HR PREDICTIONS FOR 2021
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What We
Learned in 2020
This year we learned a lot. We learned that we, as individuals,
are vulnerable to threats and also very resilient when facing
change. Most of us spent a lot of time working at home,
which has changed the way we live and helped us become
comfortable with the digital world of work. The biggest word
of the year is “resilience.” We learned how to build a resilient
company, a resilient team, and a resilient personal life.
DDI’s new leadership research shows that employees have
more condence in leaders than they have in 20 years. This
new level of condence comes from a new mindset in business.
Company leaders have to listen, take care of people, and build
a business that helps everyone be successful, regardless of
individual situations.
We also learned to be agile with a lower case “a.” For years,
companies have been talking about Agile methodology
practices such as attening organizations and working in
teams. This year, agile happened at scale. HR leaders have
told me their companies moved faster than they thought
possible. Things like digital transformation and the redesign of
performance management happened in months. We learned
that a focus on helping employees be productive, safe, and
included is really the core of a transformation.
And we also learned how to learn. Most of us didn’t know a
lot about public health, viruses, workplace hygiene, or social
issues such as Black Lives Matter or mask-wearing politics.
But this year we learned. This year has shown me that HR
professionals are learners at heart. In fact, the L&D market
itself has exploded with growth. Most of you have seen more
consumption of learning than you ever thought possible, and
your employees are as engaged as they’ve ever been.
And with all this change people are a little tired. We went
through a brutal election in the United States, we suffered
tremendous loss from racial injustices and pandemic failures,
and we worked a lot of hours and spent a lot of time on video.
As we go into 2021 it’s important to reect on what we learned
and make sure we take it forward, while taking advantage of
our newly found skills in remote work, wellbeing, empathy, and
productivity.
As I think back about all we’ve experienced, it’s very clear to
me that 2021 will be a transformational time. Let me give you
some perspectives for the year ahead.
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There Is a New
War for Talent
“War for talent” is a 20-year-old phrase, originally coined by
a consulting rm. I predict this year the war will again emerge
with a vengeance. New research from EMSI and LinkedIn
shows that the number of open jobs is almost as high as it was
12 months ago, and economic productivity is at record levels.
What this means is that for key roles and geographies, there is
huge demand for people, and you will be competing for talent
in every way.
Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, and other businesses have hired
many people this year, including retail workers, logistics staff,
and delivery drivers. In fact, the number of delivery driver
jobs is 140% higher than a year ago. If you’re a tech company,
you’ve likely been hiring engineers, data scientists, and
designers. Jobs in healthcare and home health are growing at
the fastest pace of all.
Interestingly enough, it also appears that the pandemic has
changed the workforce itself. Baby boomers are retiring at a
record rate,
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with more than 3.2 million retiring this year alone.
Women and non-college educated workers have also left the
workforce, making it even harder to nd people to ll the
service, labor, and contract jobs now in high demand.
Jobs for 2021 will be service roles – jobs that require technical
skills and experience but are primarily driven by your
candidate’s ability to learn, collaborate, and relate to your
company’s purpose. Purpose was a big topic in 2020 (it is one
1 hps://www.wsj.com/arcles/covid-shrinks-the-labor-market-pushing-out-women-
and-baby-boomers-11607022074
