Project

• Overview / Forward

Uncertainty reigns.

It’s hard to find a single person alive who has not been affected in some way by the COVID pandemic. 

Changes that may have taken years if not decades have accelerated faster than they would have without the pandemic — virtual interviewing, virtual onboarding, virtual workplaces all accelerated & normalized…for the time being. 

Surge hiring, retention, internal movement, automation/AI, shifting labor markets, healthcare crises, burnout, forced return to the office, extreme shortages, work & life blended together, work anywhere, recession fears and, of course, adding ‘quiet’ as an explanation to everything from hiring to resignations is still top of mind as the largest gap between available jobs and qualified workers grows to historic numbers.

2020’S Milestones:

• 2020 – COVID-19 Pandemic: Lockdowns, shutdowns, and tens of millions ‘furloughed’.1
• 2020 – Social Unrest explodes with BLM and George Floyd: Recognition that DE&I is in need of new solutions.2
• 2020 – COVID-Related Tax Relief Act and economic impact payments passed.3
• 2020 – Recruitersrecruitingrecruiters.com launched during COVID-19 crisis.4
• 2020 – Women leave the workforce at twice the rate of men.5
• 2020 – SEC requires Human Capital metrics be included in quarterly filings.6
• 2021 – Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act becomes law.7
• 2021 – Post Pandemic Return to Normal is an ongoing debate.8
• 2021 – Post Pandemic recovery disrupts the labor market further and there is a recruiter shortage.9

References

1. A furlough is derived from a Dutch word meaning a temporary leave of absence- in this case for employees due company or employer’s economic conditions. Furlough – Wikipedia
2. Diversity training surged after the George Floyd murder called to light years of system injustice and passivity. https://www.npr.org/2021/06/16/1007337981/big-companies-are-finding-out-they-need-help-with-diversity-messaging
3. Congress passes a $2.2 trillion economic stimulus act. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CARES_Act
4. RecruitersRecrutingRecruiters.com was a job board for TA and HR related roles started during the pandemic by a consortium of industry veterans and TA leaders who didn’t want “just another job board” that didn’t respect talent as they were forced to make staffing cuts. What is unique about this job board is that it required each employer posting jobs to the site to commit to pledge that they will uphold good candidate experience practices and not leave candidates in a black hole. Sunset in 2022. Source: From the notes of Gerry Crispin
5. There were 2.1 million fewer women in the workforce at the end of 2020 since the pandemic began in February 2020.
   https://nwlc.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/December-Jobs-Day.pdf
6. As of Nov 9, 2021 the Securities Exchange Commission’s (SEC) new rules requiring publicly traded companies to expand their human capital management disclosure using a principles-based approach went into effect. While these rules are not prescriptive, most companies will eventually be forced to meet stricter standards around how they manage their human assets and the metrics they believe highlight their claims. If subsequent company performance is predicted, we will see a significant impact on the investment community that CEOs and other company leaders will not easily ignore.
   https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2021/02/06/new-human-capital-disclosure-requirements/
7. Colorado’s Equal Pay for Equal Work Act was passed in 2019 and became law on January 1, 2021. In addition to barring employers from asking about salary, it requires employers to state a position’s pay or range as well as benefits, and “any bonuses, commissions, or other compensation” in published job descriptions. Major companies’ initial response is to exclude Coloradans from jobs rather than respond with transparency.
   http://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb19-085
8. Return to Normal versus Work from Anywhere Anytime will be debated for the foreseeable future. Many firms initially embraced giving their employees more choice decisions about how they would address ‘the time spent working’ and ‘the place where work would be done’. Recently more employers are recanting and again dictating ‘time and place’ rather than developing managers’ and employees’ skills related to remote or hybrid work.
   Morgan Stanley CEO to NYC workers: Be back in the office by September or else
9. With a quarter of the workforce changing jobs each year something fundamental is not Understanding The Exciting, New, Disrupted Labor Market – JOSH BERSIN