DHL Supply Chain [ETR: DHL]

Major Challenges and Trends Impacting the HR Industry

I would say that the retention of a workforce is the biggest challenge that’s impacting the HR industry. Understanding what drives associates to stay or leave an organization and how fluid an organization can be in meeting those demands has been at the top of my mind for the last few years. Those drivers make up the trends that we are seeing in the industry today. Some of them continue to be the drivers of the past, such as compensation and benefits, but we are seeing other areas becoming more prevalent as our work environment and generational values continue to change. I think the trend that we’ve seen the most forward momentum recently is the want for more flexibility within the workforce. Items such as flex scheduling, additional time off (both paid and unpaid), working from home, and an overall sense of ownership over an associate’s work schedule are a trend that is gaining increased importance within the HR industry.

Major Predicaments in the HR Industry

For me, this is an easy answer: are we going to have enough people to perform the jobs needed to continue our growth? The United States currently has around 10 million job openings in the US and roughly 6.5 million unemployed workers (only 1.8 million are on unemployment insurance). If you couple these statistics with the fact that we are experiencing a decrease in our workforce year over year in an environment that has not been overly taxing from a GDP standpoint, I do get worried about what the future of business and labor will look like moving forward. Luckily, many companies are investing in innovation, which will be needed as we continue to have a diminishing labor pool in the US.

I’ve always understood that change is a constant, and if you don’t adapt, you will be left behind

Latest Project You Have Been Working On, and the Technological and Process Elements Leveraged

One of the main areas of focus for our organization and myself has been the implementation and use of data analytics within the HR function. We’ve been utilizing numerous systems and applications to allow our leaders to understand their people’s data daily, weekly, monthly, annually, and year over year. The data includes metrics such as retention rates based on length of service, turnover percentages down to a facility level, individual training records, performance reviews, hours worked, and many others. While we have always had these metrics, our leaders now have the ability to search the analytics in one easily accessible platform that comes close to updating in real-time. The visibility of this data allows our teams to focus on potential areas of concern and adapt our business to a changing landscape.

Exciting Technological Trends for the Future

I’ve already touched on the analytical changes that are occurring in HR, which is continuing to further transform the function into a strategic thought process. Another area that excites me is what will the jobs of the future become. Based on the diminishing labor pool, organizations are taking a proactive stance towards people solutions that involve innovation. I believe the new associate is going to focus their skill sets around the operation of innovation versus the doing of tasks. What’s that going to look like from a training and educational standpoint? From a regulations standpoint? The change is going to be interesting, and I’m excited to see what new trends develop in HR based on these changes in the workplace.

Adapting and Growing

One of the points that I always make to associates starting out in HR is to be curious. I believe that comment has served me well in my career. I’ve always understood that change is a constant, and if you don’t adapt, you will be left behind. Additionally, if you take on the mantra of being a lifelong learner, you will not only be able to adapt to change better, but you can also be the catalyst for change within your organization.