Resilience is a term that's been kicked a lot around during Covid. It's become part of the conversation since we were sideswiped in the beginning of 2020. As the strategists at McKinsey point out: "2020 was a wake up call. To thrive in the coming decade, companies must develop resilience--the ability to withstand unpredictable threat or change and then to emerge stronger."
In other words, Covid wasn't a singularity. It was an example of how change will happen going forward because of, among other things, the speed of technological evolution, especially Artificial Intelligence.
With all of us worn out from the Mr. FixIt work we did during Covid, do HR and Compensation have the energy to be resilient now? It seems like the amount of energy we have can be relied on to get us through the first six to eight months post-Covid. This period will really be a "get back to normal, whatever that means" effort. We've imagined and planned for "normal" but it will challenge us when it inevitably turns out to be at least somewhat unpredictable. (Think about the surprising current difficulties with hourly employment.)
That doesn't mean we should let ourselves off the hook. It's very rare when an organization is in unison, but look around. Your organization just may be more aligned on certain goals than ever before. And even if it is a little hairy right now, we really do have a unique chance to focus on the long term. This is a time when many management teams will be relieved that Human Resources wants to think big. Don't let this opportunity go.
Recent research indicates that almost half (48%) of us plan to do workforce planning/modeling as a result of what we've learned during Covid, and 45% plan to improve insights into and data on pay equity. Here are a couple of thoughts for those who are launching into this work.
And for those who aren't, a suggestion. Think hard about doing a self-assessment. Covid must have exposed cracks in your "structures." This has happened everywhere, so it would be surprising if your organization were exempt. Don't let yourself be caught short-sighted after such an important transition as the one we are going through. Not matter how straightforward your Covid experience was, enough emerged that should lead you to learn and reconsider.
Workforce planning is--or should be--done hand in hand with Compensation. As we work together, we will be tempted to limit our modeling to immediately following Covid, with a wait and see what comes next. The concept of resilience tells us, though, that this approach may not be adequate. We need to be focused on "withstanding change to emerge stronger." Surely that involves planning for the coming year of 2022, creating a strategy that should be managed through the lens of change management.
In my mind, workforce planning goes hand in hand with a robust job architecture. For Life Science and Tech start ups, job architecture is a must have because of the way their jobs are administered. For companies of 300-500 and larger, isn't it time to budget for a job architecture? Workforce planning is going to become more detailed in the coming years because of increasing focus on HR Analytics, and employee transitions are going to become more frequent.
That's just looking at it from HR's point of view. From your employees' point of view, job architecture is something that improves transparency and also distinguishes your company as clearly committed to their career, a critical differentiator in this job market. While a job architecture project is expensive in terms of time and money, the investment begins to pay off immediately.
And think hard about the future of pay equity in your company. Is it enough to massage the sore points, as we usually do? Or is it time to take it on, so that your company is able to demonstrate its commitment to pay equity in public? A long-term goal for many, but certainly part of "emerging stronger." Isn't it long past due?
Margaret O'Hanlon brings deep expertise to discussions on employee pay, performance management, career development and communications at the Café. Her firm is re:Think Consulting. Earlier, she was a Principal at Willis Towers Watson. A former Board member for the Bay Area Compensation Association (BACA), Margaret coauthored the popular eBook, Everything You Do (in Compensation) Is Communications, a toolkit that all practitioners can find at everythingiscommunication.com. She is a member of U.S. Masters Swimming.
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