The document discusses 5 mega-trends of the modern workforce: 1) challenges of attracting top talent who expect flexibility and ease, 2) the importance of corporate culture for engaging employees, 3) challenges of managing performance across different generations, 4) designing workplace real estate for increased engagement, and 5) maximizing profitability through an integrated human capital management platform. It emphasizes that organizations must adapt to changing workforce demands by investing in technology to empower HR professionals to better attract, engage, and manage talent.

1. A S U R E S O F T W A R E
www.AsureSoftware.com
WHITE PAPER
5 MEGA-TRENDS OF THE
MODERN WORKFORCE

2. A S U R E S O F T W A R E
2www.AsureSoftware.com
There is no question that the state of the
workforce is changing. It’s not the same as it
was a decade ago. Technology, economic
forces, and employee demands for flexibility
mean that organizations must adapt to
new ways of attracting, engaging, and
managing talent. Failing to adapt will almost
certainly mean that your organization will
lose a valuable competitive advantage in its
market.
#1 THE CHALLENGES OF
ATTRACTING TOP TALENT
While organizations must still deal with the
traditional concerns that involve attracting
top talent, such as competitive pay and
benefit packages, there are more things
that factor into the equation for members of
the modern workforce.
These individuals bring with them a growing
list of expectations that revolve around the
concepts of ease and flexibility relating to
how, when, and where they work. They
expect to work with modern technology
that is easy to pick up and use with little or
no training. They are increasingly mobile.
So, they appreciate the ability to work
outside of the office with the expectation
that they can use their own mobile devices.
And, they expect to be able to access their
work-related documents and information
at any time, and from any place, using their
desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone.
To be able to compete for top talent, and
satisfy their ongoing needs, organizations
must invest in technology that will empower
their HR professionals to do their jobs better,
and with greater efficiency. One of the
many areas where technology can create
efficiencies for both HR professionals and
talent is applicant tracking.
For HR professionals, working with a single-
database system provides a centralized
location for all of an organization’s
workforce and HR management needs.
Not only does this single database contain
all the information necessary for seamless
onboarding, it also serves as a single master
employee record that follows the employee
throughout their time at the organization.
For talent, having a centralized location for
the collection of information makes it easier
for them to apply for a job. This is especially
true if they can apply for the job using their
tablet or smartphone. Once on board, they
have a single master employee record that
can be updated easily whenever necessary.
5 MEGA-TRENDS OF THE
MODERN WORKFORCE

3. 3www.AsureSoftware.com
A S U R E S O F T W A R E
#2 CORPORATE CULTURE
ENGAGES EMPLOYEES
Once the employee is on board, one of the
next challenges is keeping that employee
engaged. Here is where the organization’s
culture becomes extremely important. That
culture may be created in the C-suite, but it
lives in the HR department. That’s because
HR professionals maintain direct contact
with employees at every facet of their
relationship with the company.
But, what about the employees who are
members of the dispersed workforce?
They aren’t in the office hanging around
the watercooler and interacting with their
colleagues on a daily basis. This means
that they miss out on most of the overt and
subtle communications of the organization’s
culture. Consequently, even the most
carefully cultivated corporate culture is
slow to reach them. And, when it does
reach them, it’s a diluted version of what
employees in the office are experiencing.
Engaging these virtual employees requires
carefully crafted strategies. One of the
best ways to ensure that the organization’s
culture reaches all employees as equally as
possible is to make sure that every relevant
HR function is available to employees
no matter where they are located—in
the office, at home, or in a coffee shop.
This means empowering employees to
manage each of the administrative aspects
of their employment, including benefits
administration, within a single system that is
easy to access and use.
#3 THE GENERATIONAL
CHALLENGES OF
PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
Keeping employees engaged is one
thing. Managing their performance is
quite another. This is especially true for the
modern, multi-generational workforce.
Baby Boomers, aged between 53 and 71,
tend to be the most productive contributors
to their organization. They are hard workers
and good team players. However, they are
less collaborative than their Generation X
and Millennial counterparts. They are also
most accustomed to working a traditional 9
to 5 work schedule.
Members of Generation X, aged between
34 and 52, are the most educated group.
They tend to be more independent, more
entrepreneurial, and more skeptical than
other generations. Consequently, they aren’t
as likely to willingly affirm management
decisions.
Millennials, aged between 18 and 33, are
often described as having qualities that
are in many ways diametrically opposed
to those of Baby Boomers with regards
to social and work attitudes. Millennials
are responsible for demolishing the 9 to 5
workday norm. They are also heavily cause-
motivated. This means that they prefer to
work with an organization where the mission
statement and culture aligns with their
personal beliefs.

4. 4www.AsureSoftware.com
A S U R E S O F T W A R E
While managing each age group’s
expectations may be difficult, understanding
each generation’s preferences, attitudes,
beliefs, strengths, and weaknesses can
help HR professionals attract, engage, and
manage each group with the success of the
organization in mind.
#4 DESIGNING WORKPLACE
REAL ESTATE FOR INCREASED
ENGAGEMENT
The physical layout of workplace real
estate, and amenities available in the
workplace, also have a major impact on
employee engagement and performance
management. When considering the
modern workforce, it all comes down to
flexibility—giving employees the option to
work in a variety of settings.
During times when it is important for
employees to collaborate, they should have
open spaces that facilitate one-on-one or
group conversations. For mobile employees
who are telecommuting and may be visiting
the office for the day or just a few hours, it is
important for them to have the space they
need to accomplish their planned tasks.
While it is true that open spaces continue
to be popular, some individuals prefer or
need more privacy to do their best work.
So, those preferences and needs must be
met through providing private workspaces
that protect those individuals from the
distractions inherent in open workspaces.
Regardless of the design of the workspace
and the amenities the organization provides,
the key to maximizing engagement
is aligning the workspace with the
organization’s culture.
#5 MAXIMIZING PROFITABILITY
WITH INTEGRATED HCM
How an organization manages its workforce
has a significant impact on profitability. In
general, there are two ways to maximize
profits. Your organization can eliminate
costs, or it can increase productivity. Having
a centralized HCM platform with all of the
employees’ data in one location helps
maximize profitability by both eliminating
costs and increasing productivity.
One of the most promising ways to
maximize profitability is through saving
as much administrative time as possible.
In the context of managing the modern
workforce, this means offloading routine HR
tasks onto employees. When employees
have self-service options available within
the organization’s HCM platform, they don’t
always have to ask the HR department
for help. Instead, employees can retrieve
their historical W-2 forms and paychecks
whenever they need them. They can also
access benefits information and handle
the administration of their benefits without
ever needing the assistance of an HR
professional.
Another way to maximize profitability is to
eliminate costs associated with time theft
with an automated time and attendance
solution. “Buddy punching” is a common
type of time theft in organizations that have
a large portion of hourly workers. It occurs

5. 5www.AsureSoftware.com
A S U R E S O F T W A R E
when an employee “punches” the time
clock for a co-worker who is either late for
work or absent from work. The late or absent
worker benefits by receiving pay for work
they have not done. This represents a cost
to the organization. One way to combat
this form of fraudulent time entry is to use
biometric technology that is integrated into
the HCM platform. This technology correctly
identifies each individual employee and
eliminates their ability to clock in a
co-worker.
There are many ways to maximize
profitability within the domain of HCM.
These are just two examples of how self-
service and automation eliminate cost while
increasing productivity, thereby adding to
the ROI of the investment in an integrated
HCM platform solution.
ASURE SOFTWARE HELPS YOU
MANAGE YOUR MODERN
WORKFORCE
HR professionals are being asked to play a
more strategic role within their organization
than they have in the past. That’s because
senior management understands that
HR holds the key to the data that the
organization needs to move toward its goals
and measure its progress.
To be able to compete for top talent and
satisfy the ongoing needs of employees,
organizations must invest in the technology
that will empower their HR professionals
to do their jobs better and with greater
efficiency.
Whether your organization is taking its
first step toward automating HCM, or it is
seeking to add more capabilities, it needs
an integrated HCM platform. That’s because
an integrated HCM platform offers the
deep capabilities across a wide range of
functions without isolating employee data in
information silos. Management throughout
the organization can access real-time
data so they can more easily perform tasks
related to their function.
At Asure Software, we understand the
critical needs of HR professionals who spend
their days meeting the expectations of the
modern workforce. That’s why we have
developed an industry-leading, single-
database solution as a comprehensive
answer designed to help you focus on what
matters most: people, real estate, and
profits.