6 Work Force Trends for 2012

By Maria Valdez Haubrich

What changes can you expect for your work force this year? The Herman Group has issued its annual forecast, which predicts that 2012 will be much like 2011 due to prolonged economic challenges. Here’s a closer look at some of the key trends:

1. Recruiting will intensify among smaller employers. Herman Group believes that while many small and midsized companies will add staff, others will try to hold off until the 2012 election outcome is decided.

2. Bad news if you’re looking for skilled workers: Despite high unemployment (over 7.25 percent throughout 2012 in all parts of the country), it will be harder than ever to recruit experienced people. As a result, more communities will realize there is a critical need for work force development if they are to grow economically, and will work to provide the training candidates need to be successful.

3. Companies will use social networks not only in recruiting, marketing and public relations, but also in training and development, and even in succession planning. Bigger companies will increasingly use social media for internal communications.

4. A growing number of unemployed people will become consultants or personal coaches, and more executives will turn to coaching to fulfill their potential. Continuing a trend from the past few years, more companies will “rent” the talent they need instead of hiring.

5. Big companies, in particular, will continue to reduce staff to optimize productivity and profitability. However, smart companies will realize that reducing staff too much will hurt employee engagement, and will pull back before disengaged workers start to affect the bottom line.

6. An escalating regulatory environment in the U.S. means employers need good legal advice more than ever to avoid costly problems and errors. If you don’t already have legal help in place, now is the time to engage it.

What changes are you seeing in your work force? What challenges are you facing?

Image by Flickr user Daniel Ramirez (Creative Commons)

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 12th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Small Business, small business, Workforce. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.


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