Follow the Vanguards:

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Follow the Vanguards:

The four dynamics of a resilient workforce

The research uncovered a group of business leaders who are taking steps to strengthen the resilience and agility of their workforces for a more fluid, less predictable future. These efforts are already delivering benefits across each organization. This group, the ‘Vanguards’, report that employee wellbeing and productivity have significantly improved within their organizations over the past 12 months – compared to the ‘Laggards,’ who report a decline in employee wellbeing in the same time period.

The Vanguards are far more likely than the Laggards to report that remote work has increased their employees’ ability to innovate (91% vs 52%), made them more open to using new technologies (87% vs. 53%), and improved employees’ ability to collaborate (85% vs. 49%) and to be productive (90% vs 48%) in this fluid work environment.

Vanguards are also far more likely to report revenue growth over the past three years (94% vs 36% of Laggards), which indicates that their agile response to the changing workplace is having a positive impact on overall business performance.

What are Vanguards doing differently?

The data shows that the Vanguards have taken a more strategic, long-term approach to improving the resilience, agility, and wellbeing of their workforces. These strategies are defined by four key dynamics that, together, are helping them reimagine how work is done.

Dynamic #1:
Amplifying workforce fluidity

Vanguards are more likely to have a comprehensive strategy for bridging skills gaps within their organizations, making it easier for them to fill key roles.

Vanguards are also planning ahead by putting in place a multi-tiered approach to bridging skills gaps, which gives them greater flexibility in how they address talent needs in a tight labor market. More than a third of Vanguards (35%) say they plan to hire more permanent talent than usual, while almost two-thirds (62%) expect to employ more contingent workers to bring required skills to the company; and more than half (52%) plan to implement re-skilling initiatives to fill these gaps.

Vanguards recognize that poor visibility of the optimal mix of talent is a risk to workforce planning. But, unlike Laggards, they are working to mitigate this risk. Fully 87% of Vanguards say improving visibility of the talent they have across all business areas will be important for managing their workforce effectively in the future (compared to 70% of Laggards); and 91% of Vanguards say determining the optimal mix of permanent vs contingent workers is a key component of that strategy (vs 59% of Laggards).

[Our] contingent talent proposition is aligned with our employee value proposition. We want to be seen as an employer of choice, where candidates have a great opportunity to gain experience and develop a career – whether that’s for the short or the long term.

Maurice Benz
Global Category Manager, External Workforce, Novartis

Unlocking the potential of contingent workers at Farmers

In this labor market, companies can’t afford to take a one-size-fits-all approach to talent acquisition, says Koenraad Lecot, Head of Contingent Workforce Management at Farmers Insurance.

“When [most companies] do their strategic workforce planning, they typically only think about permanent employees,” Lecot says. “Few companies include the contingent workers in that strategy. But I’ve been recommending to our IT organization that we should be doing this every year.”

He notes that about 70% of Farmers’ IT team are contingent workers, which allows them to fill project teams quickly, and to access hard-to-find talent, without sacrificing quality.

Lecot regularly analyzes data on all contingent workers, looking at their tenure, skill sets, and quality of output to ensure they are performing to expectations. These analyses help him prove to senior stakeholders that contractors deliver the same value as full-time staff, and bring speed and flexibility to the workforce management plan.

“There's so much volatility in the market and things change quickly; you won't always have the skills you need internally to meet new objectives,” he says. It is why he believes contractors will be “even more important in the future.”

Dynamic #2:
Building a better employee experience

Vanguards know that creating a positive employee experience isn’t just something that is nice to do for workers. They recognize that it leads to greater retention, productivity, and engagement, which translate to better business results. As many as 91% of Vanguards say that improving the employee experience is as high a business priority as improving the customer experience (compared with 55% of Laggards).

Creating a positive employee experience requires a comprehensive approach to talent management that considers every touchpoint an employee has with the company. Vanguards know that the best source of data about how to improve that experience is the employees themselves.

This is why Vanguards are more likely than Laggards to conduct regular employee surveys and focus groups to understand the employee experience, and to use those surveys to vet the impact of improvement efforts.

Vanguards are more likely to involve employees in defining and shaping their roles, and benchmark their employee value proposition (EVP) against other firms in their sectors. As the war for talent intensifies, benchmarking the organization’s EVP against the market – and then taking the right steps to strengthen it – will become increasingly important.

We are capitalizing on learnings from the pandemic to optimize our employee experience, because we recognize that it will drive our competitive advantage. It opens us up to new talent, new perspectives and, ultimately, innovation, which delivers value for our customers.

Heidi Gerhard
Head of Talent Strategy, BASF

Toyota takes HR online

The rush to remote working made technology a critical factor in improving the employee experience, says Anthony Allen, Senior Director of Talent Acquisition for ‎Toyota North America.

“We are always trying to enhance the employee experience,” he says. “Covid-19 only accelerated this, and some will continue working remotely at some cadence.”

For example, owing to a new ‘Ask HR’ platform, instead of having to call their HR rep every time they have a question or need information, employees can simply interact with the automated tool.

The tool was developed using an agile methodology, with extensive feedback from employees, to ensure it delivers a consumer-grade experience.

“Initially, it was rolled out to answer questions about Covid-19,” Allen says. But Toyota quickly saw the value in providing employees with real-time access to information, and has since expanded the tool to cover benefits and is adding content on other popular HR topics. “We want to provide our employees with the same outstanding experience we deliver to our customers.”

Dynamic #3:
Improving diversity, equity and inclusion

The data shows that, while many organizations still only pay lip service to DEI programs, Vanguards are making them a priority.

Despite acknowledging that an effective DEI strategy improves motivation, boosts the ability to innovate; and increases employee satisfaction and loyalty, less than half of respondents (43%) say they are executing a fully developed DEI strategy for their full-time staff, and only 19% have a DEI strategy for contingent labor.

But Vanguards are around twice as likely as Laggards to have fully developed DEI strategies in place for both permanent and contingent talent. These strategies include programs to attract and support the career progression of women and candidates from under-represented groups, offering DEI training and incentives for leaders, and establishing clear channels to report discrimination.

They are also more likely to have measurable goals and objectives in place to track DEI outcomes (84% vs 63%) and to monitor actively the DEI policies of contingent talent providers (84% vs 56%). This ensures the entire workforce – not just full-time staff – aligns with their DEI goals.

Vanguards are making these substantial investments in diversity because they recognize that a diverse and inclusive workforce is also good for business. More than half of Vanguards say that efforts to improve DEI can be linked to higher employee motivation, greater satisfaction and loyalty, and improved ability to innovate.

They are also more likely to say that their DEI programs give them access to a wider talent pool.

When we have to compete with the Facebooks and the Googles, we need to be sure candidates know that we value diversity and inclusion, invest in social causes, and have a great atmosphere and culture. That helps us attract the right people.

Koenraad Lecot
Head of Contingent Workforce Management, Farmers Insurance

This is especially important for companies trying to attract younger workers who pay close attention to DEI when choosing employers.

Cummins works to strengthen DEI, in the organization and beyond

The research shows that, while the majority of organizations understand the critical importance of improving DEI, many leaders could be doing more to translate DEI ambitions into action. This isn’t just the right thing to do – it also makes good business sense. Data from McKinsey shows that companies with the most diverse workforces are more profitable and have a greater market share than their competitors with the least diverse workforces.

So, how can leaders approach a matter as complex and sensitive as DEI? For Cummins Inc., a multinational manufacturer of generators and power systems, part of the solution lies in increasing communication and understanding between employees. “Over the past couple of years, we have focused on helping our employees understand what diversity, equity, and inclusion means, and we now have a global strategy with clear focus areas to make progress in DEI across our company and in our communities,” explains Todd Hill, Director of Talent Acquisition. “For example, through Cummins’ Black Network, we organized discussion sessions to help our employees understand the reality for black men and women in America. Thousands of employees participated in these open forums.”

“Some organizations may have been uncomfortable having these conversations, but our CEO and leadership team absolutely believe that these topics should be talked about in the workplace. We are working with people impacted by these social issues, and the forums have been very helpful in enabling colleagues to become advocates, allies, and partners.”

Cummins’ commitment to equality isn’t limited to its own workforce. The organization has a global DEI strategy and plan in place and recently launched its Cummins Advocate for Racial Equality (CARE) program, which focuses on justice reform and economic empowerment in the wider community. “One of the workstreams I’m involved in focuses on economic empowerment,” explains Hill. “The program focuses on providing low-income communities with advice and education that can empower them to improve their economic situation – so, how you improve your credit score, financial literacy, managing debt and budgeting.”

communities,” explains Todd Hill, Director of Talent Acquisition. “For example, through Cummins’ Black Network, we organized discussion sessions to help our employees understand the reality for black men and women in America. Thousands of employees participated in these open forums.”

on justice reform and economic empowerment in the wider community. “One of the workstreams I’m involved in focuses on economic empowerment,” explains Hill. “The program focuses on providing low-income communities with advice and education that can empower them to improve their economic situation – so, how you improve your credit score, financial literacy, managing debt and budgeting.”

Dynamic #4:
Using leading-edge technology to manage a workforce in flux

The majority of respondents in the survey admit to feeling “overwhelmed” by the range of workforce technology options currently available. While the vast range of options is paralyzing progress for many Laggards, Vanguards are adopting new technology solutions at a faster rate, because they realize that these tools will enable their employees to thrive.

The data found that 88% of Vanguards say adopting leading-edge technologies is critical to enhancing the employee experience and for supporting long-term business success, and 94% believe it is their responsibility to ensure employees have the skills they need to adopt new technologies quickly. Many have already begun implementing new technologies to alleviate workload pressure and enhance efficiency (64% vs 48% of Laggards), and nearly half are using technology to gain visibility of workforce utilization and to improve the recruiting process.

As organizations give employees the option to work remotely over the long term, the adoption of technologies will become increasingly necessary to foster collaboration among dispersed teams, track productivity metrics, and maintain high levels of visibility of the talent mix across the enterprise.

Digitalization and technology allow us to embrace different ways of working, and different thinking modalities that deliver value in a more efficient, effective way.

Heidi Gerhard
Head of Talent Strategy, BASF

Networking app links BASF employees

The mass shift to remote working may be a boon for focused, head-down work. But it has made impossible all of the unplanned interactions that are such an important part of the employee experience. BASF is overcoming this loss through digital tools that enable virtual interactions.

“We heard consistently from our employees that they missed those casual collisions,” says Heidi Gerhard, Head of Talent Strategy, BASF. The lack of day-to-day interaction eliminated the spur-of-the moment brainstorming that so often leads to innovation, and prevented talent from building networks, and getting exposure to different areas of the organization. “When we're not physically in the office, people miss out on those organic connections.”

Her team decided to recreate these interactions using digital technology to enable less formal collaboration and networking. The new offerings include a virtual talent-matching tool that pairs team members with BASF colleagues, based on their interest in learning more about a business unit, position, or company location. The two team members then meet for a virtual chat.

“A tool like this helps talent broaden their organizational awareness and their development, because they're getting exposure to different areas of the organization,” Gerhard says. It has been especially valuable for new hires who haven’t yet had a chance to connect with peers in person. “It is really helping to foster the BASF community.”