Globalization and the Workforce
Posted November 21st, 2011
With globalization, companies have new opportunities for recruiting from almost anywhere in the world. But with this new opportunity comes new challenges for human resource departments in trying to navigate the diversity involved in a global workforce.
Dealing with diversity has now become more important than ever because of population shifts happening in every marketplace, making them look more multicultural, according to noted business consultant Sylvia Ann Hewlett. For example, in the United States, Latino, African-American and Asian-Americans make up one-third of the population and contribute to 85 percent of U.S. population growth. In the United Kingdom, minorities make up 10 percent of the population, but contribute to 50 percent of population growth. Developing countries now produce more than half of the global GDP and are expected to grow twice as fast as the United States and European Union.
Because of these changes, companies now have to reevaluate how they attract, develop and keep good workers, Hewlett says. Business can no longer use the same management techniques for everyone. How employees are managed needs to be tailored to different groups, according to Hewlett.
To attract top workers, companies are focusing more on women. Intel, for example, was losing many of its mid-level female workers, so it organized career development workshops to help women find and move into more challenging projects.
Companies also are trying to build global networks among their employees, Hewlett says. At Cisco, for example, the firm puts together workers from different job areas in locations around the world together with senior level managers from different geographical areas and also different ethnicity and gender, which helped make global connections.
Companies also are putting more emphasis on making work times and locations more flexible for employees. Studies have shown that a large majority of the employees favor these kinds of options in the workplace, according to Hewlett. For many workers, offering a flexible workplace is the major criterion in choosing where to work. Citibank is an example of a company focusing on a flexible work environment. At Citi, employees can set up different schedules for the days they will come into the office. The company began the program in a few cities, but plans to expand it worldwide.
When you need a flexible workforce for your San Francisco firm, call on Bayside Solutions to source, vet and place them. We look forward to hearing how we can help your company attract top talent; contact us today!
