By Team Ceridian



For many of the best and brightest minds in human capital management today, there’s a constant desire to improve. Sticking with the status quo is never good enough – employers are always eager to find new strategies that can help them do work in innovative, more effective ways.

Today is a time of rapid innovation. New technology, such as the rise of cloud computing, is changing the way we collaborate and get things done. Demographic trends, like the retirement of the boomers and rise of the millennials, are shaking things up. Work is changing to become faster-paced, more dynamic and perhaps more difficult for HR to corral.

According to Forbes, 2015 is going to be another eventful year in HR. Dan Schawbel, founder of management consulting firm Millennial Branding, notes that major changes in terms of the global skills gap and the complexion of the workforce are leading companies to rethink their approach to managing talent.

“All of these factors have created a system where everyone is always under pressure to stay relevant, choose degrees that turn into jobs and constantly reinvent themselves,” Schawbel explained. “While there are a lot of obstacles to the 2015 workplace, there are also a lot of major opportunities with millions of boomers retiring and more remote working.”

In 2015, it will be impossible for HR to skate by, merely by sticking to the status quo and managing employees in the same old ways. It is definitely time to adapt. The following is a look at four trends that are forcing talent managers’ hands:

The rise of the millennials
If you define “Generation Y” as beginning with those born in 1980, you come to a startling realization – Gen Y has risen to power. The oldest members of that faction will be turning 35 next year, which means they’re in the primes of their careers. Workplaces will soon shift away from asking “How can we manage all these millennials?” and instead begin wondering “How can we work for them?”

The arrival of Generation Z
Likewise, Gen Z is also coming of age in due time. Do the math: If someone was born in 2000, they’re about to be 15. That means they’re in high school, which means they’re eligible for internships soon enough. The workforce is about to welcome a new generation that’s never known a world without Internet access.

The widening skills gap
As demographics evolve, there will continually be concerns about people’s abilities to handle numerous work tasks before them. Technology and work are changing – will the workforce be able to keep up? Unfortunately, many employers are concerned about their inability to close the skills gap and find qualified people.

The “continuous job search” culture
Finding a job used to be an arduous task, characterized by spending all day rooting through classified ads. Now it’s as easy as one Google search, and people can do it from their mobile phones. This means we’re entering a culture in which everyone, continuously, is looking for the next opportunity. The message is clear for HR – be prepared for turnover, and lots of it.