Diversity of the global workforce, strategic workforce planning and the open talent market place were three of the many topics discussed as part of the HR Exchange Network’s latest online event – HR and Future of Work.  This is the second year for the event, which is free-to-attend.

Day One featured presentations from Schneider Electric, Atrium Health, The Granite Group, Globalization Partners, Southern New Hampshire University, Area9 Lyceum and the LocalJobNetwork.  Below are the top takeaways the first day of the online event.

HR and Future of Work

Benefit of a Diverse Global Mindset

The first presentation of the day focused on the challenges surrounding a diverse distributed workforce.  As part of the information shared, Globalization Partners chief operating officer Debbie Millin explained, based on their research, companies benefit from a diverse global workforce.  Supporting data included:

• 90% of global employees describe their companies as diverse— offering benefits of higher levels of happiness, inclusion, and trust.
• While 22% of employees in non-diverse companies said they do not trust all or most of their leadership, and 33% said they only “somewhat” trust leadership. Meanwhile, in diverse companies, 78% of respondents told us “yes”, they do trust leaders.
• In diverse companies, only 12% of respondents said they do not feel listened to—but in not-diverse companies that number leaps up more than 2.5x to 32%.
• 3x more employees in diverse companies reported feeling always happy at work (34% versus 11%). Employees at non-diverse companies were 4x more likely to report never being happy at work (2% versus 8%).
• A majority (62%) of employees in diverse companies reported a “great” relationship between people in headquarters and those in international offices. However, in non-diverse companies, that number was less than half (25%), and a majority told us those relationships were “just okay.”

Non-Traditional Strategic Workforce Planning Roles

When Corey Bucher began his journey with Atrium Health, he was given a chance to start from the ground up and create a team focused on strategic workforce planning.  He took an unconventional approach, however.  The team does not look like a typical HR team.  Instead, roles are explained below:

Worker Displacement Wake-Up Call

One of the strongest takeaways from Day One comes from Dr. Jerome Rekart with Southern New Hampshire University.  His presentation focused on the adoption of AI and automation.  In SNHU’s research, Rekart asked the following question:  “Have you or your organization begun to plan for employee displacement by AI or automation?”  Turns out most say no.  In fact, the data says nearly 60 percent of companies aren’t preparing at all despite knowledge the change is happening.

Employee Input is an Important Part of the HR Tech Strategy

Tracie Sponenberg is the chief people officer for The Granite Group.  During her presentation Sponenberg discussed her company’s HR technology journey.  One of the most important things she pointed out was the need to include employee input as part of the process. One specific note she made focused on the decision whether or not to keep current technology or find a new solution.  Sponenberg admits she was ready to make a change, but employee input swayed her.  In this instance, it was more about strengthening what was working rather than replacing it all together.

The Open Talent Marketplace is the Way of the Future

Have you heard of an open talent marketplace?  Schneider Electric has one and it is proving to be a significant asset to the company.  Working with a vendor, Schneider Electric created a place for employees to seek internal opportunities to change teams, help others out and provide learning opportunities.  The result had a profound impact on the culture.  Additionally, the OTM is being used to attract new employees to the organization.  Not only attract them, but to also keep them.  The OTM is the best case the organization can make to focusing and investing in employees.

Day 2 on March 25

HR and Future of Work continues on March 25.  The first session, Future-Proofing Your Worker’s Skills – It Starts With Us, is presented by GE Healthcare Head of Global Digital Learning Christopher Lind.  Other sessions feature Administrate, Akebono Brake USA, Kaplan Professional, Thoughtexchange and a panel discussion on HR employee burnout.  Presentations start at 12p ET.

Register for FREE here.

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