that the traditional 9-5 will disappear before 2020, and 54% expect the boundaries between home and work life to become entirely blurred13.

flexible work arrangementsToday’s employers who want to access the best talent possible will need to be willing to empower employees to work remotely. Increasingly, location challenges can be overcome more easily than talent shortages15.

We know that staff from all generations seek a flexible work environment, however employers also need to ensure productivity is not compromised. Although three in four (76%) agree that flexible working arrangements provide a positive return on investment, employers are divided as to the impact of flexibility on productivity. One in three agree that there is an inverse relationship between flexible work arrangements and productivity, whereas 39% disagree with this.

ThinKing aBOUT yOUR ORganiSaTiOn. DO yOU agRee OR DiSagRee wiTh The fOllOwing STaTeMenTS?

 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

There is an inverse relationship between flexible work

arrangements and productivity29%26%6% 32% 7%

Providing flexible working arrangements to staff generates a

positive return on investment19% 4%154%22%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257

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Three in four (75%) organisations surveyed have staff who work offsite or remotely. The strategies used to motivate and engage the workers are vital to ensure a productive and successful workforce.

In terms of motivating employees, our research found that employers believe staff who work offsite are more motivated than their counterparts who work onsite (22% more motivated cf. 14% less motivated).

ThinKing aBOUT yOUR STaff whO wORK OnSiTe anD OffSiTe in eqUivalenT POSiTiOnS, hOw MOTivaTeD aRe yOUR STaff whO wORK OffSiTe OR ReMOTely COMPaReD TO ThOSe whO wORK OnSiTe?

6% Much more motivated

16% A little more motivated

57% About the same

12% A little less motivated

2% Much less motivated

7% Don’t know

Client Survey: Have staff who work remotely n=193

Self-reported levels of employee motivation more or less fit this pattern. Although a similar proportion rate themselves as very motivated or more (65% work offsite cf. 62% who do not), those who work offsite are more likely to describe themselves as very motivated (30% work offsite cf. 24% who do not).

hOw MOTivaTeD weRe/aRe yOU aT yOUR PReviOUS/CURRenT wORK?

 Extremely motivated Very motivated Quite motivated Not very motivated Not motivated at all

All employees (n=308) 22%26% 37% 12% 3

Work offsite (n=89) 21%30% 35% 11% 2

Not work offsite (n=219) 22%24% 38% 12% 3

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Candidate Survey: n=308, those who work/worked remotely n=89, those who don’t work remotely n=219

Generally speaking, employers believe there are more strategies in place to manage offsite staff than are perceived by employees.

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whaT STRaTegieS DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn have TO Manage STaff whO wORK OffSiTe OR ReMOTely?

whaT STRaTegieS DiD/DOeS yOUR PReviOUS/CURRenT wORKPlaCe have in PlaCe TO Manage STaff whO wORK OffSiTe?

 Strategies used - employer perception  Successful strategies - employee perception

Constant ‘employee driven’ communication via phone, email, etc.

Regular site visits

Regular newsletters/email updates

Video conferencing

Performance based remuneration

Self-paced training programs

Webinars

Automated performance metrics (e.g. CRM system, information, sales etc.)

Unexpected quality audits

Other

None/don’t know

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

Client Survey: Have staff who work remotely n=193, Candidate Survey: Those who work/worked remotely n=90

Employers are more likely than employees to describe each management strategy as effective at managing staff who work remotely. In many cases, there are large gaps between employer and employee perceptions. For example, 28% of employers believe performance-based remuneration is an effective tool to manage staff, however just 6% of employees hold this belief. Furthermore, 13% of employers believe that automated performance metrics are effective compared with just 2% of staff.

anD whiCh Of TheSe DO yOU COnSiDeR TO Be effeCTive?

 Successful strategies - employer perception  Successful strategies - employee perception

Constant ‘employee driven’ communication via phone, email, etc.

Regular site visits

Regular newsletters/email updates

Video conferencing

Performance based remuneration

Self-paced training programs

Webinars

Automated performance metrics (e.g. CRM system, information, sales etc.)

Unexpected quality audits

Other

None/don’t know

0% 20% 40% 60%

Client Survey: Have staff who work remotely n=193, Candidate Survey: Those who work/worked remotely n=90

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Trans-Tasman Perspective

Australian organisations rely less on video conferencing (26%; cf. New Zealand organisations only 46%) and performance based remuneration (25%; cf. New Zealand organisations only 42%) than their New Zealand counterparts to manage their offsite workforce.

What is clear is that flexible working is here to stay: the desire for flexible work conditions spans all four generations, with each generation ranking it highest when it comes to the most effective talent management strategy for them. Workplaces will need to consider the possible advantages and disadvantages of implanting flexible working conditions and plan accordingly.

flexible workplaces

Possible advantages Possible Disadvantages

� Wider talent pool to draw from, which can lead to a real competitive advantage

� Higher employee engagement and satisfaction

� Better chance of retaining trained, skilled people and high performers whose changing circumstances may otherwise have led them to leave, as well as increased return rates from parental leave

� Increased morale, and often productivity and profits

� Absenteeism is reduced as employees are better able to balance work and family

� Develop a reputation as an Employer of Choice

� Office space can be reduced and used more effectively

� Working patterns can be better matched to customer requirements

� Reduction in environmental footprint

� Direct costs of policies that involve payments, such as paid parental leave and cost of equipment to facilitate working at home

� Negative impact on organisational culture if all employees do not benefit equally

� Remote workers can be ‘out of sight, out of mind’ in terms of promotions, career and training opportunities

� Possible social isolation

� Personnel costs associated with the number of staff needed to maintain coverage

� Management costs comprising indirect costs such as investigating and implementing new work-life balance policy systems, training costs associated with changing processes or culture

� Greater burden on managers and supervisors, who need new skills to manage remote employees

Adapted from ‘The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature’ 16

17

Managing OhS responsibilities of the ‘invisible workforce’Flexible workforces understandably present potential risks around factors such as engagement, management and safety. The Australian Human Resource Institute points out that ‘some organisations have shunned telework due to occupational health and safety requirements, and a fear that home-based injuries will lead to lawsuits’17.

Forward-thinking organisations however are already investing in developing OHS policies and putting appropriate controls around remote working conditions. When Salmat brought 350 contact centre contractors from North Queensland to Tasmania together via telephone and broadband to create a virtual call centre - Salmat@Home - it invested significant time in developing its OHS policy. The company devised an in-depth checklist for working conditions including the layout of the room, height of the desk and monitor, and even the make of chair. Because of the impracticality of physically visiting each worker’s home office, workers submit digital photographs.

In this case, Salmat’s intent was to ensure that all workers had a quiet and appropriate workspace, and that it was set up as you would anticipate in any other office environment, according to the relevant rules and regulations17.

Our research showed that employers have a somewhat inflated view of their success in managing staff in remote locations. Although 69% of employers believe they do a good job in maintaining Occupational Health & Safety standards for offsite employees, just 54% of employees who work offsite believe their employers did a good job.

hOw well DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn CaTeR TO The neeDS Of OffSiTe OR ReMOTe eMPlOyeeS in eaCh Of The fOllOwing wayS?

 Very well  Quite well Neither well nor poorly Quite poorly Very poorly N/A

Maintaining OHS standards 20% 49% 6% 1223%

Maintaining the culture of the organisation

11% 45% 7% 2233%

Overall communication 9% 63% 6% 1220%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: Have staff who work remotely n=193

hOw well DOeS/DiD yOUR CURRenT/PReviOUS ORganiSaTiOn CaTeR TO The neeDS Of OffSiTe OR ReMOTe eMPlOyeeS in eaCh Of The fOllOwing wayS?

 Very well  Quite well Neither well nor poorly Quite poorly Very poorly N/A

Maintaining OHS standards 11% 4%10%21%26%28%

Maintaining the culture of the organisation

13% 8%10%26%22%21%

Overall communication 10% 6%14%19%28%23%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Candidate Survey: Those who work/worked remotely n=90

Similarly employers are more likely to feel they do a good job maintaining culture (56% cf. 43% employees) and communication (72% cf. 51% employees) than employees.

To satisfy their obligations under the Occupational Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1984, employers must ensure that home-based workplaces conform with health and safety standards applicable to the type of work being performed, for example equipment, work environment (lighting, air quality, ergonomic issues), safe access and exits, appropriate training and on-going monitoring18.

18

Under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1981, an employee working from home under the direction of the employer generally enjoys the same benefits as an employee working at the ‘head office’. In view of the fact that home-based work is a new method of work organisation, WorkCover advises that there are still some issues to be resolved in terms of determining the insurers’ liability for home-based workers18.

workplace flexibility and diversityThe changing nature of work is reflective of the ever-changing diversity of the workforce.

Organisations today are more exposed to the cultural needs of their workforce. Managed properly, a culturally diverse workforce can bring a range of experiences and perspectives to a team, improving performance across a range of areas such as problem solving, learning and development and personal growth. Investment in cultural awareness and skills can also improve the ability to understand diversity and turn it into a competitive advantage19.

While some organisations pursue a diverse workforce as merely a compliance objective, leading companies are working to build not just diverse workforces, but inclusive workplaces.

Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2014: Engaging the 21st-century workforce attests that deriving the value of diversity means uncovering all talent, and that means creating a workplace characterised by inclusion. Deloitte’s research shows that most organisations are not there yet, but change is in the wind, and market leaders are starting to move from compliance to inclusion as a business strategy20.’

The majority of employees agree that having a culturally diverse workforce has a positive impact on their organisation. Diversity Council Australia indicates that diverse teams are able to better solve complex problems, exhibit a higher level of creativity and a broader thought. Diverse work teams, properly managed and trained, produce results six times higher than homogenous teams21.

New Zealand’s EEO Trust states that diverse workforces are more likely to retain staff, be more productive, have less absenteeism, better customer service and better health and safety outcomes37.

All of this leads to an impact on the bottom line: a 2014 Gallup poll found that gender diverse business units have an up to 19% higher average quarterly net profit than less diverse units – and that units that are diverse and engaged have an up to 38% higher increase in comparable revenue38.

The link between a diverse workforce and financial benefits was reflected by both employees and employers in our research.

ThinKing aBOUT CUlTURal DiveRSiTy. DO yOU agRee OR DiSagRee wiTh The fOllOwing STaTeMenTS?

 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

A diverse workforce provides financial benefits to organisations

like ours12% 43% 11% 232%

Our organisation actively works to attract and retain a diverse

workforce4%12%14% 35% 34%

Having staff from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds

improves decision making within our organisation

13% 237%9% 40%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257

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ThinKing aBOUT CUlTURal DiveRSiTy. DO yOU agRee OR DiSagRee wiTh The fOllOwing STaTeMenTS?

 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree Prefer not to answer

Having staff from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds

improves decision making within organisations

14% 26% 10% 10% 438%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Candidate Survey: n=308

Trans-Tasman Perspective

Employees in New Zealand are more likely to agree that having staff from diverse backgrounds will improve the organisation than their Australian counterparts (62%; cf. Australian employees 38%).

A significant number of organisations in Australia (72%) have provisions for cultural considerations in their management processes. This is higher in large (78%) than small (47%) or medium (66%) businesses.

Nearly half of the organisations (49%) surveyed indicated that they provide workers with flexible time for their cultural occasions. Organisations also provide cultural awareness training (43%) and support for customs and cultural needs.

Fewer organisations in Australia provide flexible time for cultural occasions than New Zealand organisations (47%; cf. New Zealand employers 75%).

whaT CUlTURal COnSiDeRaTiOnS aRe MaDe when Managing TalenT wiThin yOUR ORganiSaTiOn?

Provision of flexible time for cultural occasions

49%

Cultural awareness training (formal or informal)

43%

Organisation support for different cultural needs, customs and social

values41%

Provision of flexible work attire for cultural needs

30%

Working with cultural experts to improve engagement

(e.g. Indigenous Community elders, Islamic Imam, Buddhist monks)

14%

Other 2%

None 21%

Don’t know 7%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Client Survey: n=257

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Generally, Australian and New Zealand businesses have some work to do to cater to the cultural and religious needs of their employees. Just over one third (36%) of all employees rated their organisation as good to excellent at catering for their cultural or religious needs, with 24% rating their organisation as poor to fair. In addition, 30% were unsure which implies a lack of salient strategies in place.

hOw DOeS yOUR PReviOUS/CURRenT ORganiSaTiOn CaTeR fOR yOUR CUlTURal/ReligiOUS neeDS?

16% Excellent

20% Good

16% Fair

8% Poor

30% Don’t know

10% Prefer not to answer

Candidate Survey: n=308

Employees don’t seem to view their cultural or religious needs as a big issue, with nine in ten (89%) saying they do not have any specific cultural or religious needs they consider to be non-standard. Whist 4% indicated they do have special needs, a further 3% opted not to answer the question, and 5% are unsure, the true proportion of Australian and New Zealand workers with non-standard cultural or religious needs could be as high as 12%.

DO yOU have ReligiOUS OR CUlTURal neeDS whiCh aRe nOT aCCOMMODaTeD aS STanDaRD in wORKPlaCeS?

4% Yes

89% No

5% Don’t know

3% Prefer not to answer

Candidate Survey: n=308

asian Perspective

36% of leaders, managers and supervisors in Asia say they struggle to manage across cultures. Many adopt global sourcing strategies to meet their staffing needs, with 56% offering international assignments and moving employees across borders to meet business and staffing needs. Almost half (45% ) of Asian organisations say they have a comprehensive Global Mobility framework in place to support their international assignments, and 24% have offshored some of their functions and/or processes as part of their talent strategy35.

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indigenous australiansA third of Australian organisations surveyed have policies respecting Indigenous Australian culture. A quarter of organisations have processes in place where they consult Indigenous Australian staff or experts on policies and procedures and work areas, and implement strategies to attract Indigenous Australian workers.

ThinKing SPeCifiCally aBOUT inDigenOUS aUSTRalian STaff. DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn DO any Of The fOllOwing?

Have policies in place to respect the cultural and spiritual needs of

Indigenous staff (e.g. acknowledgement of the

traditional owners of lands that the business operated within)

33%

Have strategies in place to attract Indigenous Australian staff

26%

Consult Indigenous Australian staff or specialists about working in areas which may have spiritual or cultural

significance

24%

Consult Indigenous Australian staff or specialists to ensure our policies

and procedures are culturally appropriate

23%

Other 4%

None/don’t know 57%

0% 20% 40% 60%

Client Survey: Australian Clients n=233

The majority of organisations are not aware of their success rate (53%) in attracting and retaining Indigenous workers. Of those who are aware, 24% indicate that the success of attracting and retaining Indigenous workers is the same as non-Indigenous workers. Almost a quarter of organisations indicated a lower success rate, and less than 1% are more successful with Indigenous than with non-Indigenous workers.

Amongst those who have strategies in place to attract Indigenous Australian staff, one third are not aware of their strategy success rate (35%) and another third (32%) indicated that the success of their strategies are the same for non-Indigenous workers. The remaining third (33%) of organisations indicted a lower success rate.

aS faR aS yOU aRe awaRe, hOw SUCCeSSfUl iS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn aT aTTRaCTing anD ReTaining inDigenOUS wORKeRS?

<1% More successful than non-Indigenous workers

24% The same as for non-Indigenous workers

23% Worse than for non-Indigenous workers

53% N/A/Don’t know

Client Survey: Australian Clients n=233

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aS faR aS yOU aRe awaRe, hOw SUCCeSSfUl iS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn aT aTTRaCTing anD ReTaining inDigenOUS wORKeRS?

<1% More successful than non-Indigenous workers

32% The same as for non-Indigenous workers

33% Worse than for non-Indigenous workers

35% N/A/Don’t know

Client Survey: Australian Clients with strategies in place n=100

One in three (31%) of organisations are less successful at attracting Indigenous workers because they have made no attempt at attracting Indigenous workers specifically. Having suitably qualified workers and a lack of adequate support systems are also hindrances to attracting and retaining Indigenous workers.

why DO yOU ThinK yOUR ORganiSaTiOn iS MORe/leSS SUCCeSSfUl aT aTTRaCTing anD ReTaining inDigenOUS wORKeRS?

No attempt made to attract Indigenous workers specifically

31%

Not many qualified/suitable Indigenous workers

17%

Lack of support systems available for Indigenous workers

13%

Lack of Indigenous applicants 11%

Work locations/work arrangements unsuitable for Indigenous workers

(e.g. FIFO)9%

Difficulties with retaining Indigenous workers

6%

Other 7%

Not sure/don’t know 24%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Client Survey: Australian Clients Those who think their organisation is more/less successful at attracting and retaining Indigenous workers n=54

It is clear that there is a lost opportunity in this area: just over two in five organisations in Australia are tapping into the opportunity to utilise the unique skills and perspectives of Indigenous Australians through implementing specific engagement processes. This is higher amongst large organisations (58%) than small (29%) or medium (18%) organisations.

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Diversity questions for talent managers

� What tools can we use to analyse our workforce profile to uncover particular demographic clusters?

� How can we ensure that employees with family and caring responsibilities, culturally and linguistically diverse employees, mature employees and those working flexibly are represented fairly?

� Do we know how many of our employees have family or caring responsibilities?

� Is there a policy in place setting out our organisation’s recognition of, and support for, employees with family or caring responsibilities?

� Are managers trained on their responsibilities to employees who have family or caring responsibilities?

� Do we keep data on the number of people who work flexible hours? Work from home? Work part-time? Work part-time and manage other employees?

� Do we record the numbers of employees who apply for flexible working arrangements, whether approved or not?

� Do we offer and have a policy on flexible work arrangements? If so, have we communicated to all employees (including managers) that flexible work arrangements are available and accepted in our workplace?

� Does everyone in our workforce have access to the same opportunities for flexible work arrangements? Are flexible arrangements spread across all occupations and levels?

� Is our job design process based on the traditional ‘9am-5pm’ arrangement?

� Do we offer training to support managers in effectively leading a diverse team with a range of working arrangements?

Adapted from Australian Government Workplace Gender Equality Agency, “Flexible working arrangements”22

Digital will fundamentally change hR as we know itWith the virtual workforce here to stay, businesses will be forced to reconsider old practices used to manage and motivate employees, whether onsite or offsite… this is where digital technology will come to the fore.

Digital technology is continuing to evolve at breakneck speed, and it permeates nearly every aspect of our working lives. Digital is changing the way we operate, impacting every area of how we source, assess, develop and manage our talent. Accenture’s 2014 publication, Trends Reshaping the Future of HR: Digital Radically Disrupts HR, attests that digital technologies enable not only greater integration and flexibility than ever before, but also the ability for employees to have a greater share of voice and ability to participate in defining and even creating their own work experiences. Digital is thus poised to ‘radically disrupt HR as usual’ and redefine the future of the human resources function in the next decade23.

Today, offsite employees typically have access to all the collaboration tools and technologies that in-house workers do, with none of the office politics or distractions that can often destroy productivity. The market is growing rapidly in this area; companies such as Cisco have invested heavily in developing online collaboration tools that mirror the ease-of-use of consumer tools. Cisco recently released Jabber, which enables workers to collaborate from any location they can get an internet connection, using text messaging, sharing documents, or through voice and videoconferencing, on a wide range of devices17.

According to Country Director for Citrix in Australia, Seamus King, there is a significant increase in the number of enquiries from clients wanting to conduct face-to-face engagements, often for training purposes, without staff needing to physically come together. Consequently, the ability to collaborate via technology is going forward in leaps and bounds to more accurately reflect the way people work17.

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Mobility is driving ease of use and impactThe ultimate success of any technology depends on its uptake. Embracing mobile access is an essential feature of any easy-to-use technology platform. Upwards of 25% of Chandler Macleod’s website views now come via mobile devices.

In the average workplace, employees want mobile access for time and expense reporting, employee directory, knowledge sharing, and other HR applications. Today’s HR software is not only a system of record; it is a ‘system of engagement’, with employees and managers using these systems for everyday support, including collaboration, learning, goal setting and expertise sharing24.

When companies roll these systems out, they potentially create a more efficient way of working for most of their employees. But with 5 million people predicted to be connected by mobile devices by 2018, will employers have even more expectation for people to be productive 24/7? And if so, is that a good thing?

analytics is driving customised talent management As mobility applications develop and people spend more of their work and personal time on technology platforms, they are leaving an ever-larger digital trail of information that can be tracked, integrated and analysed.

Companies have an abundance of employee, HR and performance data - demographic information, performance information, educational history, job location and many other factors about employees - but this data is not yet being used scientifically to make people decisions. According to Bersin, ‘this is the single biggest big data opportunity in business. If we can apply science to improving the selection, management and alignment of people, the returns can be tremendous’25.

However, for the data to be in a form that can usefully be incorporated into talent management, organisations will have to invest in quality data analytics.

Right now, 67% of employers are using data driven analysis or big data to make talent management decisions. This is more common in large organisations (73%) than small (47%) or medium (58%) organisations. The most common uses are to identify skills gaps (37%) and identify future leaders & measure historic metrics (both 32%).

Trans-Tasman Perspective

More organisations in New Zealand than in Australia use big data for historic metrics (63%; cf. Australian organisation 29%), predicting the likely success of staff (33%; cf. Australian organisation 15%), and identifying shifts in historic patterns (38%; cf. Australian organisation 16%) and to inform talent management strategies (42%; cf. Australian organisation 26%).

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in whiCh Of The fOllOwing wayS DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn USe DaTa DRiven analySiS OR Big DaTa TO MaKe TalenT ManageMenT DeCiSiOnS?

To identify skills gaps in your organisation

37%

To measure historic metrics such as previous year staff turnover

32%

To identify future leaders 32%

To inform talent management strategies such as recruitment or

retention strategies27%

To automate HR processes 23%

To predict future metrics such as staff turnover

23%

To measure the value of your talent/talent pipeline

19%

To estimate departmental or enterprise outputs such as future

sales or productivity19%

To identify shifts in historic patterns

18%

To predict the likely success of individual staff members

17%

To evaluate the likelihood of adverse events such as theft,

accidents or compensation claims7%

To decentralise HR processes 6%

None of these/don’t know 33%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

Client Survey: n=257

Most employers believe that big data is here to stay, with 46% agreeing that analysis of big data will evolve HR into a strategic function of the organisation (cf. 9% disagree). Whilst 18% agree the cost of collecting big data makes most projects unfeasible, 26% disagree. However, employers are stopping short of calling big data a disruptive force within HR (13% cf. 23% disagree).

ThinKing aBOUT The USe Of Big DaTa in yOUR ORganiSaTiOn. DO yOU agRee OR DiSagRee wiTh The fOllOwing STaTeMenTS?

 Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

Analysis of big data will evolve HR into a strategic function in an

organisation41% 45% 8% 15%

The cost of collecting and analysing big data makes most

projects unfeasible16% 57% 23% 32

Big data is a disruptive force that is reshaping HR

12% 64% 20% 31

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Client Survey: n=257

Australian organisations are less likely to agree that big data will evolve HR into a strategic function in their organisation (46%; cf. New Zealand organisation 66%) than their New Zealand counterparts.

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Plan Source assess Develop Manage

� Skills utilisation and talent mapping

� Predictive succession and career planning

� Forward planning for future skills requirements

� Ability to predict upcoming talent shortages and surpluses

� Insight into when competition for talent will be tight and when it will ease

� Identifying ‘talent rich’ competitors and when to target them

� Predicting upcoming internal leadership shortages

� More aggressively and intelligently source talent

� Tap into digitised global talent pools

� Identify when targeted individuals plan to re-enter the job market

� Identify which employees are most likely to make quality employee referrals

� Predict which former top-performing employees are likely to want to return

� Measure recruiting outcomes

� Model top performers to determine key characteristics

� Successfully predict the characteristics of high performers

� Provide better visibility into internal talent

� Measure employee’s abilities, wants and needs

� Develop talent through simulations and gaming

� Identify elements for leadership success

� Provide ongoing performance feedback via dashboards

� Push out customised learning opportunities

� Develop characteristics and skills of high potential talent

� Identify when current skills and training will become obsolete

� What knowledge and skills are missing across the organisation?

� Identify employees who are ‘overdue’ for internal movement

� Tap into when and how the expectations of employees will shift

� Identify barriers to productivity and innovation

� Which groups of employees will reach underpaid status compared to market rates (and when)

� Identify future labour costs for specific job areas

Adapted from ‘Implementing Actionable Predictive Analytics in Talent Management’26

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are employees experiencing technology overwhelm? In 1947, when Australians won the right to a 40 hour work week, employees could leave work and enjoy a social life without any connection to work – there was no email, no Facebook, no Skype and no LinkedIn.

Today, we live in vastly interconnected world, where the lines between our personal and professional lives have been blurred. Our mobile devices now let us bring work with us 24/7. We’re checking our emails after 5pm and we’re doing more business globally regardless of time and location. Have technology and too much access turned us into ‘overwhelmed’ employees?

This overwhelm may be the reason that we are seeing technology providers simplifying tools onto a single platform and focused on providing a simpler user experience. According to Oscar Trimboli, the director of Microsoft Australia’s information worker group, the wide range of devices that workers use today means it is important that the experience of using different tools is harmonised; for example video, voice and desktop being one experience, rather than three17.

Pros and cons of technology in talent managementDespite media stereotypes that present Millennials as insatiable for technology, they report suffering the most information and technology overload in the workplace. Millennials are expressing both a desire for more human, face-to-face interaction and frustration with information and technology overload, with 72% of employees preferring to collaborate in person vs. online (23%) or via phone or videoconference (5%)39.

This is a warning to CEOs and Managers that technology is an enabler - not a replacement – for person-to-person management techniques. Despite the improvements that technology can deliver, managers still need to engage and communicate with their employees, and employees still need to connect with their work and colleagues. No amount of technological advancement will replace these human fundamentals.

With organisations legislatively responsible for providing a safe working environment for their employees, today’s technology driven world opens up a whole range of considerations around cyber bullying, workplace isolation and mental health.

As the digital workplace can be accessed from anywhere, any time it makes working, and therefore over-working, just that much easier - which can undermine and erode any distinction between work and family life.

gamification: game changer or fad?A recent development in digital technology is in talent management through gamification.

Just what is gamification? In basic terms, it is the use of gaming to recruit, develop and motivate employees. It is the weaving of game mechanics such as virtual currency, leader boards (boards that display leaders in a competition), badges, or levelling up (progression to the next level in a game) into existing work activities or processes without the development of a full-fledged actual game28.

Gartner Group defines gamification as the concept of employing game mechanics to non-game activities such as recruitment, training and health and wellness. Gartner predicts that by 2014, more than 70% of global 2,000 organisations will have at least one gamified application, which can range from mastering a specific skill or improving one’s health29.

Despite Gartner’s comments, our research found that just 19% of employers, and 17% of employees are aware of gamification in this context.

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BefORe TODay, weRe yOU awaRe Of gaMifiCaTiOn?

19% Yes

81% No

17% Yes

83% No

Client Survey: n=257 Candidate Survey: n=308

Trans-Tasman Perspective

Gamification is more widely known by New Zealand employees than those in Australia (38%; Australian employees 15%). New Zealand employers are also more aware of gamification than Australian employers (33%; Australian employers 18%).

Uptake of gamification is currently low, with 5% of employers using gamification and 6% of employees identifying their organisation uses/used gamification as a talent management tool. This is only slightly higher in large organisations (7% of employers). Younger employees 18-34 are no more likely to be aware of gamification being used in their organisation (7%) than those aged 35-49 (4%) or 50 years and over (6%).

DOeS yOUR ORganiSaTiOn USe gaMifiCaTiOn aS PaRT Of iTS TalenT ManageMenT?

DOeS/DiD yOUR CURRenT/PReviOUS ORganiSaTiOn USe gaMifiCaTiOn aS PaRT Of iTS TalenT ManageMenT?

5% Yes

80% No

15% Unsure/don’t know

6% Yes

64% No

31% Unsure/don’t know

Client Survey: n=257 Candidate Survey: n=308

Despite the low take up currently, HR is one business function that seems to be ripe for disruption through gamification, offering a new toolset to support the sourcing, engagement and management of employees very cheaply, in a way that delivers a fulfilling work experience and quickly aligns corporate and personal goals.

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RecommendationsEffectively sourcing, engaging and managing valued talent will likely be a competitive ‘tipping point’ for organisations in an increasingly competitive global economy. But to achieve the ‘economic tsunami’ of benefits there for the taking, significant changes will need to occur, and organisations that fail to adapt will likely be on the losing end when it comes to attracting and accessing the people and skills they need.

We predict a major transformation in coming years, with a need for organisations to re-invest in and re-engineer their end-to-end talent approach to human resources.

To remain viable and become an effective business partner, HR teams will need an increasingly wide range of skills. Tomorrow’s HR teams will need to understand workforce demographics and global culture; new technologies in recruiting, learning, social networking, and analytics; and new models for coaching, talent mobility, and performance management. They will also need to learn how to operate as business consultants, which means understanding how the business works, makes money and builds its competitive advantage20.

Whether they operate globally or not, businesses will have to adapt to a borderless workforce, tap into global talent networks and create a supply chain of skills to build the capabilities they need now and into the future. Those that successfully leverage analytics and big data to achieve this will be positioned to outperform their peers.

� Start by collecting the data. Study the generational composition of your workforce—and use that information to guide your HR strategies. In exit interviews, ask whether people would have remained with your organisation if they could have worked more flexibly? Survey your workforce to ask to what extent employees believe that your organisation helps them to balance their work, family and life priorities? Run analytics on the usage rate of family friendly policies? Does the rate differ for women and men?

� identify skills gaps in your hR team. Support them in developing the skills to become skilled business consultants with robust data analytic and problem solving capability. Match up your HR leaders with your IT leaders to help them develop a deep understanding of Cloud, mobile, and social technologies.

� adapt workplace practices for different generations. Adapt your approach for each generation; also consider differences such as age, location, religion, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and disability. Facilitate regular conversations about differences to increase understanding and help develop respect for other generations. Regularly provide management training on diversity.

� Tap into global talent pools. Identify where key skills are located, tap into active and passive candidate pools, build a pipeline of candidates and tap into talent hubs. Use technology to extend your talent search across countries and regions, for example by using social recruiting, video interviewing, webinars and online staff training to engage and interact with talent globally.

� Offer flexible work arrangements equally across the workforce. Flexible work arrangements need not be costly or resource intensive in their implementation. Often, existing conditions of service can be managed in a slightly different way to better meet employee’s needs, for example allowing them to take small blocks of annual leave over the course of the year.

� a ‘work from home’ Policy will be important as challenges around an ageing workforce and environmental impacts become increasingly relevant. Make sure your policy covers industrial issues, such as agreed work location, hours and duties, insurance, training and professional development, tax issues such as deductibility and FBT and an agreement that work will not be sub-contracted out. It should also mention technologies that encourage visual collaboration and reduce feelings of isolation and improve productivity, and an OHS risk assessment process to ensure the home office has been assessed from an ergonomic and workplace environment perspective.

� Reward and support managers to produce and retain top talent. Thanks to tools like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook, if you cannot make internal mobility easy, good people will go elsewhere. Measure managers by their ability to produce and retain, rather than merely consume talent. And make it easy for them by implementing policies that support continuous education, talent mobility, career growth and internal development.

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� Re-think annual performance reviews. Consider new tools that enable insight into engagement constantly, and train managers to have regular performance conversations aimed at continuous development, goal alignment, and recognition, engaging employees at all levels and helping them build the skills they need to reach the next level of achievement.

� Put technology to work for you. Products and services that don’t embrace trends around social, mobile, analytics and Cloud (everything available everywhere) won’t be adopted, and businesses that don’t use them won’t be employers of choice. Use analytics to more accurately identify high potentials and provide higher levels of resources, training and career opportunities. Use social networks to aggressively market your EVP, develop talent pools and re-engage your employees every day.

� win the race to the Cloud. Integrate your talent, HR, and business technologies across countries and regions to simplify the work environment and provide a ‘single source of truth’. By moving these applications to the new generation of Cloud, SaaS-based models, implementation times and costs of HRIS technology platforms are generally quick and cost-effective.

� Select employees predisposed to engagement. There is a growing body of research identifying the personal traits and characteristics of engaged employees. Assess for personality traits such as positive affect and conscientiousness, which are strong indicators of engagement, during the employment recruitment process.

� ensure leaders are big data savvy. Your leadership development strategy should continually build strong leadership and succession planning at all levels, with a focus on ensuring leaders are globally aware, innovative, agile and business tech savvy. Extend succession planning beyond managerial positions to include HR professionals, technical specialists and high performing client and operations managers.

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References1. PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2014 “17th Annual Global CEO Survey – Australian results” PricewaterhouseCoopers,

Sydney, viewed on 11 August 2014 http://www.pwc.com.au/about-us/ceo-survey/assets/17th-Annual-Global-CEO-Survey-AU-Jan14.pdf

2. PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2014 “The talent challenge: Adapting to growth” PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sydney, viewed on 11 August 2014, http://www.pwc.com/gx/en/hr-management-services/publications/assets/ceosurvey-talent-challenge.pdf

3. Chandler Macleod, 2014 “Skills Utilisation: How effectively are businesses utilising the skills at their disposal?”

4. Deloitte, March 7 2014, “The quest for workforce capability: Create a global skills supply chain”, Josh Bersin, Jen Stempel & Bernard van der Vyver, http://dupress.com/articles/hc-trends-2014-workforce-capability/

5. CEB SHL Talent Measurement, “Talent Report 2014, Improving the Odds of Success for High-Potential Programmes”, Eugene Burke, Conrad Schmidt and Michael Griffin, TALENT REPORT 2014-1-High-Potential-UK.pdf

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8. “Why don’t bosses get Gen Y?”, Erin Forster, The Age, August 4, 2014, http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/startup/why-dont-bosses-get-gen-y-20140804-3d42o.html

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10. “Millennial branding and beyond.com survey reveals the rising cost of hiring workers from the millennial generation”, August 6 2013, http://millennialbranding.com/2013/08/cost-millennial-retention-study/

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12. “Abolish the 9-5 workday: OneShift founder Gen George”, BRW, Published 05 February 2014 10:34, Updated 06 February 2014 10:22, by Gen George, http://www.brw.com.au/p/leadership/abolish_the_workday_oneshift_founder_J1NiihYAYJ1YxtvN2yo61M

13. “Changing world of work must drive management makeover”, HR Zone, by Jamie Lawrence, 20th January 2014, http://www.hrzone.com/feature/leadership/changing-world-work-must-drive-management-makeover/142794

14. “Why Millennials Are Ending The 9 To 5”, Forbes, by Kate Taylor, 8/23/2013 @ 2:00PM, http://www.forbes.com/sites/katetaylor/2013/08/23/why-millennials-are-ending-the-9-to-5/

15. “Engaging Virtual Employees: Innovative Approaches to Fostering Community”, by Frank Mulhern, Northwestern University, March 2012, http://www.marketing.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=6041

16. Labour Market Policy Group, Department of Labour, “The business case for firm-level work-life balance policies: a review of the literature”, by Philippa Yasbek, January 2004, http://www.dol.govt.nz/PDFs/FirmLevelWLB.pdf

17. Australian Human Resources Institute, “Doing the Telecommute”, HR Monthly August 2012, https://www.ahri.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/13395/HRM_August_FEATURE_STORY-Doing_the_telecommute.pdf

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19. Govindarajan, V. and Gupta, A. K. (2001) Building an Effective Global Business Team, MIT Sloan Management Review, Cambridge, Massachusetts, viewed on 14 August 2014 , http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/building-an-effective-global-business-team/

20. Deloitte, “Global Human Capital Trends 2014: Engaging the 21st-century workforce”, 2014, Juliet Bourke, Christie Smith, Heather Stockton,, Nicky Wakefield, http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-MiddleEast/Local%20Assets/Documents/Services/Consulting/HC%202014/Attract%20and%20engage/me_human-capital-2014_diversity-inclusion.pdf

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21. Diversity Council Australia 2013 “Cultural Diversity: the benefits for business”, Diversity Council of Australia, Sydney viewed on 18 August 2014 http://dca.org.au/files/file/Cultural%20diversity%20docs/ATOH2013_FactSheet.pdf

22. Australian Government, Workplace Gender Equality Agency, “Flexible working arrangements: Flexible working arrangements and arrangements to support employees with family or caring responsibilities”, https://www.wgea.gov.au/sites/default/files/GEI4.1_availability_utility_employment_terms.pdf

23. Accenture, “Trends Reshaping the Future of HR: Digital Radically Disrupts HR”, March 17, 2014, http://www.accenture.com/us-en/Pages/insight-future-of-hr-trends-digital-radically-disrupts-hr.aspx

24. Deloitte, “Race to the cloud: Integrate talent, HR, and business technologies”, by Andrew Hill, John Malikowski, Erica Volini & Brett Walsh, March 7, 2014, http://dupress.com/articles/hc-trends-2014-race-to-the-cloud/

25. “Big Data in Human Resources: Talent Analytics Comes of Age”, Forbes 2/17/2013 @ 8:00PM, by Josh Bersin, http://www.forbes.com/sites/joshbersin/2013/02/17/bigdata-in-human-resources-talent-analytics-comes-of-age/#

26. “Implementing Actionable Predictive Analytics in Talent Management”, ere.net, by Dr. John Sullivan, Oct 7, 2013, 5:01am, http://www.ere.net/2013/10/07/implementing-actionable-predictive-analytics-in-talent-management/

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41. 2014 Talent Shortage Survey New Zealand, Manpower Group, viewed 1 September 2014, https://www.manpowergroup.co.nz/documents/White-Papers/2014_TS_Infographic_NZ-A4.pdf

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Respondent ProfileClient survey

lOCaTiOn age anD genDeR

NSW/ACT 37%

VIC/TAS 32%

SA 3%

WA 11%

QLD/NT 8%

NZ 9%

Male 68%

Female 32%

Under 35 5%

35 to 44 25%

45 to 54 42%

55+ 28%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

inDUSTRy

2% Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing 4% Communication Services

9% Mining 8% Finance & Insurance

18% Manufacturing 7% Property & Business Services

7% Utilities 4% Education

6% Construction 9% Health & Community Services

5% Wholesale Trade 1% Cultural & Recreational Services

3% Retail Trade 3% Personal & Other Services

2% Hospitality 2% Did Not Respond

10% Transport

Candidate survey

lOCaTiOn age anD genDeR

NSW/ACT 37%

VIC/TAS 27%

SA 6%

WA 12%

QLD/NT 13%

NZ 6%

Male 64%

Female 36%

18 to 34 22%

35 to 49 37%

50+ 41%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%

34

Behaviour is a function of the Person and environment

B = FN (P.E)

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