Today’s workers are more aware of their options and more alert to social and other injustices than those in the generations before us. As a result, workers are demanding more – more transparency, fairness, benefits, and balance. And this trend isn’t going away. In fact, employers should expect increased complexity to enter the landscape of workforce risk over the coming years and decade. And the companies that will be best placed to weather the storm are those that prepare now. Here’s how:
Identify Your Major Workforce Risks
These are some of the challenges for employers looking to attract and retain talented workers identified by Deloitte in its workforce risk management deep-dive:
Develop Your Competitive Advantage
Companies can focus on one (or more) of the challenges outlined by Deloitte (or any other workforce challenge you’ve identified within your organization) to develop a competitive advantage.
For example, Costco has long adopted a policy to compensate its workers well, encouraging higher performance and reduced turnover. Business Insider highlighted this policy recently, showing that Costco’s CEO made 336 times the average worker (much lower than the 933:1 ratio at Walmart). It uses it to attract and retain its workforce.
Patagonia’s approach is to train ‘outdoorsy’ people over hiring businesspeople hoping they’ll develop a passion for the outdoors. They also offer very good health benefits, child-care benefits, time off to vote, and ‘Training and bail for those who peacefully protest for reproductive justice.’ This approach addresses ever-present challenges, like total rewards and culture, as well as emerging trends, like the future of work and socioeconomic/political factors. Patagonia is also well-known for its approach to sustainability.
Meanwhile, Salesforce is consistently lauded as being one of the best places to work. They offer, and actually encourage, time off for volunteering – and they reward employees who take this time off through sweepstakes giveaways. They offer enhanced healthcare for employees and their partners, including ‘add-ons’ like maternity doula reimbursement. Employees and their partners can also access unlimited financial advice and RocketLawyer. Salaried employees are entitled to unlimited Paid Time Off.
Reach out if you need assistance with managing your workplace and wage and hour compliance risk.
Disclaimer
The materials available at this website are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Use of and access to this website or any of the e-mail links contained within the site do not create an attorney-client relationship between CGL and the user or browser. The opinions expressed at or through this site are the opinions of the individual author and may not reflect the opinions of the firm or any individual attorney.
