Research: 2020-2021 Global Talent Trends Study

Mercer’s 2020-2021 Global Talent Trends Study highlights the need to plan workforce transformation with care, as concerns about the human and economic fallout from the pandemic continue to surface.

Research: 2020-2021 Global Talent Trends Study 1

Key findings

  • In 2021, leaders are most concerned about delivering against transformation goals in the face of widespread stress and fatigue.
  • Intended investments for 2021 are focused on restructuring (45%), upskilling/reskilling (34%) and reinventing flexibility (29%).
  • The top priorities for HR in 2021 are: accelerating programmes and policies that enable employees to adapt to new ways of working; transforming the HR operating model to be more agile; accelerating HR digital transformation; redesigning HR processes for a remote/blended work experience; and hardwiring culture into workforce transformation plans.

The study also found that there is a move towards a more human approach to decision making. Putting human and economic metrics side by side to create a more empathetic world of work.