REBA Inside Track: Why a broad approach is needed to tackle changing people requirements
Throughout the Transforming Engagement Series, in partnership with Mercer Marsh Benefits, we’ve aimed to keep our finger on the pulse of business and employee engagement transformation. Innovation, market demand, environmental targets and digital and technological development are the key components forcing this transformation, both on an iterative and a revolutionary scale.
To keep up, many successful chief human resources officers (CHROs) focus heavily on the human skills they need now, as well as forecasting future, sometimes unknown, skills they will need in the short, medium and longer term. How their organisations transform and succeed in a sustainable way will depend heavily on HR strategies linked to workforce skills.
So, it is notable that seven-in-10 respondents to our People risk strategies for successful business change research say market demand for skills is a challenge. Almost two-thirds told us that the cost of recruiting new skills is a current risk, and more than three-quarters worry about business risks linked to wage demands.
Sustainable solutions
Clearly, throwing money at the skills problem cannot be the solution. Which is why leading CHROs are thinking more broadly about more sustainable people risk mitigation strategies. While we found that half of research respondents have, or are implementing, skills and talent mapping for future business needs, more than a quarter still plan to put this type of strategic planning in place within the next two years. Within two years, any CHRO or HR director not doing this will be in the lower quartile among their peers.
But skills are not inanimate items that can be bought and sold; they form an intrinsic part of each human being – with all their talents and fallibilities. REBA's People risk strategies for successful business change research shows that most employers already have, or plan to implement, risk mitigation approaches to keep people motivated, well led and able to cope with change. Some are using advanced strategies to counteract long-term risks, such as the rise in non-communicable diseases (which increase within ageing workforces), or that focus on increasingly sought-after autonomy over roles.
Ageing well
Across all generations, health and wellbeing linked to poor diets and inactivity is a worry, with the cumulative effect over decades hitting harder as workforces age. The impact on absence, retention, productivity (via energy levels) and insurance claims are all risks. A third of respondents have strategies to mitigate chronic health conditions, with more than a third working on it. Just a fifth have considered ways to support employee energy levels, but interest looks set to grow, alongside social connection and digital health and safety.
Those aiming to mitigate people risk are also thinking differently about the benefits they can use to engage employees through change. Expect to see new benefits designs and platforms, different uses of recognition programmes to change employee behaviours, as well as rising demand for innovative benefits that aid achievement of net-zero targets.
