This was presented at San Francisco's Commonwealth Club on October 14th, 2008. Covers the significant trends and turmoil in America's workforce and discusses how the evolving flexible workforce is a viable solution in the war for talent.

1. Turmoil and Trends
in America’s
Workforce
Alex Dodd, CEO
M Squared Consulting

2. Agenda for today
• Current economic climate
• Talent supply and demand
• Flexible workforce
• Recommendations

3. Current Economic Climate
• Not likely to lose best talent
• Belt tighten, but not so much that you
cannot take advantage of upturn
• It’s tough, but use this opportunity to
address under performers
• Do something different – embrace the
flexible workforce…

4. Talent supply & demand
• What’s happening on the demand side?
– “the work that needs to be done”
• What’s happening on the supply side?
– “the people that will do the work”
• Long-term relationship between supply and
demand

5. 3 Primary Drivers
Demographic trends…
…impacting the workforce supply
Firmagraphic changes…
…impacting the workplace
environment and the nature of work
itself
Psychographic evolution…
…creating a “new” workforce

6. Demographic Trends
• Baby Boomers
• Post-Boomer generations
• Women in the workplace
• “Non-traditional” households
• College graduates
• Immigration
• Life expectancy
• Birthrates
• Cost of living

7. Baby Boomers
• Reaching retirement age…
– Some retiring now
– Some continuing to work, full-time
– Some continuing to work, on their own
terms!
• Health benefits…
• Financial ability to retire…

8. Post-Boomer Generations
• Generation X is not big enough to replace the
Baby Boomers
• Generation Y is similar in size to the
Boomers, but is not experienced (yet!)
• Gen X & Y are radically different in
viewpoint than Boomers

9. Our Workforce
76.7m
73.5m
49.1m
28.5m
Traditionalists Boomers Generation X Generation Y
(1925-1945) (1946-1964) (1965-1980) (1981-2000)
Source: 2005 U.S. Census

10. Women in the Workforce
• A growing segment of the workforce
• Make 83% of all consumer purchase
decisions
• 60% of new college graduates
• 60% of working age women work
• Driving the creation of new career paths and
workplace flexibility

11. Traditional Households
Non-traditional households (i.e. the vast
majority of households) want / require
(demand!) flexibility

12. College Graduates
• College degree is a prerequisite in the
knowledge economy
• Declining graduates with engineering and
professional degrees
• Many foreign nationals are returning home

13. Immigration
• Highly politicized issue
• H1B visa’s – 2008 lottery closed in first 24
hours.
• No relief in sight…

14. Life Expectancy*
Age
80
75
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
*Average, at birth, in the U.S. (Source: U.S. Social Security Administration)

15. Birth Rates
Fertility
Rate
= 1960 5.9
6
= 2000
5
4.0
4 3.6
3.3
2.0 3.1
3 2.9 2.8
2.5 2.5
2.0
2 1.7 1.7 1.6
1.8
1.4 1.3 1.2
1
0
US France UK Canada Japan Germany Italy China India
(Source: Age Wave)

16. Cost of Living
• Most knowledge jobs are in or near major
metro areas
• Housing
• Commuting costs
• Education

17. Workforce Projections…
)
m and
e (De
forc
ork
U.S. Workforce
nW Workforce
w th i Gap!
Gro
ed
j ect
Pro ply)
kforc e (Sup
wth in Wor
Projec ted Gro
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Year

18. Our Challenge:

19. Firmagraphic Drivers
• The knowledge economy
• Economic conditions
• Unemployment
• Financial constraints of the firm
• Change & Complexity
• Outsourcing / Offshoring / Globalization
• Employer loyalty

20. The Changing
Nature of Work

21. The Changing Nature of Work
• Knowledge economy is driving the need for
specialized workers with specialized skills
• Work is becoming more team based
• Work is becoming more project based
• Technology intensive and enabled work can be
done from anywhere
• New organizational structures, leadership and
management styles are emerging

22. Psychographics: The
Changing Workforce

23. 4 Generations in 1 Workforce
Traditionalists Baby Boomers Generation X Generation Y
Born: 1925 -1945 Born: 1946 -1964 Born: 1965 -1980 Born: 1981 - 2000
Respectful of Anti- Self-reliant (latch- Confident and full
authority authoritarian key kids) of self-esteem
Hierarchical Idealistic Anti-institution Impatient and
eager to live life
Loyal to institutions Motivated by Rule-morphing “now”. FUN!
changing the
Rule makers and world Tribal Socially conscious
conformists
Competitive Information-rich Highly tolerant
Plugged-in
Family-centric

24. Outcomes of the Changing
Workforce
• Changing definition of retirement
• Desire for greater work/life balance
• More career flexibility/control
• Looking for greater meaning in work
• View work as a “series” of engagements
• Diminished employee loyalty

25. So, the workforce has already radically
changed, the nature of work is changing,
now the workplace needs to catch up…

26. The Flexible
Workforce

27. The Flexible Workforce is an innovative
human capital strategy that:
• Recognizes the changes that are impacting “work”
• Leverages the strengths of all 4 generations in the
workforce
• Incorporates workplace flexibility, allowing people
to balance work/family/life
• Provides greater flexibility and resiliency for the
organization

28. Developing a Model for Working
with Flexible Resources
1. Define the work and desired results
2. Define the skill/experience level required to
do the work
3. Define the relationship between the worker
and the organization
4. Select the resources to do the work
5. Manage the work
6. Capture and retain knowledge
7. Measure results and satisfaction levels

29. Flexible Workforce Advantages
• Expertise: Brings in targeted expertise
• Execution: Enables leadership to focus on
execution, accelerates time to market
• Cost Control: Buy the expertise you need, as
you need it, where you need it.
• Flexibility: Manage business peaks and valleys
• Perspective: Objective outside experience
• Recruiting: Broadens reach, “try before you
buy”
• Retention: Demonstrates commitment to core
FTEs

30. The Time to
Act is Now

31. Recommendations
• There is still talent. It has just changed,
and the supply has gotten tighter.
• Many professionals no longer want a 9-5
job for life. Their definition of a “career”
has evolved to being a “Free Agent”.
• You must now play on their terms to get
their help.

32. There is no magic wand…
• Traditional FTE employment
• Greater use of flexible workforce
…and…
• Technology
• Productivity improvements
• Outsourcing/offshoring
• Enlightened employment policies
• Management practices

33. Embrace the flexible workforce
and make it a foundation of your
Human Capital strategy
• It demonstrates your commitment to
innovation, supporting your staff, and
getting work done
• It shows you care about success!
• It enables you to get the best available
talent

34. Issues and Recommendations
www.msquared.com/blog
Alex Dodd
Chief Executive Officer
adodd@msquared.com
415-391-1038