Slides to accompany breakfast session delivered for Hays HR recruitment practice around the demands of HR teams from the modern workforce.

1. THE MODERN WORKFORCE
26th January 2016
Aaisha Knights
1

2. Define the modern workforce
• 5 Generations in today’s workforce
– Silent Generation/Traditionalists - (born 1928-1945)
– Baby Boomers - (born 1946-1964)
– Gen X - (born 1965-1978)
– Gen Y - (born 1979 – 1994)
– Gen Z – (born after 1995)
• Competition for top talent is greater than ever before
• Employees expect more from their employers;
– More options in benefit packages
– Flexible working options not just for “working mums”
– Moving to new company every couple of years is more the norm
2

3. Five generations – loose definitions
• TRADITIONALISTS 1928 – 1945 Value authority and a top-down
management approach; hard working; ‘be heroic’; ‘make do or do
without’.
• BABY BOOMERS 1946 – 1964 Expect some degree of deference to
their opinions; workaholics; ‘be anything you want to be’; ‘eternal
youth – retirement as freedom’.
• GENERATION X 1965 – 1978 Comfortable with authority; want to be
listened to; will work as hard as is needed; ‘don’t count on it’; ‘take
care of yourself’; importance of work life balance.
• GENERATION Y 1979 – 1994 Respect must be earned. ‘You are
special’; ‘achieve now’; technologically savvy; goal and achievement
oriented.
• GENERATION Z 1995+ Many traits still to emerge. Digital natives,
fast decision makers, highly connected.
3

4. Case Study – Multigenerational
workforce at Barclays
Barclays – global, 140,000 employees, 5 to 6 generations in the business
• Why the focus on multi-gen?
– M.I. data showed talent drain from senior women (voluntary
redundancy), environment not attractive to baby boomers but the
bank needed their intellectual capital
– 3 year plan to look at the effect on HR MI stats
– Functional MD’s held to account by CEO for attrition
Internal External
• The Age of no Retirement • Digital Eagles campaign
• Senior women return-ship
recruitment
• Life Skills programme
• Millennial ERG • An age inclusive brand
• Flexible working case-studies • Engagement with community
via the branch network
4

5. Case Study – Recruitment strategies at
Hammerson PLC
Hammerson – FTSE 100 Commercial property co, 500 + employees,
UK/France
• Recruitment for early professionals to senior management includes an
assessment centre (psychometric questionnaire, role-play, presentation,
fact find)
• Management get involved in the process – buy in to candidates from the
business
• Unintentional results – a diverse talent selection based on merit of
assessment centres
• Visibility of diversity of people and working styles in the business
• High retention of new recruits due to confidence instilled during
assessment centre process
5

6. To wrap up…
• Adapt to the changing working world – HR needs to keep up with the pace
• Be aware of the role of new technology to communicate and provide HR
service
• Ensure engagement/reverse mentoring between youngest and oldest
members of your workforce
• Ask those who will be affected by change before rolling out new
improvement programmes – it may not have the desired outcome (KPMG
performance grading example)
• Managers need guidance and training to cope with change/transformation
6