What is the “new normal?”

“The world is on the cusp of entering a new reality in which human potential itself will become the major agent of economic growth. Unleashing this spirit and potential will become the ultimate quest that we must seek to conquer, as the world enters the Human Age.”  Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman, CEO and President, Manpower Inc.

Manpower Inc. Identifies Four Mega Trends

Manpower Inc. is a strategic partner of the 40th World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, held in Davos, Switzerland this week. At the Forum, key Manpower Inc. executives are participating in discussions around a slate of topics ranging from global commonalities to gender parity to the future of employment to social networking.

In conjunction with the Forum, Manpower Inc. released information identifying four Mega Trends which are transforming and accelerating the world of work. They are:

• The Talent Mismatch is deepening as the working age population declines and the nature of work changes. These significant shifts in talent supply are transforming the global labor market.
• Individual Choice will be exercised by those with the skills that are most in demand, requiring companies to think differently about how jobs are defined and how they will attract and retain scarce talent.
• Rising Customer Sophistication requires businesses to work in a new way, driven by innovation and delivering greater value and efficiency.
• Technological Revolutions have the power to change where, when and how we work, enabling organizations to be more agile and innovative – if they know how to leverage it.

“In recent weeks, the status and significance of the rapidly expanding temporary workforce has been widely discussed – and woefully misunderstood,” said Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO. “Companies will increasingly look to temporary workers to gain the flexibility and agility required to appropriately and strategically adjust to consumer demand.  At the same time, individuals are increasingly exercising more choice when it comes to pursuing employment that meets their expectations and taps their motivations.”

“Business leaders around the world will need to ask themselves what the trends mean for their organizations and what they will do to respond to them, according to Manpower research.  Organizations need to carefully consider their people practices, a critical element to navigating the changing world of work.”

“As the economy rebounds, companies will need to prepare for a new normal, carefully adjusting their business strategy and evaluating their workforce,” said Joerres. “In the past, access to capital gave companies their edge; soon talent will become the competitive differentiator and companies will compete for talent as rigorously as individuals now compete for jobs. ”

“Given these trends, the temporary workforce will lead the way as the world recovers and companies are forced to do more with less and meet consumers’ ever-rising expectations,” Joerres added. “To attract and retain these ‘workforce accelerators’ who offer highly specialized skills, smart companies will strive to create a workplace culture that is healthy, flexible and satisfying.”

To see an executive summary, click here…

Good stuff!  Take note America – things are changing before our very eyes.

Manpower Around the World, Part 4

Today in our around the World with Manpower Journey we come to Italy. You may not know this but Manpower offers a tremendous amount of training opportunities to its customers and candidates, no matter what part of the world you are located in. For our candidates it is always free! For our customers though we do charge =( – Manpower Italy does a fantastic job of training local workers throughout the Country and upskilling them as well as reskilling them. Below is a picture from their training website if you speak Italian or want to go to Italy for some skills training, you can click on the picture to visit.

As is an on-going theme with this Manpower Around the World theme, I am Italian – but no I do not speak Italian.

Manpower Italy also has an incredible partnership with CNBC in Italy and together they put out a video magazine dealing with work issues facing Italy. They interview politicians, journalists and others making news and/or willing to give insight and commentary on those issues. This project has been very well received and attracts a tremendous amount of viewers.

Click on picture if you would like to visit the site:

Manpower Around the World, Part 3

This one is actually in English for those of you keeping track of the posts. This is a Manpower commercial from Manpower Sweden, and I have to admit that it is really well done and thought provoking. Easily one of the best I have seen from us.

Manpower Around the World, Part 2

In my continued effort this week to bring you information about Manpower from around the world I thought you might enjoy this.  To better share Manpower experience and best practices in human resource management, Lucille Wu, Managing Director of Manpower Greater China, recently launched her blog on Netease, one of China’s leading web portals. Lucille shares her seasoned experience in talent recruitment and retention and career development on her blog. While I cannot read or speak Chinese I think it looks pretty cool anyway.

Click on picture to visit her blog.

Some other interesting facts about Manpower China:

Manpower Around the World, Part 1

I thought it would be fun to show some of the things Manpower does around the world. Today I am highlighting the Manpower Professional blog in France. While I do not speak French or read it I thought for those of you that do you might find it interesting.

Click on Picture to visit the blog.