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The Business World of 2019 is Extinct

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsHRTalent by Christopher J. Dwyer on

I’m sure many of the Future of Work Exchange’s readers remember the fantastic television series LOST. Sure, it floundered for a bit during the middle seasons, but in the long run, it was one of the most memorable TV shows of the past 20 years.

In the infamous Season Three finale, the directors of the show tossed in a “rattlesnake in the mailbox” twist ending: the famous flashbacks that were routine during every episode were, in fact, during this season finale, flashforwards to moments several members of the cast were off the island and back home. Remember when Jack met Kate in a dark parking lot and screamed, “We have to go back!”?

Well, that’s what it sounds like every time a business leader, writer, pundit, etc. insists that pandemic-era organizational attributes are either going to fade or lose their steam in the months ahead. There was the “very bad take” on remote work from Malcolm Gladwell last week. CNN recently featured a piece from SHRM CEO Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. that featured a take on why remote work will dissipate:

Though seen as a necessity during the pandemic, some business leaders doubt the current level of remote work is sustainable. And they’re right. A fully virtual workplace misses some of the key drivers for performance, productivity and growth, which are top of mind right now for businesses facing the prospect of a potential recession. Understandably, they want workers back in the office because they’re preparing for an ultra-competitive environment, which calls for maximizing efficiency. Fully remote work doesn’t cultivate the level of interpersonal relationships that business leaders see as vital to workplace synergy, collaboration and innovation. It can’t replicate the rich, robust, direct two-way, in-person communication that is critical to complex and creative work.

When companies are responding to market shifts and economic stresses, new ideas, problem solving and brainstorming all become essential. And brainstorming sessions are much easier to conduct in person, where workers can hash out their ideas on collaboration boards in conference rooms or shared workspaces. Remote workers, meanwhile, are more prone to distractions at home that can inhibit their concentration and participation.

Taylor, like many others, speaks from a pro-business perspective. And…that’s okay. It really is. This is a discerning time for the corporate world: still in the throes of a pandemic, inflation still rampant, and the specter of recession lingering overhead. Some businesses have already ignited layoffs in fear of the recession’s impact. Others have tightened budgets and have begun forecasting what their revenue, finances, and expenses will look like in the months to come if a recession truly hits. So, it’s no wonder that many executives point to the coming months as some sort of gateway to the past, particularly those fond days before a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic brought unrivaled havoc to the world at large.

It’s become a common refrain for professionals to say the phrase “getting back to normal” when it comes to the way businesses operate. However, as we’ve learned time and time again, we’re not going back. Never. While many executive leaders have realized that the transformative shifts we’ve experienced are permanent, there are unfortunately many others who have not. One aspect that Taylor, Jr. evokes in his piece for CNN revolves around the concept of flexibility: “The flexibility we embraced during the pandemic should go both ways. Workers will need to bend a bit, especially when the viability of the workplace is in jeopardy.”

The viability of the workplace is not in jeopardy. The workforce itself is in jeopardy. We can all agree that The Great Resignation wasn’t going to last forever, however the millions of quits happening so frequently (even if they slow during these late summer weeks) prove that workers will never go back to a business arena that lacked remote work, better working conditions, and access to the flexibility that has allowed them to balance their work-life integration in such a way that both their personal and professional lives are purposeful.

The great war for talent will still rage on no matter the economic conditions of our business world. In 2019, remote work was a piece of corporate life. In 2022, it’s a permanent and foundational fixture. When we hear someone say “we have to go back!” in regards to dining at restaurants or attending concerts, yes, by all means, it would be great to get to that point as COVID becomes endemic. However, when we hear that same phrase in regards to business life, it’s an unfortunate desire to go back to a world that no longer exists (for many good reasons).

No, we don’t have to go back. We need to keep progressing forward. It’s the Future of Work, after all.

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The Future of Flexibility

Business LeadershipGeneral InsightsTalent AcquisitionTechnology and Innovation by Christopher J. Dwyer on

“Flexibility” has become the de-facto, hot-button phrase to describe how the Future of Work should operate. However, if we dig deeper, the very notion of flexibility transcends the confines of remote and hybrid work.

Take a deep breath for a moment. Think about your current role before the pandemic. Now think about it in the throes of 2020 and 2021. Now think about your role today and how you’re working. Chances are there are some very stark differences between these three moments in time.

For one, the very modes of work have shifted tremendously over the past two-plus years. Those that worked remotely found the transition was easy: just stay the course. Those that already had a hybrid schedule understood how to change their mindsets while also transforming their leadership and collaborative styles. And for those in which remote work was a new concept, there were some growing pains.

As we sit more than halfway through 2022, there are more questions than answers in regard to the concepts of flexibility in the workforce, the workplace, and the work itself. While flexibility has become a core piece of our pandemic-era business lexicon, the truth is that there is so much more to the idea of flexibility than what we’ve experienced thus far:

  • Flexibility also translates into agile thinking regarding the makeup of our workforce. This doesn’t just mean that businesses should increase their utilization of non-employee talent (which, of course, has become a value-driver during these uncertain times), but rather dig deep into all available talent sources and develop a truly agile workforce. Talent marketplaces, digital staffing outlets, and direct sourcing strategies can all enhance the depth of current talent communities and ensure that businesses can be flexible when needed (market conditions, business issues, etc.).
  • Flexibility should cascade down into attributes such as purpose, work-life integration, etc. For far too long, being a “dedicated worker” meant a gold watch at the end of a very, very long tunnel. Now, in the wake of the biggest health crisis of our lifetime, talented professionals seek more from their jobs; the realm of “purpose” and “work-life integration” both translate into workers craving meaningful work that enables them with flexible hours, flexible projects, and a flexible model that allows for unplugged time, more task-oriented collaboration (rather than open-ended coordination), and the ability to reevaluate career paths more frequently.
  • Flexibility means reviewing workplace structures to provide a malleable foundation rather than a rigid “return-to-office” setup. If there’s anything we learned about the coronavirus behind COVID-19, it’s that it’s become an unpredictable harbinger of disease and disruption. Fall and winter surges fill hospitals over capacity, shutter public attractions, and force governments to reevaluate social safety and public health regulations. This all means that hardline, return-to-office planning should not only be canceled, but outright replaced by a flexible foundation that is based on science, the overall productivity of the organization, and what works best for the workforce. Too many business leaders believed that this far into the pandemic was the ideal time to bring workers back to physical locations, when they should have been experimenting with new models and assessing what was best for the business and the mental wellness of its talent.
  • Flexibility should apply to workforce technology and process automation, as well as data science and artificial intelligence. AI and data don’t need to be at the center of every single facet of the contemporary business, but it needs to be at the forefront of how businesses shape talent acquisition and address how work is done. Enterprises must understand the flexibility inherent in today’s crucial workforce and talent tools, like VMS, MSP, direct sourcing, and digital staffing, and tap into the modules that they may have ignored in months and years past. Requisition management and financial/administrative tools are table stakes, however, leveraging “deeper” functionality such as AI-led analytics, expansive candidate matching, candidate experience tools, talent community development, total talent intelligence, and digital recruitment are all incredible doorways into making workforce technology more flexible for an evolving business.
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What Would a Possible Recession Mean for the World of Talent and Work?

Business LeadershipGeneral Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Inflation, a seemingly slowing economy, and an expected second straight federal 0.75%-point increase in its short-term rate (which would mark the first time this has happened in nearly 30 years) all point to one thing: a classic recession that would bring uncertainty, doubt, and fear to the greater business arena.

In an article by the Associated Press (linked here from Boston.com), the markers for a recession are clear yet many pundits aren’t fully embracing these as a surefire sign that a crisis is looming:

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Sunday said the U.S. economy is slowing but pointed to healthy hiring as proof that it is not yet in recession.

Yellen spoke on NBC’s “Meet the Press” just before a slew of economic reports will be released this week that will shed light on an economy currently besieged by rampant inflation and threatened by higher interest rates. The data will cover sales of new homes, consumer confidence, incomes, spending, inflation, and overall output.

The highest-profile report will likely be Thursday, when the Commerce Department will release its first estimate of the economy’s output in the April-June quarter. Some economists forecast it may show a contraction for the second quarter in a row. The economy shrank 1.6% in the January-March quarter. Two straight negative readings are considered an informal definition of a recession, though in this case economists think that’s misleading.

Yellen argued that much of the economy remains healthy: Consumer spending is growing, Americans’ finances, on average, are solid, and the economy has added more than 400,000 jobs a month this year, a robust figure. The unemployment rate is 3.6%, near a half-century low.

The National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity that is spread across the economy and lasts more than a few months,” yet economic activity isn’t stalling as much as a traditional recession. On top of this, the 1) jobs added figure and 2) an historically-low unemployment rate point to something else entirely: a recession that doesn’t feel like a recession.

With interest rates sky high, home sales are falling and falling, a much different scenario than the past 18 or so months, in which the market was incredibly competitive. Fewer home sales typically mean fewer purchases related to homes, such as appliances, home decor, professional home services, etc. This could cause a ripple effect on the economy, however, with consumer spending so robust right now, it certainly clouds any future visions of recessionary activity. Axios’ Neil Irwin refers to the current economic state as “the great weirdness,” stating:

But in this topsy-turvy environment, the Fed wants to see consumer demand slow enough to temper inflation. The report shows solid demand, yet it might not be strong enough to tip the committee in favor of an ultra-big full-percentage point interest rate hike, particularly given another reading out this morning that we discuss below. The bottom line: There are plenty of risks ahead, but American consumers are chugging along for now, which could keep overall growth in positive territory.

Alright, so we (maybe) understand it now: the U.S. could head into a recession, but maybe not…and if it does, it won’t be a traditional recession. Okay, got it. What does it mean for talent? What about the extended workforce? What about “work” itself?

  • First things first, no matter what happens, the extended workforce will continue to grow…and it will grow considerably faster if we do head into a recession. The 2008-2009 financial crisis saw the biggest jump in utilization of contingent labor in history. The “pandemic era” saw another spike in utilization. The odds favor this workforce closing the gap to half of total enterprise talent within the next 18 months. A recession, even a “minor” one by the weird standards we’re currently facing, would see some enterprises executing layoffs (but not to the extent (40 million people) that we saw during the early pandemic-fueled recession of 2020), which in turn would lead to more independent talent on the market, and those same enterprises leveraging extended talent to remain competitive. All in all, growth is in the forecast for the extended workforce.
  • Businesses must focus on the depth of their talent and leverage the necessary tools to help their workers thrive. A highly-skilled workforce (both FTE and extended) will help the economy grow; an enhanced output of products, services, etc. often leads to differentiation in core competition, a very strong link to businesses succeeding regardless of current financial conditions across the market. If that talent is spread out amongst many businesses within a given industry, there’s little room for those organizations that don’t value their workforce and don’t prioritize the employee experience. Can process automation enable workers to thrive with additional power via technology? Should digital workspaces be implemented to improve remote and hybrid workplace scenarios? Can we get over the digital transformation hump to ensure that the workforce blends the best of human and machine? Too, leveraging tools to reskill and upskill the workforce can perform wonders when it comes to helping workers recession-proof their positions and contribute to the future success of the organization.
  • Talent acquisition over the next few months becomes a critical endeavor. This is the time for talent acquisition executives to shine. They’ve been dealing with a frenetic labor market with candidates that are seeking purpose, flexibility, and lifestyle improvements; these are not attributes that are easy to quench for any TA leader, even the most seasoned. For many businesses, talent acquisition must become more dynamic and more agile to deal with both the fallout from The Great Resignation and the anticipated ramifications of whichever recession-sparked issues arise over the next several months. Leveraging the company brand, its culture, and what it can offer beyond compensation are all crucial factors for talent acquisition teams to revolutionize hiring over these next several months.

Look for more on this topic in the coming weeks on the Future of Work Exchange.

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The State of Talent Today and the Future of Work

General InsightsHR by Christopher J. Dwyer on

I recently had the pleasure of joining Utmost‘s VP of Marketing, Neha Goel, on the company’s Contingent Workforce Radio podcast. Neha and I chatted about the state of today’s workforce, the continued transformation of work, how empathy and the candidate experience are altering talent acquisition strategies, the ultimate impact of remote work, and much more. Tune in below.

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When Societal Change Contributes to Work Transformation

Business LeadershipGeneral Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

I’m technically a millennial, however, my musical tastes are mostly skewed towards more nostalgia-tinged acts rather than the latest pop singles. I couldn’t name a single current hip-hop, pop, or country act that wasn’t around when I was in my twenties, but I could sure tell you the exact setlists for each time I’ve seen U2 or Metallica in concert.

So you could imagine my reaction to news that Beyonce’s latest single, “Break My Soul,” references The Great Resignation:

Now, I just fell in love / And I just quit my job / I’m gonna find new drive

Damn, they work me so damn hard / Work by nine, then off past five / And they work my nerves

That’s why I cannot sleep at night / I’m lookin’ for motivation / I’m lookin’ for a new foundation, yeah

And I’m on that new vibration / I’m buildin’ my own foundation, yeah/ Hold up, oh, baby, baby

You won’t break my soul

Now, I cannot imagine every single one of the 4.4 million individuals who left their positions in the month of April alone are merrily singing and dancing to this tune…however, the message is on point, for sure: a new foundation and a new motivation sparked by burnout, fatigue, and disillusionment.

This is admittedly not a pure reflection of the Future of Work, but is surely the tip of the iceberg when we think how society itself is shaping how work is done. Never before has there been so much overlap between our public and professional personas, in a time when politics, the economy, and current events are shaping how we think about work and how it fits into our lives.

I wrote recently that the COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the link between us as humans and us as professionals. We were rethinking the role of “work” in our personal lives, and that, on top of other conditions (such as the need for flexibility and empathy), has caused many (many!) of us to reimagine what work meant to us and what we needed out of it.

No matter where a business leader stands personally regarding the recent overturn of Roe vs. Wade, the bigger question is: “How does affect my workforce? My people?” Thousands of very large enterprises with national followings have already made it known where they stand by offering their employees a safe environment in which to request paid leave and secure the necessary medical appointments. This does wonders for the very culture of these businesses and proves, once again, that societal change is actively transforming the way we work.

When we as business leaders and executives cultivate a positive, inclusive, and engaging workplace culture, and when we align that culture with the beliefs that matter to the workforce, new doors are opened. The negative ramifications of The Great Resignation pale in comparison to an enterprise that understands the perspectives of its staff and prospective talent.

What does this all mean? It boils down to this: “work” was once a separate part of our lives (a large one, albeit). Since the pandemic began, we saw the lines begin to blur. Economic and social behaviors changed and so did the ways we thought about work and our careers. Work means so much more than it ever did before, thus we as humans now actively seek self-fulfilling, flexible, and purposeful work. And as societal change continues to become a symbiotic element of work and business, it will be a critical attribute in how a company operates and how it is viewed from brand, workplace, and culture perspectives.

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FOWX Notes: June 24 Edition

General Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Some picked-up pieces, news, and insights from across the evolving world of talent and work:

  • Beeline announced the appointment of Teresa Creech as its new Chief Corporate Development Officer (CCDO). Creech, an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience (TalentWave, Randstad, Kelly, etc.) in the workforce solutions space, will lead corporate strategy, including mergers and acquisitions, for the VMS giant. In light of the company’s recent acquisition by Stone Point Capital, it is expected that Beeline will be quite active in the M&A market in the second half of 2022 and into 2023.
  • Direct sourcing platform LiveHire and “people activation” solution Enboarder announced a strategic partnership. Enboarder’s digital, experience-driven onboarding functionality will be integrated with LiveHire’s total talent and direct sourcing offerings, providing candidates with a seamless journey from recruitment through onboarding.
  • A seasonally adjusted 229,000 unemployment claims for the week ended June 18 reflect a tight labor market. And to add to this news, another 4.4 million Americans voluntarily left their jobs in April, proving that, yes, The Great Resignation (and the upcoming Great Resettling) continues on unabated.
  • Citing 2% utilization of its offices in three major regions, Yelp embraces the Future of Work. Offices in Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. will be shuttered by July 29, a big move for the company’s remote-first work model that was adopted 18 months ago. With record revenues in 2021, Yelp is a representation of how flexibility can drive value in today’s transformative world of work.
  • Staffing the Universe announced a rebrand to Equiliem. The New Jersey-based staffing giant, which also includes fast-growing MSP solution Evaluent under its umbrella, announced the rebranding news this week.
  • Deel stated that it plans to acquire Melbourne-based payroll and compliance provider PayGroup. Deel, which was valuated at $5.5B late last year, continues to expand its global presence with the acquisition (AUS $119.3 million, US $82.6 million) of the global payroll solution.
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FOWX Notes: May 20 Edition

General Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Some picked-up pieces, news, and insights from across the evolving world of talent and work:

  • PRO Unlimited announced the appointment of Dr. Christy Dempsey to its board of directors, which is a formidable addition to the solution’s already-robust level of expertise and experience. Dr. Dempsey will no doubt help to influence PRO’s presence in the healthcare industry, where it has seen much success with its RightSourcing offering. As the healthcare vertical continues to see a stratospheric rise in the utilization of extended talent, this appointment will surely augment PRO’s approach to optimizing contingent workforce management operations within this industry.
  • Industry veteran Kevin Leete, formerly of Atrium, joined direct sourcing platform WorkLLama last week, as did former SAP Fieldglass, The Mom Project, and WillHire executive Kevin Poll. The innovative direct sourcing provider, which has become an industry leader over the past couple of years due to its unique solution set, welcomes two major workforce and staffing industry luminaries to its executive team.
  • Direct sourcing giant LiveHire announced a partnership with Viventis Search Asia. The partnership will help to advance LiveHire’s technology in the APAC region by enabling Viventis (a career consulting and human capital solution) to build and develop a truly agile and seamless ecosystem of candidates, fueled by LiveHire’s wide range of direct sourcing, recruitment, and candidate experience functionality.
  • Although initial unemployment claims increased 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 218,000 for the week ended May 14, the rate is still at its lowest over past 52 years. The Future of Work Exchange expects this number to remain steady, given that the United States business market has increased payroll by 400,000 jobs for 12 straight months. As The Great Resignation continues its impact, there will be, however, some “settling” of the labor market as displaced workers find new homes and career trajectories.
  • Randstad Sourceright introduced its innovative Services Procurement 360 solution, which is led by the company’s Global Head of Services Procurement, Paul Vincent. The new solution “reimagines” services procurement and SOW management by leveraging flexible solutions, AI-fueled intelligence, and a dynamic framework of offerings and tools.
  • Accenture’s global managing director of applied intelligence, Salema Rice, joined Opptly’s board of directors. MSP leader GRI’s former , Rice will certainly bring her vast expertise and knowledge and apply to the direct sourcing platform’s intelligence-led technology offerings.

Also, just a quick reminder that registration is open for the Future of Work Exchange‘s inaugural live event, “FOWX Live,” on June 14 in Boston. Click here or on the image below to register.

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The Future of Work Exchange Meets the “CPO Open Mic” Podcast

Business LeadershipGeneral Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

I had a wonderful opportunity to join Beeline’s Chief Procurement Officer, Mike Schiappa, on the CPO Open Mic podcast. In what ended up being one of my all-time favorite discussions, Mike and I chatted about “The Great Resignation” (and how it will become “The Great Resettling”), the growth and impact of the extended workforce, why direct sourcing should be top-of-mind, and how business leadership needs to be more human. Tune in!

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FOWX Notes: April 8 Edition

General Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Some picked-up pieces, news, and insights from across the evolving world of talent and work:

  • Filtered and LiveHire announced a strategic partnership founded on their complementary platforms. The unique partnership will harness the power of Filtered’s unique AI-fueled assessment, validation, and workforce management tools with LiveHire’s direct sourcing technology. This union is a representation of the “Direct Sourcing 2.0” concept driven by next-generation automation and deeper direct sourcing technology to provide enterprises with a repeatable, scalable, and flexible means of developing talent communities and tapping into on-demand talent.
  • Massachusetts’ new Future of Work Commission report highlights the impact of change on the greater workforce. The 17-member Future of Work Commission group may reside in Massachusetts, however, its work in building this new report shows that work-led transformations, such as automation, new technology, and pandemic-fueled Future of Work accelerants like remote and hybrid work, are going to permanently shift how businesses operate in the months and years ahead. The Commission’s report digs deeper into the criticality of affordable and accessible daycare, and, the benefits of reskilling and upskilling workers in specific industries.
  • New unemployment claims totaled 166,000 last week, the lowest recorded level since 1968. The lowest new claims figure in nearly 55 years is an optimistic signal for a volatile labor market that is still battling the The Great Resignation and a Talent Revolution. Although most industries are starting to settle into a new business arena as the pandemic moves into a new phase, there are still hundreds of thousands of open positions in the hospitality, retail, leisure, professional services, and manufacturing sectors, which could cause continued staffing issues in the immediate months ahead.
  • Workforce solutions platform Remote raised $300 million as the market remains hot for HR and workforce tech. The latest funding round puts the company valuation at nearly $3 billion. Remote, along with platforms such as Deel, Payfit, and Personio, are revolutionizing how businesses manage payrolling, benefits administration, and other tasks that have become more difficult as enterprises shift to a more remote- or hybrid-based workplace infrastructure. These solutions enable core HR and payrolling processes for businesses that rely on the extended workforce and workers in various areas around the globe in which they don’t have existing operations.
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FOWX Notes: March 4 Edition

General Insights by Christopher J. Dwyer on

Some picked-up pieces, news, and insights from across the evolving world of talent and work:

  • Filtered bolsters its leadership team and drives $10M in funding. The Boston-based Direct Sourcing 2.0 and automated technical interview platform announced this week that former Yahoo!, HotJobs, and Jobvite CEO, Dan Finnagan, has joined the solution as its Chief Executive Officer. Finnagan will oversee the platform’s expected surge in growth in the months and years ahead as Filtered continues to win new Fortune 500 business. The company also announced a $10 million round of financing financing led by AI Fund, Silicon Valley Data Capital, and TDF Ventures, as well as appointing Usama Fayyad, Executive Director of the Institute for Experiential AI at Northeastern University and Chairman at Open Insights, to its Board of Directors.
  • Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped to 215,000 for the week ending February 26. The 18,000-claim drop marks the lowest weekly figure since January 1 and an optimistic stat heading into the end of Q1 2022. Although there are nearly 11 million job openings across the United States, there is hope that the economic upswing in the year’s early months will result in bigger job gains. However, as “The Great Resignation” and the “Talent Revolution” continue to hang overhead, we will cautiously await the latest BLS report on voluntary quits to SOMETHING.
  • Workflow automation platform Catalytic was acquired by PagerDuty, Inc. this week. Congrats to Sean Chou and the Catalytic team, who founded an intelligent automation solution in 2018 that blends efficient AI-fueled optimization and RPA-led process automation. The Catalytic platform will be an interesting addition to PagerDuty’s robust digital operations management offerings; Catalytic’s “no code” software will bring a seamless means of managing and automating collaborative, workflow, purchasing, onboarding, and many other processes across the business spectrum.
  • LiveHire recently announced partnerships with Tundra Technical Solutions and Broadleaf. The Live Hire-Broadleaf partnership, announced last week, will enable both solutions to build on direct sourcing optimization through LH’s Best-in-Class platform and Broadleaf’s longstanding MSP services, respectively. And, this week, Live Hire also announced its partnership with Tundra Technical Solutions, a union that will converge LH’s direct sourcing automation with Tundra’s talent curation expertise.

Just a reminder, as well, that Ardent Partners and the Future of Work Exchange announced the publication of its 2022 MSP Solution Advisor earlier this week. If you are interested in learning more about our deep evaluations and assessments of the industry’s Managed Service Provider (MSP) solutions market, this report is your go-to guide. Click here or on the image below to download the new research study.

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