Business Services Industry

Effective HR looks toward the future - From the President

HR Magazine, Dec, 2002 by Susan Meisinger

Wouldn't it be great to see into the future? More than 3,000 years ago the ancient Greeks traveled to the Oracle of Delphi and paid gold to hear cryptic predictions from the priestess of Apollo. Most didn't come true, of course, but it's a testament to the human spirit that the Oracle was in business for 1,700 years.

Today, we call business and HR prophets by different names--forecaster, analyst and consultant. Their services can be pricey. And there's no guarantee that the predictions will come true.

But seeing the future is more important than ever in the business world, especially in HR. The organizations that plan ahead will get and keep the best talent and avoid legal, ethical and training problems.

So what can an HR professional do to look for key trends and issues on the horizon and keep expenses down? Tap into the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) resources, of course! We're committed to assisting you as you help your organizations prepare for emerging trends.

How? SHRM's Workplace Trends and Forecasting program reviews a myriad of professional literature, including academic journals, newspapers, periodicals, business publications, etc. We examine broad categories of interest such as demographics, technology and its impact, and general economic conditions, and we determine connections between these categories and HR-related issues. For example, technology has implications for workplace privacy and security. Advances in genetic testing will lead to questions about whether the tests are covered by employer-provided health insurance. The aging workforce will affect workforce planning and changes in benefit plans.

The final compilation of this information is found in the recently released SHRM Workplace Forecast: A Strategic Outlook 2002 2003. The report provides an in-depth analysis of external forces that impact business and HR, both today and in the future and is available online at www.shrm.org/rends.> From there you can develop predictions that apply to your organization. Look at trends that emerged over the past year to determine what they might mean in the coming year. Always ask the question "What does this information mean to my company, my department and me?" Be ready to make bold, even risky assertions about what's to come. If an issue seems very important, start your own trend. And don't be afraid to be wrong; it's a natural part of the process.

By the way, researchers recently found the secret of the Delphic Oracle. Gas from a natural fault apparently caused everyone at the site to have hallucinations, so the predictions were rarely based on rational thinking. Today, HR professionals can avoid hot air and cloudy crystal balls by using the resources at hand to prepare for the future.

Susan Meisinger