Human resources has always been an important component of the American work life, but even more so today. From recruiting, hiring and onboarding new staff to compensation, morale, and other workplace issues where employees have higher expectations, human resource departments have tremendous challenges and opportunities. Here are the latest trends impacting HR departments.
Booming Job Market
The economy and unemployment rate continue to improve post-Great Recession. In April, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9 percent—the lowest it’s been since 2000, reports the U.S. Department of Labor. As of April 2018, there have been 91 straight months of job growth. In April, 204,000 new jobs were added, including 36,000 leisure and hospitality positions.
Tough Job Market for Restaurants
While a strong economy and workforce bode well for Americans, the restaurant industry is having difficulty finding new employees. According to the National Restaurant Association (NRA), in 2018, 37 percent of its members said labor recruitment was their top challenge, up from 15 percent two years ago. In 2017, the turnover rate at restaurants reached 133 percent, reports TDn2K, a restaurant research firm. Replacing workers can be costly, averaging $2,000 to replace an hourly worker says TDn2K.
The industry has grown rapidly in recent years, creating new demand for jobs. 15,145 restaurants were opened between the third quarters of 2016 and 2017—a net increase of 2.5 percent, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the labor market is lacking. Teenage workers, often heavily relied upon in the food service industry, are fewer today than in the past. Twenty-five years ago, there were 56 teens in the labor force for every quick service restaurant—today that number is less than half.
In addition to a tight labor market, other issues have made staffing difficult for restaurants. Immigration enforcement has made restauranteurs more cautious about hiring and the #MeToo movement has caused restaurants to reevaluate their workplace practices in order to create a more positive environment to recruit and retain workers.
In response, the restaurant industry is finding new ways maintain full employment: including increased wages and incentives like dental insurance, bonuses and travel reimbursement. McDonald’s announced that it would expand its tuition-reimbursement program, which will provide $150 million in tuition over the next five years to employees who work for at least 90 days. Starbucks also has a scholarship program and Taco Bell has announced a similar program of its own.
Increased training is also used to keep and draw staff. At the restaurant Alta Strada in Wellesley, Mass., employees take part in a wine-and-food tasting to develop their skill sets. The NRA has created programs to help high school students, adults and veterans find work in the food industry.
The Wage Issue
Stagnant wages and income inequality continue to impact workers. From April 2017 to April 2018, real average hourly wages for private-sector workers grew 0.2 percent, reports the Department of Labor. While real earnings increased in the first half of last year, rising inflation has subdued the benefits. Since the labor market’s peak in 2007 just prior to the Great Recession, the top 10 percent of wage earners have enjoyed the greatest growth in income, states the Economic Policy Institute.
To combat the issue, many states—including 18 thus far in 2018—have increased their minimum wage rates.
A Big Gig Economy
Many workers rely on freelance or side jobs to supplement or even completely support their incomes. According to Pew Research Center, nearly one in four Americans earn money on the digital “platform economy.” Positions such as drivers for ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft have become mainstream, but apps like Snag Work, which has 2.1 million users, Wonolo and others are diversifying the types of gigs that are available.
Restaurants, retailers and hotels including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola, and Marriott are finding staff on-demand. There are benefits for both employers and gig workers as employers can avoid headaches of finding full-time staff and gig employees can often get paid more than a full-time worker. Some workers have reported being treated in a more positive way by supervisors than if they were regular staff. However, concerns loom over adequately protecting these workers’ rights, providing them benefits and lowering workplace quality for full-time staff.
For clubs and their golfers, apps like CaddieNow offer caddies on-demand, providing independent contractors to courses nationwide.
Disengaged Workforce
Engagement is critical to employee retention. A 2017 Gallup-Sharecare Well-Being Index study showed that employees who are engaged and have a high well-being are 59 percent less likely to look for a job with a different organization in the next year.
According to the 2017 Global Talent Monitor study conducted by Gartner, a leading research and advisory company, roughly 20 percent of employees said they were willing to do more than required of them. More than half (51%) are not engaged and are less productive than their ability, reports Gallup and only 16 percent are engaged at work. An equal number are actively disengaged at work, meaning they are unhappy and unproductive or even hurting the productivity of those around them. The Gartner study finds that less than half (44%) said they were likely to stay at their current job.
The biggest factor of whether an employee leaves or stays at their job is if they have the ability to do what they do best, according to the 2017 State of the American Workplace by Gallup.
Generating Engagement
Gallup’s study found three key areas where motivation is cultivated and/or lost.
The first is unclear and misaligned expectations. Only 41 percent of employees strongly agree that their job description aligns with the work they do. For staff who strongly agree that their duties align with their job description, they are 2.5 times more likely to be engaged. Additionally, just 30 percent of employees strongly agree that their manager helps them set goals. Of those who strongly agree, they are 3.6 times more likely to be engaged. Employees who can link their goals to their organization’s goals are 3.5 more likely to be engaged.
The second factor is ineffective and infrequent feedback. Just 20 percent of employees say they had a conversation with their managers in the last six months about how they can reach their goals. Employees who have had conversations with their managers about their goals and successes in the last six months are 2.8 times more likely to be engaged. Only 21 percent of employees strongly believe they are managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.
The third factor is unfair evaluation practices and misplaced accountability. Many employees are reviewed through performance metrics that may not effectively evaluate their effort and achievements. During these meetings, employees focus on compensation and their manager’s ability to measure their skills, and only 21 percent of employees strongly agree that what they are rated on is within their control. However, evaluations are valuable as those who have had one within the last year are more likely to be engaged than those who have not.
Top 5 reasons why your staff are leaving:
- The ability to do what they do best
- Greater work-life balance and better personal well-being
- Greater stability and job security
- A significant increase in income
- The opportunity to work for a company with a great brand or reputation
Source: 2017 State of the American Workplace, Gallup
Culture Wanted
Eighty-seven percent of business leaders believe culture is important, reports Deloitte’s 2016 Global Human Capital Trends reports, however the study finds that only 28 percent of respondents believe they understand their current culture and just 19 percent believe their organization has the right culture. In a 2015 and 2016 survey by Willis Towers Watson, a global advisory company, found that employers ranked culture last in a list of workplace stressors, while employees ranked it third. “Club Culture and the Winds of Change” on p. XX of this issue provides strategies to develop a strong culture at your club.
3 Stages to Manage Work Culture
Define: Determine the desired workplace culture. Leaders should define the organization’s purpose beyond revenue and identify its values, strategies and goals.
Align: Measure how value and behaviors are manifested on a daily basis and reward performance that aligns with the culture and modify behaviors that don’t align. This may take 12 to 18 months. Conduct employee surveys that allows staff to rate whether their supervisor’s behavior aligns with desired values.
Refine: Roughly every two years leaders should update their behaviors, strategies and goals to strengthen the workplace culture.
Source: S. Chris Edmonds, CEO, The Purposeful Culture Group
Wellness in the Workplace
As highlighted by the disconnect between employers and employees on ranking the stress of workplace culture, employers often do not understand their staff’s stressors. In fact, the number one stressor for Americans is job pressure, according to Statistic Brain, a leading research company.
Nearly half of employed adults rate their workplace’s ability to reduce stress as fair or poor, reports a study by National Public Radio, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Workplace stress costs employers $500 billion nationally and 550 million workdays, reports the American Psychological Association.
2018 HR Trends
Increased access to data and emphasis on employee engagement have produced new roles and responsibilities for human resource departments. The following are several key HR trends for 2018, from Chee Tung Leong, CEO of EngageRocket, an HR tech company.
The Employee Experience
More employees, especially from younger generations, expect a pleasant work experience. New focus on the employee experience integrates engagement, culture and performance, driving leaders to develop an employee journey map, which provides opportunities and experiences to employees based on their skills, personalities and goals.
HR Technologies
Hi-tech recruiting software like Arya can now identify and reach out to candidates by collecting data, saving time and lowering costs for HR departments. The Singapore-based OCBC Bank has developed its own in-house HR app that allows employees to submit claims, request leave, track benefits and look for jobs internally. It also features a chatbot to answer staff questions.
People Analytics
As data becomes more available to HR companies, so will the development of “people analytics,” the use of data that can help organizations make decisions about their workforce. HR departments with this data will develop models and dashboards to help connect the workplace and provide actionable strategies without jeopardizing sensitive data.
The Gig Economy
In order to hire employees quickly and with less costs, HR departments will need to quickly identify projects and find short-term workers to fill organizational needs.
2018 Workplace Trends
1. Less work from home, more workplace well-being
While work-from-home arrangements have increased in recent years, with one-in-three corporations offering the flexibility, a growing amount of research is showing that in-office interactions help enhance creativity and relationship building. Mental health in the workplace will also have greater focus.
2. Employers will invest more in staff training and development
To fill skill gaps for both employees and employers, more companies will devote resources to develop staff abilities. This will be most valuable to Generation Z who is lacking soft skills in the workplace.
3. An increasingly aging workforce will have ramifications for employees of all ages
Three-in-four Americans expect to work past retirement age with two-thirds forecasted to work part-time. Younger workers will have more difficulty earning promotions to fill positions occupied by older workers, which could increase turnover.
4. Bullies in the shop
Companies are increasingly calling former supervisors to conduct reference checks because they are more talkative and knowledgeable about prospective employees. According to a 2014 survey by the Workplace Bullying Institute, 27 percent of respondents reported abuse in the workplace, with the majority conducted by bosses. Employees should be selective in identifying references who will not jeopardize their future employment opportunities.
5. Coexisting with Technology
Technology, such as ordering kiosks and chatbots will continue to transform and save money in the workplace. Labor force participants should evaluate their skills to understand their value and decide whether additional training is necessary.
Expanded Roles and Responsibilities
More is expected of the workplace and especially the HR departments than ever before. With tremendous competition for the best workers, club must be aware of factors affecting their employees in order to maintain a strong, engaged workforce and a fully-staffed club.
Club Trends Spring 2018