The M.I.D., as we call it, is curated by our editorial team from more than 50 news sources. Like a lot of good ideas, this started as something I wanted for myself. If I can’t read everything, I at least want to stay abreast of the most important developments.
This week in HR, we were encouraged to hire immigrants, soft skills got a shout-out, we learned one key to making hybrid work work is using in-person time well, HR Happy Hour explored outbound recruitment, and we were reminded there’s a free, virtual HR technology conference and Josh Bersin is the keynote.
More than 38 million people left their jobs last year. Amazingly, that’s nearly one out of every four workers in the U.S. This has contributed to a shortfall of 11 million workers needed to fill open roles. As employers scramble to fill these openings, it’s crucial for them to realize that there is a talented and high-potential group of individuals who can help alleviate the worker crisis. Immigrants represented more than 17% of the workforce in 2019 and there are a total of 44.7 million immigrants in the U.S. This includes 2.5 million refugees who have resettled here since 1980 and 75,000 Afghans who have arrived since the U.S. withdrawal from the country in August. Despite these numbers and the fact that all of our new Afghan neighbors are legally authorized to work, immigrants have higher unemployment rates compared to the average American. As the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has said, employers need to hire more immigrant workers to help alleviate the worker shortage crisis and fully grow the U.S. economy. Fortune
How can organizations adapt to better align with their employees’ needs and help combat turnover? The answer is multi-faceted, but it begins with adjusting our organizational approach to professional soft skill learning, which is commonly overlooked in today’s rush to digitalization. Soft skills, also known as common or core skills, are the highly transferrable, non-technical skills that relate to how one works, such as leadership, problem-solving, and communication, to name a few. In taking a step back to consider the top organizational values and employee needs, today’s leaders can establish a sustainable, long-term strategy for employee skill development that ensures increased retention and employee satisfaction. By emphasizing soft skill training and providing the necessary learning and development opportunities, companies are driving greater retention while ensuring improved alignment and success. A study conducted by Boston College, Harvard University, and the University of Michigan shows that soft skills training in areas such as communication and problem-solving boosts employee productivity and retention by 12% and delivers a 250% return on investment based on these increases. HR Executive
In the last 18 months, we have all seen that people can work from home productively, and that flexibility is likely to remain in some form as we emerge from the pandemic. In a recent study (Times Future of Work 7th December 2020), 70 percent of global organizations said some proportion of their workforce will be allowed to work remotely full time in the future normal, with 61 percent planning to empower employees to choose their own mix of working from home and working from the office. Some 25 percent of companies plan to allow employees to choose to work from home full time. Seven ways to transition to hybrid work: over-communicate, keep experimenting, value live time, schedule downtime, think people not PowerPoint, build in development and shadow time, foster a feedback culture. Training Mag
In case you missed it, HR Happy Hour met with Steven Jiang, CEO and Co-Founder, and Shannon Pritchett, Head of Marketing and Community, from HireEZ to discuss the leave and wellness revolution and how caring for your employees has taken on a whole new power. They talked about problems facing recruiters, why outbound recruiting is the new future, and Hiretual’s rebranding into HireEZ. Interesting discussion about recruitment technologies but you can skip ahead about 6 minutes (they’re just talking about vacations they want to take) if you want to get right to the meat of the discussion. HR Happy Hour Podcast
With traditional work models going by the wayside amidst the great resignation, HR technology has become a lifeline for organizations to support company culture, cultivate community, and make work meaningful. With seven riveting keynotes, dozens of impactful sessions, in-depth product demos, and an online Expo showcasing 100+ HR technology providers, HR Tech Virtual will provide valuable insight on how to define and drive a culture of purpose in your organization along with today’s best practices to leverage technology for HR, talent, and overall business success as we continue to define the new world of work. HR Tech Virtual
