Survey: Trends of the Global Workforce

Today, cloud-based human capital management company SuccessFactors released a new, independent report from Dimensional Research called “2012 HR Beat: A Survey of the Pulse of Today’s Global Workforce.” The international survey results were from more than 1,500 hiring managers and professionals. It was designed to identify what matters most to employees across age, geography and gender.

Participants were grouped into the following age categories: Millennials (less than 33 years old), Generation X( between 33 and 50 years old) and Baby Boomers (over 50 years old).  The report’s three major findings showed that 1) Generation X is most demanding 2) hiring internationally creates challenges and 3) in the workplace, women ask for more flexibility while men ask for more money.

“Any time we have information that helps inform how to attract and retain employees, HR should pay attention,” said Dr. Karie Willyerd, Chief Learning Officer, SuccessFactors. “This data helps inform what kinds of benefits and practices HR should be offering to attract and retain employees, and gives some insight on how to approach a candidate from the beginning. Any good HR business partner should be thinking about the needs and expectations of current and future employees and adapting their strategies to fit those needs. ”

Survey findings included:

• 49 percent of Generation Xers are most likely to request a higher job title while 44 percent are most likely to ask for higher salaries. This compares with 40 percent of Millennials who would ask for training and Baby Boomers who were most likely to not ask for any additional benefits.
• 38 percent polled said they’ve delayed expanding to new international markets while 28 percent said they’ve completely avoided expanding.
• At 45 percent, men are more likely to request higher pay while, at 50 and 51 percent, women are more likely to ask for flexible and reduced working hours, respectively.
• More employees are requesting upgraded perks including free drinks and meals, tablets and smartphones for personal use, time off for volunteer work, and on-site laundry/dry cleaning services.
• Although hiring managers and HR professionals’ mobile, Internet and social media usage to communicate with candidates and employees is increasing, 49 percent reported they still do not use these tools.

Willyerd found it surprising more HR professionals do not use mobile and social recruiting methods. She noted that a recent study by The Pew Internet Foundation reported nearly 1/3 of all people in America access the internet from their phones more than from any other means.

“So if HR and recruiting don’t have a strategy for reaching people where they live — online and from their phones — I think they’ll miss out on a huge talent pool,” she said. “And I suspect that talent pool they’ll be missing out on are the young, technology-savvy professionals that companies will need to replace their retiring Baby Boomers.”