Worldlink - Oct 2016
Worldlink - Oct 2016
Worldlink - Oct 2016
5 | October 2016
Welcome to this edition of WorldLink, which focuses on Europe. At the time of publication we are facing truly turbulent times in the
region. Not only are we living in a VUCA worldvolatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguouswe are living in an increasingly
violent world.
P3
"Arbeit 4.0"
P4
The Meaning
of Brexit
P5
Digital
Intelligence
P6
Time to Lead?
P7
Smart Office
You will all have seen news of the rise in terrorist incidents across
Europe and the recent attempted coup in Turkey. Our condolences go out
to all who have been affected by events across Europe, and we stand in
solidarity with our colleagues and friends who make up our European
Association of People Management (EAPM) family.
Political and economic upheavals and tensions
have been caused by migration issues and, more
recently, by the Brexit vote have created
a lot of uncertainty that greatly impacts
the world of work and our people. Our
role as HR professionals is to help our
organizations navigate these very
challenging times.
As you are aware, our Turkish
colleagues, PERYN, are hosting
the World Federation of People
Management Associations (WFPMA)
World Congress in Istanbul
October 20-21 on behalf of EAPM.
Its important to note that we are in
close contact with PERYN to monitor
the security situation in Turkey. EAPM
continues to be fully supportive of the World
Congress taking place in Istanbul but, certainly,
if the situation worsens, or if our governments
formally advise against travel to Istanbul, we will review
our position. I am grateful to our WFPMA and EAPM colleagues
who have expressed solidarity with our Turkish colleagues in these
difficult times we are facing not only in Turkey, but across Europe.
MIGRATION ISSUES
Migration can be positive, but amid the current political and social
climate in Europe, it is perceived negatively and is an increasing source
of social friction. Many Europeans feel it is a threat to national cohesion
and security.
Since access to social benefits in European countries is often related
to residence, governments attempt to control the amount and type of
immigrant, usually to favor skilled migrants and to minimize demand
on social welfare systems. Human resources management across Europe
is heavily influenced by EU regulations that focus on the free movement
of labor. But free movement is under threat during the current migration
crisis.
Labor mobility and migration present HR managers with a number
of unique challenges, particularly when it comes to workplace
diversity and to multiculturalismits expression, consequences and
management. However, it is too early to gauge how the HR profession
is coping with this emerging environment and the challenges it brings.
Few organizations are hiring migrant workers in the places they have
been granted permission to work, and the majority of migrants are
unskilled. But it is likely that some will engage with the unseen economy
in order to survive, placing downward pressure on wages.
In the medium to longer term, the influx of younger workers may
help to rebalance the labor market, but only if suitable skills training is
provided. The European Commission has estimated that even if Europe
were to accept 1.4 million immigrants a year for the next three decades,
the EU would still end up having just two working-age people for every
person over 65, compared with four today. So, added numbers should be
welcome.
WorldLink 2
Whatever we choose to call itArbeit 4.0, Work 4.0, the digitization of the labor world or New Workat the end of the day, it is
our job to lead our companies and workforces into a more flexible, individualized and technological working world.
This is a Herculean task in which entrenched patterns, roles and
approaches are only effective to a limited degree and must be replaced
with new ones. But if all this is true, is the bright new working world set
to radically sweep the old one aside? Or is it not so new after all? Is it
really just old wine in new bottles?
Two developments seem certain: First, everything that can be
replaced by machines or algorithms will be. This development is
still in its early stages, including within our own profession. Second,
this process involves the division of labour. Highly qualified tasks
will dominate, augmented by more menial labor functions for which
machinery is simply too expensive. As usual, this will put a squeeze on
jobs traditionally filled by the middle-class skilled worker.
But even this sometimes heated debate on the merits of Scrum and
other innovative approaches is not genuinely new, although it is only
now beginning to gain traction in the field of HR management. Its
cornerstone, The Agile Manifesto, was published some 15 years ago.
REDRAWING FRAMEWORKS
In the new working world, affiliated regulations and frameworks for
flexibility must be adapted to the needs of the time. Creativity is needed
both from HR management and the world of politics in establishing
these frameworks. Put bluntly, clear rules and a reliable framework
in which employees move freely, regardless of their place within the
companys hierarchyare absolutely indispensable. In unambiguous
terms, flexibility in this context does not mean relaxing employee
protection provisions. Instead, work flexibility simply means that those
who want to can.
Arbeit 4.0 continued on page 4
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But there is a little light at the end of the tunnel. The green paper
Arbeit 4.0 issued by Germanys Federal Minister of Labour and Social
Affairs Andrea Nahles contains her vision of the working world of
tomorrow. It has also initiated a process of dialogue about the issue. We
will have to wait and see whether all these positions make their way into
the white paper that emerges at the end of the process. It will be up to
the next government, regardless of its political makeup, to design this
framework in its definitive form.
The vote to leave the European Union (EU) in June was a seismic shock to many people in the UK, and there is much uncertainty
over its impact on employees, organizations and the economy in the immediate aftermath.
This unease wont improve any time soon, because the formal
mechanism for leaving, known as Article 50, is unlikely to be triggered
until sometime in 2017. At that time, the clock will start ticking on
a two-year countdown to the UKs final exit from the EU. In the
meantime, the biggest challenge for HR is to reassure staff that any
significant changesfor example regarding job security,
employment rights and rights to work in the UK
are highly unlikely in the short to medium
term.
COUNTERING INSECURITY
The UKs Chartered Institute for
Personnel and Development (CIPD)
conducted a workplace temperature
check survey of 1,000 UK
employees in July. It revealed that
44 percent of respondents were
pessimistic about the future as
a result of Brexit, with concern
particularly high among publicsector workers (61 percent), voluntary
sector workers (58 percent) and
people ages 25-34 (63 percent).
More than one in five employees (22
percent) said that they felt less secure in
their job as a result of the UKs vote to leave the
EU, compared with just 3 percent who felt more
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EARLY OUTLOOK
Looking ahead, a few indicators are beginning to shine some light on the
effects of Brexit on the economy; however, any conclusions can only be
highly tentative.
The CIPDs quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey, published in
August, found some evidence of softening hiring intentions among
employers. The survey of 1,000 UK employers straddled the weeks before
and after the EU referendum. It found that employers surveyed ahead
of the vote were somewhat more optimistic about hiring intentions over
the next three months than those surveyed afterwards. The proportion
of employers expecting to increase staffing levels over the next three
months dropped from 40 percent pre-Brexit to 36 percent after.
The survey also found that many employers expect Brexit to have a
significant negative impact on costs and business investment decisions.
One-third expect Brexit to increase their costs, compared with just
4 percent who believe the opposite. One in five (21 percent) expect to
reduce investments in training and skills development and in equipment,
compared with 7 percent who intend to increase investment in training
and skills and 5 percent who plan to boost equipment spending.
Although many businesses are treating the immediate post-Brexit
period as business as usual and hiring intentions overall remain
positive, the survey suggests that some organizations, particularly in the
private sector, are preparing to batten down the hatches.
The softening of the British pound and the expectation of further
weakness in the currency as we wait to see the terms of our exit from
the EU has meant one-third of employers expect their costs to increase.
In response, theyre looking to cut investments in crucial areas like
skills development and equipment. In the CIPDs view, this reaction
is premature. The economy had positive momentum going into the
referendum, and there is a risk that employers will create a self-fulfilling
prophecy if they overreact in the expectation of a downturn.
The CIPD has advised employers that now is the time to be talking
about investing in people, in processes and in equipment that will boost
productivity and improve the resilience of businesses and our economy.
Ben Willmott leads CIPDs Public Policy team.
Intelligent digitalization of HR functions can dramatically improve how companies manage their intangible human assets, ultimately
bringing a significant rise to employee productivity.
In Finland, HR administrative functions are digitized quite well. We
follow employee performance using a number of versatile indicators.
Data reporting is progressive and ongoing, and best practices are
distributed electronically. In turn, personnel risks are minimized, and
causal relations are interpreted quickly with the help of result
reports. Thanks to the electronic tools and a high level of
know-how, Finnish HR management is probably among the
world's most efficient.
However, we are just at the beginning of the digital
evolution of organizational management, and we
are only doing the basics. Through information
management, we have improved strategic analytics
and become increasingly proactive. But we have only
scratched the surface in maximizing our intangible
human capital.
Research studies indicate that organizations can
achieve a competitive advantage through knowledgeVol. 26 No. 5 October 2016
Time to Lead?
By Henrik hrn and Paal Leveraas
Leaders around the world spend surprisingly little time leading. At the same time, the annual Global Employee and Leadership Index
from Ennova and HR Norge indicates that time spent on leadership accounts for up to 30 points on a 100-point scale of the most
important motivational and human productivity factors.
The survey polled 38,000 employees and leaders in 39 countries on a
series of factors. This year, the survey focused particularly on how much
time leaders spend actually leading their employees and how much time
they spend doing other tasks.
When leaders were asked about the amount of time they spend on
leadership, most reported that they are satisfied with the quantity. Still,
leaders who spend less than 25 percent of their time leading reported
that they know they are out of balance but that everyday tasks leave
very little time to do what they realize they should do. The problem is
that this is the situation for 44 percent of leadersand they hide it well.
All leaders want to go from being reactive to more proactive, but when
it comes to prioritizing their time, the type of leadership that could
prevent a lot of reactive work suffers.
The graph (below) shows overall global variations. But, when
looking at different countries, we see that there is a difference of 20
points in these factors depending on the time leaders spend leading
their employeessometimes up to 30 points. Has a 20-point drop in
motivation for leaders had any impact on productivity for themselves or
the departments they run? What would the impact be? Or has a 20-point
drop in cooperation had any impact on business performance?
Alternatively, when employees were asked whether their leaders
spend enough time leading their departments, they reported a mean
From 26-50%
From 11-25%
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Latvian information and communication technology company Lattelecom has created the countrys
first smart office, called Mettropole, which changes the usual understanding of the
traditional work environment and culture in Latvia.
The new office gives employees in Lattelecoms business units
an opportunity to work in a modern, motivating work environment
that offers them greater autonomy and breaks down hierarchy and
cooperation silos, in line with the companys vision and goals.
The smart office concept developed when a large number of
Lattelecom employees were to be transferred from another property
that had been sold. An opportunity arose to allow the company to
accommodate a much greater number of employees in the main office
building without sacrificing employee satisfaction.
BUSINESS NEEDS
The work environment can significantly affect employee performance,
and today it must comply with modern habits and technologies, work
pace and office specifications. More efficient and innovative solutions is
one of Lattelecoms strategic objectives: You cannot take on the tasks of
the 21st century using 20th century tools and hope it will work out. That
is why we needed a new, innovative approach to organizing work.
Everyone has to develop his or her ability to accept and adequately
react to constant
changes around them,
because changes
occur constantly. We
as an employer can
help our employees
to develop this
ability, enabling
them to find peace
in these changing
times. We have to
accept that the changes
will not stopnot in
the company, nor in the
economy, nor in the world in
general. Step by step, Lattelecom
has come to the conclusion that a smart
Latvia's First Smart Office continued on page 8
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REAL-ESTATE SOLUTION
The creation of Mettropole was also associated with some very
pragmatic considerations. Lattelecom owns around 70 buildings
throughout Latvia, and maintaining them requires a lot of time,
human resources and financial resources. Our strategy is to only keep
the properties that we actually need instead of maintaining all of the
historically inherited buildings. In 2014, a buyer for one of our buildings
appeared, so the question became where to put the employees working
there. Most of them had close cooperation with departments based in
our main office building, so we decided that it would be best to all work
together. But instead of just having smaller tables and sitting closer to
each other, we knew we needed to create an environment that supports
our business needs and where everyone would feel comfortable.
This is how the idea of the smart office was born. We had three main
conditions: to create a variety of flexible work environments within
one floor; to provide enough space for individual work; and to promote
communication, cooperation and creativity among employees.
Lattelecom is one of the first employers in Latvia to completely
change established office atmosphere and habits in this way, although
the activity-based workplace concept has existed elsewhere around the
world for several years. Google, Dropbox, eBay, Facebook and many
other prominent companies pioneered the transformation from the
traditional working environment, opening up more opportunities for
everyday communication and the free exchange of ideas. Throughout the
world, companies are increasingly getting away from traditional cellular
office design in favor of more creative layouts.
DESIGN TRENDS
Studies show that workplace design greatly affects performance,
employee engagement and innovation (U.S. Workplace Survey, 2013).
Over the past five years, new social and mobile technologies have
changed the way we work, create, share, learn and communicate. Todays
world is connected like never before, but it also creates new obstacles
that affect the ability of individuals to concentrate on work. This tends to
be a reason the open-plan office employee becomes dissatisfied and less
productive. When open communication areas are created at the cost of
focused work, neither work nor communication is enhanced.
A well-thought-out and balanced work space design that promotes
cooperation and communication while enabling employees to focus
on individual worksupported by the freedom of choice of where and
how to do the workare major drivers of satisfaction, performance and
innovation.
laptop, before going home, leaving the working area clean and tidy. In
Mettropole, strict working hours have eased. Teams now tend to stay
later in the evening for activities unrelated to workfor example, to
prepare Christmas gifts, have dinner, etc.
Previously, each employee had an assigned desk, with meeting rooms
and some offices for managers, but in Mettropole there are many more
types of work spaces, meeting facilities and communication areas, as
well as places to rest and reflect. For example, for more focused and
undisturbed work, employees can use the Quiet Zone. If it is necessary
to exchange ideas with colleagues, they may choose the Creative
Meeting Room, Cafeteria or Project Zone. In an unusual but worthwhile
development, directors and board members have given up their private
offices and work side by side with other employees.
The smart office also reduces costs on stationerypaper documents
are used as rarely as possible office products and maintenance.
Lattelecom has seen more than a 40 percent drop in facilities
management and maintenance costs per employee because of more
efficient use of resources, and it can accommodate 70 percent higher
staff capacity in existing spaces than before.
A DAY IN METTROPOLE
Mettropole now spans two of the main offices nine floors, with two
more floors to be finished by the end of 2016. Gradually, the Mettropole
concept will become standard for all of the company's office staff.
The diversity and flexibility of the space allows employees to find the
perfect place to work according to their tasks, mood or daily plans. Data
show that Lattelecom employees spend only 40 percent of their working
time at their desks, so under the new design they do not have just one
assigned table. Instead, when an employee is in a meeting, on lunch or
outside the office, his or her work space can be used by other colleagues.
Changing ones work environment regularly promotes better health by
reducing the sedentary lifestyle risks common to office staff.
One unwritten rule is the clean desk policy. Each employee has
his or her own locker to store work materials, including his or her
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Portugal
Falling Unemployment
out a basic income pilot program beginning in 2017. The trial will
tax-free income of 560 for as long as they remain jobless. The individuals,
Statistics Institute said that unemployment hit 10.8 percent in the second
selected randomly, will range in age from 25 to 58, and their participation in the
quarter, well down from 12.4 percent in the previous quarter and 11.9 percent
trial will be mandatory to ensure that the results are not distorted. Participants
a year ago, and falling after climbing for two quarters. The rate has even fallen
will be compared with a control group of unemployed who will not receive the
below the government's full-year target of 11.3 percent and is the lowest rate
basic income. The goal of the two-year trial is to encourage more unemployed
since the first quarter of 2011, just before Portugal requested an international
whether or not the program motivates more unemployed people to accept work.
Spain
Germany
Temp Surge
The number of workers who have been hired through temporary
been disappointed. One out of three German companies says it plans to hire
workers completed an average of four contracts each. The sector using the
refugees this year or next, but only 7 percent have actually hired refugees within
the last 24 months. Like most of Europe, the country has an aging workforce, a
the retail and hospitality sector, with 23 percent of all contracts. The area that
low birthrate and a need for more young workers in the years to come, but newly
saw the greatest amount of growth was professional, scientific and technical
the necessary language skills, education and training, and must also contend
this period were men, and nearly half were under 34 years old.
with Germanys complex bureaucracy. By this past June, just 54 refugees had
Sweden
Six-Hour Day
Greece
Aging Fears
that have already made the change have said the aim is to get more
debt and lowered productivity over the next two decades, according
done in a shorter amount of time and ensure people have the time and energy
to the six-hour workday 13 years ago and report happier staff, a lower turnover
over that period. IMF researchers point out that it is hard to generalize about an
rate and an increase in profits over that time. Game app developer Filimundus
aging workforce, but the study points to a number of practices that could lessen
made the change last year. Its CEO, Linus Feldt, said his staff members are now
expected to work more intensely while in the office, so they are not allowed
employment skills, and providing incentives for older employees to do casual and
to use personal social media, meetings are kept to a minimum and other
part-time work.
Ireland
workday.
Dad Time
Paternity leave is now recognized as a new legal right in Ireland.
United Kingdom
Work Culture
their employment to care for their child for which they are deemed
sex couples jointly adopting a child must choose one parent to be the relevant
workers are seeking employers that provide more than a paycheck; they want
parent. Employers are not obliged to pay employees during paternity leave, but
work that also fulfills their passions and challenges them, setting them up
for continued professional growth and success. Graduates are also looking
The Netherlands
in this group have been looking for work for more than a year; long-term
unemployment in the Netherlands is highest among older workers. Among the
entire Dutch workforce, 557,000 people were unemployed in the second quarter,
down by 58,000 from last year.
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HR Calendar
October 13-14, 2016
Salzburg, Austria
www.opwz.com/forum-personal/hrtagung.html
sterreichisches Produktivitts
Und Wirtschaftlichkeitszentrum
(PWZ) Annual Conference
Portuguese Association of
People Management (APG) 49th
National Conference: People
Management in a Digital World
MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS
OF THE WORLD FEDERATION
AHRC (28)
AFRICAN HUMAN RESOURCES CONFEDERATION
Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,
Chad, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius,
Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South
Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda,
Zambia, Zimbabwe
President: Hicham Zouanat, Morocco
APFHRM (15)
ASIA PACIFIC FEDERATION OF HRM
A more comprehensive
list of events in Europe
can be found at
www.eapm.org/events.
WORLDLINK
NEXT ISSUE
WORLDLINK
welcomes news stories, announcements of events and ideas for articles.
These should be accompanied by a telephone number and e-mail
address.
Martha J. Frase
Managing Editor, WorldLink E-mail: [email protected].
Vol.
Vol. 26
26 No.
No. 55 October
October 2016
2016
EAPM (28)
EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION FOR PEOPLE MANAGEMENT
Austria, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland,
France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal,
Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom
President: Bob Morton, United Kingdom
FIDAGH (15)
INTERAMERICAN FEDERATION OF PEOPLE
MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATIONS
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica,
Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Nicaragua,
Panama, Paraguay, Per, Uruguay, Venezuela
President: Leyla Nascimento, Brazil
NAHRMA (3)
NORTH AMERICAN HRM ASSOCIATION
Canada, Mexico, United States
President: Henry G. (Hank) Jackson, United States
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