Demographic Shifts

What do current demographic changes mean for your people strategies and how should you respond?

Demographic forces are changing the employment landscape - in the next 5 to 10 years, the workforce will look very different.

As people live longer the employee lifecycle, workforce participation and concept of work will change.

To accommodate the '100 year life' both individuals and organisations will need to move beyond the traditional 3-stage life (education/work/retirement) to something more fluid and less predictable
2 competing forces will be at play - individualism vs collectivism; corporate integration vs business fragmentation

By 2020, millenials will form more than 50% of the workforce - they are loyalty-lite to organisations and value L&D at times more than financial rewards
Increased number of mature age workers, however most organisations do not have a strategy to attract, engage or retain employees

Benefits of diversity are well appreciated and documented - creativity is fuelled by different perspectives brought about by varied backgrounds, physical characteristics, life experiences and personalities
Growth in contingent / independent workers and the rise of the “gig” economy means employers will no longer have loyalty of, and exclusivity over, their top performers
Uneven distribution of talent globally - by 2020 more than 50% of graduates will be living in emerging markets

Difficult to predict how the world will look in 5 years due to many complex and competing forces at play therefore, it is important to plan for different scenarios
Business leaders need to create multiple futures for their organisations

Managing a multi-generational workforce will demand strong leadership
Recognition that different generations may need different styles of management
Business leaders will need to re-evaluate their approach to non-traditional career paths

Creating structures such as global and regional employment companies to bring on board employees from non-traditional locations
Build mobility into your employee value proposition