- Surplus of degrees, deficit of judgment- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the US unemployment rate at 9.7% (July 17, 2009). So with so many out of work it is easy to think that you would have no shortage of qualified, talented people ready to come to work. Yet organizations are still finding the process of finding the right people very challenging. This gap will only widen with time, as our economy continues to transition to that of a “knowledge based service economy” factors such as new technologies, changing demographics, aggressive competition and the more sophisticated consumer will continue to create a work environment that exposes, in dramatic fashion, those who have underdeveloped social, interpersonal and emotional business skill sets. Pick up a newspaper, it doesn’t take long to look through the headlines and find example after example of smart people making bad decisions.
- Yes ma’am, right away ma’am- A 2007 study found that over 60% of college students were women, more than half of all mid tier management jobs are already held by women and they continue to be the fastest growing demographic in that segment as well as small business entrepreneurs. Women are continuing to find career and family balances that tip further and further to the board room.
- From the Jones’ to the Jones Smiths’- Fundamental shifts have occurred in the US with regards to family structures. Data suggests that from the 1960’s to 2007 the percentage of our workforce that the “traditional family” (defined as husband working and wife at home) fell from and estimated 56% to 17%. Every year more and more people are saying “I don’t anymore” rather than “I do”, they are postponing marriage or deciding all together it best to raise children in two homes rather than one.
- Bucket list generations- More and more men ranging from late 20’s to early 40’s are saying they are less willing to compete up a shaky corporate ladder if it means costing them too much with regard to their family and personal lives. In addition the workforce continually documents upward trends with both men and women who insist that their work be meaningful and contributes to something larger than themselves.
- Impact of technology- Researchers have been citing technology as a game changer for years so why is it still something to plan around? Changes are coming faster and they are much more complex than in the past, they happen in multiples and our ways of dealing with them have much shorter shelf life. There is a saying that goes “The genius of American ingenuity is that we are designing products that last ten years yet make them obsolete in two.” The exponential growth of the technology based research, development and business focus is causing head aches, stress and information overload for those tasked with working in concert with these new tools.
The complexity of the world we live in is challenging us in ways we often overlook, underestimate and rarely have imagined before. Think about this, we would never expect a copy machine or computer to work very well if we were forced to set them up outside. Stresses and impact of the environment would ensure you never tap the full potential of that technology. When production seems to decline or become ineffective, even under ideal conditions, few hesitate to call a professional to update, upgrade or fix what is broken…Don’t your people deserve at least that same attention??
"Let statistics and data serve as framework for the decisions we make...but let the fact that people everyday and in every walk of life defy those statistics, be the foundation of who we are and what we expect of ourselves." -
