There is no question that the modern workforce is changing. And it’s changing fast and in many ways. Understanding these changes and learning to manage them effectively is a key role that HR has in optimizing the productivity of workforce. I see four major aspects to the evolving modern workforce, which I am calling the Multi-Dimensional Talentforce:

• Multi-Generational – we are are now seeing up to four generations of workers working simultaneously in the workplace — Veterans, Boomers, X’ers, and New Mils — each with differing world views, work/life needs, and job expectations of their employers.

• Multi-Cultural – we are experiencing increasing cultural differences as organizations continue to go global; pervasive globalization, continued immigration, and increased mobility is bringing greater global diversity to the workplace and creating considerable opportunities for cultural conflict.

• Multi-Contractual – we are living in challenging economic times which is spawning the rise of the contingent workforce and a plurality in worker contract types from full-time employees to part-timers, contractors, consultants, freelancers, outsourcers, partners, and other third-parties.

• Multi-Environmental – the ubiquity of the Internet and the evolution of Web 2.0 are enabling the digital, virtual, mobile, remote world in which workers can work anywhere, anytime, anyhow, reducing our perceptions about space and time and blurring the distinction between work and play.

Interwoven throughout these four dimensions are, of course, personality characteristics — both learned and socialized — that make up the human workforce. Clearly the challenge for HR and organization leaders is to develop strategies that effectively utilize the strengths of the multi-dimensional talentforce and mitigate the challenges by leveraging global diversity through Awareness, Understanding, Acceptance, and Integration. Transitioning through these stages from initial Denial and Rejection to Awareness and Integration involves managing the process of change. Some individuals understand and embrace diverse ways of working more readily than others. A major role for HR professionals is to support individuals and the organization throughout the continual change process.
In subsequent blog posts I will talk in more detail about each of these areas and explore the lead that HR can take in helping to leverage the workforce and manage the change process in the increasingly complex world we live in.