Businesses are facing the most diverse work environment that the world has ever seen with five different generations working together, across geographies — each with different skills, experiences and work habits. More of these workers will be freelancers and long-term contractors. All of this represents a major opportunity for productivity, talent development and employee engagement, but according to new wide-scale research from Oxford Economics, most companies are unprepared to capitalize on it.
As revealed in Workforce 2020, an independent, global study by Oxford Economics with support from SAP SE, most companies recognize the importance of managing an increasingly international, diverse and mobile workforce. However, the majority lack the strategy, culture and solutions to do so. Oxford Economics surveyed more than 5,400 employees and executives and interviewed 29 executives in 27 countries, finding that two-thirds of businesses have not made significant progress toward building a workforce that will meet their future business objectives. The announcement was made at SuccessConnect 2014, being held September 9-11 in Las Vegas.
“To gain advantage in the future, businesses must understand the workforce of tomorrow and its importance to bottom-line success — today,” said Edward Cone, managing editor of Thought Leadership at Oxford Economics. “Our research shows that the C-suite is out of touch with HR on business strategy and priorities, and workers are not getting what they want from their employers in terms of incentives, benefits and training.”
