The Way Ahead – HR Trends 2009

Thinking about what this coming year will bring us, I stumbled upon a great article in the Montreal Gazette, by Derek Sankey. He looks at what the biggest workplace challenges will be in the year ahead and I was amazed at how closely his issues are linked to the ideas we’ve been talking about on this blog for the past year… Consider what he says about the ongoing importance of investing in human capital:

“Companies will still have to retain top talent because top performers are the ones who will become invaluable as organizations try to manage their way through the economic downturn… It might be tempting to eliminate employee development and training programs when times are tight, but that might lead to an ill-prepared workforce when the economy picks up… Morale, loyalty and trust will become bigger issues in 2009 as a result.“

Sankey goes on to talk about the increasing importance of managing a diverse workforce (including generational differences), and succession planning.

He also touched on the increase in flexible workplace policies. He says, “Flexibility has been built in organizations in many ways over the past few years. It’s not a trend as much as it is a new reality of doing business. Top talent will continue to gravitate to employers who demonstrate that even during a difficult period, leaders remain committed to walking the talk.“

Check out the entire article for yourself, it’s well worth the read. And let us know if you’ve found any great trend forecasting out there – we’d love to highlight it.