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Expect Some Surprises, New Challenges in 2020

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Looking ahead, employers will need to step up their efforts to balance person-centered workplaces with cutting-edge technology and automation.

The first leaf has yet to fall and winter coats are still in the closet, but smart organizations are already looking ahead to 2020. They know that they will have to be less centralized, more mobile, and more flexible than ever; and they are strategizing to adopt the latest technology, attract the best younger workers, and employ cutting-edge training tools and resources. Read on to learn about how you can prepare for success in 2020.

Don’t Wait for a Disaster or PR Nightmare: Wake Up to Value of Continuous Checks

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More companies are implementing ongoing background checks to keep people safe and avoid trouble.

A lot can change in a short time. An employee who passed a background check a year ago could be a risk or an embarrassment today. If you’re not rescreening current employees, you’re not alone. In 2018, only 11% of workers underwent routine additional screenings. However, there are many reasons that continuous background checks may be necessary; and a growing number of employers are seeing this as a priority to protect their reputation and, more importantly, keep clients/residents, employees, and other stakeholders safe.

Survey: Future-Focused Training and Leaders Are in Demand

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Employees say that reskilling can make or break their engagement and decisions about where to work.

The World Economic Forum has predicted that the world’s workforce will need “significant reskilling” by 2023. At the same time, studies show that employees want to learn and gain new skills. Yet a recent survey suggests that only 41% of workers say their employers are providing training to prepare them for the future. At the same time, 76% say that such opportunities would make their current or prospective employers more appealing.

Will They Stay or Will They Go?

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Innovative “stay conversations” can motivate your best workers not to go.

Turnover costs U.S. businesses $600 billion last year, and this doesn’t account for the knowledge, experience, and ideas employees take with them when they leave. Increasingly, organizations are using “stay conversations” to keep people from going. A one-on-one talk between a boss and an individual team member, the stay conversation is designed to help the supervisor determine what’s important to their employee in the workplace, as well as his or her interests and aspirations. By getting this information directly from the employee, the manager can more accurately target efforts to keep the person engaged. Increasingly, employers see it as a fairly simple solution to a complex problem.

The Doctor is “On”: Can Your Smartphone or Other Device Detect Burnout?

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Behavioral analytics and “smartphone psychiatry” could help employers identify worker burnout, stress, depression.

Watching for red flags to help detect employee burnout can be challenging. Now there is technology that can help do some of the work for you. Behavioral analytics, a subfield of people analytics, is being used by some companies to help identify signs of burnout, as well as to promote optimal health and wellbeing. Generally, this involves a simple wristband or electronic badge that can measure vital signs and detect speech pattern or sleep quality changes. Employers can use the data from these measurements to identify instances where employees are showing signs of being overworked or stressed out.

Survey: Prospects and Employees Seek to Hide Lives, Feelings, Beliefs from Employers

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If you think you know your job candidates and employees by viewing their social media postings, think again.

According to a new survey, people are using a variety of tactics to hide social media posts about their activities, interests, and beliefs from employers.

Of over 2,000 respondents, 84% say they believe social media regularly impacts hiring and other employment decisions; and one in five say they have posted material that they believe could jeopardize a current or future opportunity.  As a result, nearly half (43%) say they enable privacy settings to keep social media posts and information from employers; and 40% have created an alias or alternate account.

Survey: Emotional Intelligence Makes for Better Leaders, Stronger Teams

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Despite proof that EI is a key characteristic of motivated, productive, innovative employees, employers are playing with fire by ignoring it.

Imagine this scenario: Bob has been working tirelessly on a proposal for a new project. He’s put countless hours into this, and he feels passionately about it. Finally, it’s time for him to present his proposal to management. The finance VP expresses some serious concerns about the budget. Bob gets upset and storms out of the meeting. As a result, the project is delayed and eventually turned over to another employee.

Intelligent people can do stupid things when they let their emotions get the best of them. Lacking emotional intelligence (EI), the ability to process emotions and demonstrate self-awareness, self-control, empathy, and social skills, is a problem for leaders and their teams, even if every person involved has higher than average IQs. One recent survey suggests companies that embrace EI have greater productivity and employee engagement. Organizations that promote EI also have higher customer experience ratings than their counterparts (37% versus 8%) and greater customer loyalty (40% versus 12%). These companies also are more effective at managing risk and have a greater degree of communication, collaboration, and innovation.

Proposed Rule on Employers’ Religious Rights Attracts Support, Criticism, Debate

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DOL seeks to “clarify” civil rights protections for religious organizations, but some fear it will increase discrimination against marginalized groups.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) issued a proposed rule “to clarify the civil rights protections afforded to religious organizations that contract with the federal government.” The proposal, says a DOL news release, “would clarify that religious organizations may make employment decisions consistent with their sincerely held religious tenets and beliefs without fear of sanction by the federal government.” However, many organizations have come out in opposition to the proposed rule, suggesting that it actually will undermine civil rights protections for LGBTQ and other groups.

Study: Employees Worry More About Being Replaced by Other Humans Than by Robots

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High-tech training can help prepare your teams to embrace automation instead of seeing it as a threat.

Over the years, dozens of movies have showed the potential impact of robots replacing humans in a variety of jobs. Yet, a new study suggests that workers actually are more worried about being replaced by another person than by a machine. While they have concerns about what technological advances might mean for their job security down the pike, they don’t see this as an immediate issue.

Interestingly, employees surveyed for the study say that they would prefer people in other jobs be replaced by humans over technology. However, when it comes to their own job, they would rather be replaced by a machine. Study authors suggests that this finding has to do with self-worth. They explain that being replaced by another human feels very personal; while they see being supplanted by a machine as having more to do with efficiency and financial considerations.

Are You Breadcrumbing Employees?

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Dangling promises in front of people can keep them engaged for a while; but without follow-through, that strategy could cost you good workers and your reputation.

 

Just when you’ve learned all about “ghosting” and how it can negatively impact your workplace, along comes a new concept that might be even more insidious. Move over ghosting: here comes “breadcrumbing.”

What is breadcrumbing? It is generally defined as sharing bits of praise and hints about possible promotions, raises, or projects to keep employees in line without actually giving them anything. In many ways, it’s just an updated term for “intermittent reinforcement,” which psychologists have long considered a way to influence someone’s behavior.

The danger of breadcrumbing is that when these hints of raises, promotions, or projects don’t materialize, employees lose trust in employers and are more likely to look for opportunities elsewhere. In a tight job market where job openings are abundant, good workers could be less patient waiting for promises to be fulfilled.