1. The 21st Century Workforce…
John M. Toller
Feb 27, 2014
The 21st Century Workforce…
It’s Time for Change…
You have a brief sense of Who I am via the introduction. The question I have is: Who are you? What interests you? What drives you? What makes you the very best you can be? (No, I’m not an army recruiter seeking talent).
We haven’t walked the same road but we do have similar/familiar needs and objectives. We want freedom to achieve, recognition, reward from what we do.
We are 13+ years into a new millenium, but we are continuing to behave today as we did in the past century. That wouldn’t be a problem if the world itself did not change. It has and it continues to do so. Today we are going to explore some of the most significant changes and how they can inform us as we develop the workforce of the 21st Century.
It IS time for change, time to change the status quo (which is never easy). The SHRM National Conference brochure notes this through words like: transform, innovate, commitment, and determination.

2. Managing the 21st Century Workforce is a Matter of Perspective…
What’s Yours??
Where was this picture taken? (Chicago’s Millenium Park)
What story does it tell? (It shows things differently…it enables us to see ourselves differently than normal)
A ‘paradigm’ is a perspective based on a set of thoughts or assumptions. In the late 15th century, what was the “world view” paradigm? (The model for most people was that the world is flat—except Christopher Columbus).
In the 16th century what was the paradigm of the earth in relation to the sun and other stars? (Most thought the sun rotated around the earth—except Copernicus and Galileo).
What changed these paradigms? (Experience and/or ‘proof’ of an alternative view).
Why was the new paradigm so slow to be adopted? (Poor communication networks; threats to current thinking; etc.).

3. 20th Century Workforce Job/Tasks Individual
The “center” of work in the 20th century was the job itself. (I tell you precisely what to do and when--and you do it)
Examples: Auto assembly line
Detailed job description
©JMToller 2004

4. 21st Century Workforce Individual Job/Tasks
Around the turn of the past century high performing organizations were observed as operating under a different model—or paradigm. The worker became the focal point, rather than the work itself. Give me the right people and I can accomplish whatever you want/need.
Employer Perspective:
What do I want/need?
Competency
Creativity
Contribution (results, not merely effort)
Employee Perspective:
What do I want need?
Chance/Opportunity
Connection
Caring
©JMToller 2004

5. What do I want/need?? WORK! Employer Competency Creativity
Contribution (results, not merely effort)
Employee
Chance/Opportunity
Connection
Caring
WORK!

6. Changing World of Work 20th Century 21st Century Basic Paradigm:
Hierarchy
Shared Responsibility
Owner:
Management
Everyone
Org Design:
Pyramid
Web/Network
Org Focus:
Control
Collaboration
Mindset:
Parent
Partner
Transactions:
Adult/Child
Adult/Adult
Supervisory Action:
Direct/Order
Coach/Enable
Supervisory Focus:
Conformance
Continuous Improvement
Action:
React (Downstream)
Anticipate (Upstream)
Change:
Slow/Steady
Fast/Chaotic
The world of work has changed dramatically over the past decade. Some of this has been the result of changing technologies and easy access to information, and some has been the natural evolution of people and work systems over time.
It’s important to understand that a “people-centered” work environment is significantly different and requires different skills of supervisors. The discussion today will focus on the new skills that supervisors need to master in order to be successful.
The “people-centered” work environment can be messy and chaotic at times. Survival requires an understanding and focus on “core” values—not do what I say, because I say it, but because it fits well with our collective values and enables us to achieve our objectives.

7. What’s Holding People back?
A recent survey by the Rapid Learning Institute revealed something astounding—most workers feel they are underutilized, invisible, and not making a difference. In a competitive world having “disabled” workers is something holding everyone back.
Source: Rapid Learning Institute
What Inspires You??

8. 21st Century Manager’s Priorities
Build Future Capacity
Attention
Alignment
Accountability
Increase Effectiveness
Enhance Employee Engagement
The 21st Century manager has a different and perhaps more difficult role than his/her counterpart in the 20th Century. Rather than being work-focused, the 21st Century manager must be focused on both the worker and outcomes—while finding the most effective means of satisfying both.
In the 21st Century organizations need to engage in both employee-building AND boss-building. Manager’s need to have the skills and competencies to succeed in this new workforce paradigm.
Key Skill: Communicate Effectively!

9. Manager’s competencies are changing in the 21st Century
Manager’s competencies are changing in the 21st Century. Here is a diagram of current thinking from Dave Ulrich et al regarding the core competencies of HR professionals. At the center of the target is the INDIVIDUAL role of being a credible activist.

10. Great People Create Great Outcomes
1. Avoid mediocrity: eliminate actions that reward/sustain less-than-great outcomes. 2. Define “greatness”: calibrate success, even in the absence of solid metrics. 3. Confront the Brutal Facts: measure outputs, rather than inputs. Assemble evidence and be accountable for sharing it. 4. Attain Level 5 Leadership: get things done within a diffuse power structure. 5. Adopt a “First Who/Then What” approach: get the right people on the bus at the outset—self-motivated; self-disciplined 6. Adapt the Hedgehog Concept: create “fit” between individuals and your organization. 7. Develop/sustain a culture of discipline: focus on ideas and actions essential for producing ongoing exceptional results. 8. Keep the flywheel turning: Use clock-building rather than time-telling to create and sustain momentum.
There are several workforce themes that have developed over the past dozen years based on extensive research by different individuals and organizations. While there is insufficient time to explore each of these deeply, it is useful to review the highlights of the research and its impact on workforce thinking. 3 of the most significant studies will be covered.
From Good to Great, Jim Collins

11. Gallup Q12 Survey Questions
Q1: I know what is expected of me at work.
Q2: I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.
Q3: At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
Q4: In the last 7 days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
Q5: My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
Q6: There is someone at work who encourages my development.
Q7: At work, my opinions seem to count.
Q8: The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
Q9: My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
Q10: I have a best friend at work.
Q11: In the last 6 months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
Q12: This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

12. The Rewards of Work® Model
Source: Sibson Consulting

13. 4 Categories Of Purpose:
Dave and Wendy Ulrich note in the Why of Work that a new factor has entered the realm of 21st Century workforce management—Relationships, and their impact on achievement. The very best organizations are those who have mastered the development of productive relationships, in addition to mastering the product or service elements of work.
Source: The Why of Work
Dave and Wendy Ulrich

14. HR’s Perspective…
Here is a graphic that I developed as part of the ECU HR Strategic Plan. This graphic intentionally repositioned HR from a transactional and compliance role to a key contributor role.

15. ECU Core Work Values All Employees Supervisors/Mgrs
Customer Service
Compliance
Diversity
Excellence
Respect and Honesty
Communication
Dependability
Human Resources Management
Leadership
Budget/Financial Management
If people are the center of the 21st century work paradigm, work systems must address the “core” needs of individuals to contribute their “best” and be recognized for it. Core Work Values should focus on the dimensions that people value, not merely the organization’s values.

16. High Performing Organizations: Creating a Culture of Abundance
Excuses for failure are everywhere.
I would have gotten the job done if only…
The goals/tasks were not clearly defined…
I knew what I needed to do but no one else helped get it done…
I had/have a headache…
The dog ate my homework…
Building an “I think we can” philosophy starts with understanding connecting points…

17. Finding Meaning @ Work Source: The Why of Work Dave and Wendy Ulrich
Part of the new “target” for 21st Century HR is a focus on creating meaning in work—resulting in ABUNDANCE.
Source: The Why of Work
Dave and Wendy Ulrich

18. Sustaining Abundance…
If every contributor gives more than he/she takes, the result is an “abundance” of resource.
The TRUTH IS…Contributors who have their hearts and souls engaged—in addition to their minds— consistently give more than they take.
Think of the last time you had a family or church picnic. Was there food left over? Why? How?
Each of us has the ability to contribute more than we take from any situation. The “leftover” is abundance that can be useful to everyone.

19. Who Do You Know Who Creates Abundance?…
Possible Examples:
Nelson Mandela (Poem: Invictus—”I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul”)
Abraham Lincoln (Second Inaugural Address) : “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”…
Mother Teresa of Calcutta: (winner of 1979 Nobel Peace Prize)
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
“I alone can’t change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”
“May God break my heart so completely that the whole world falls in.”
Lou Gehrig: Despite being diagnosed with a deadly disease so rare that it bears his name, he told a fan-filled Yankee Stadium crowd--“I am the luckiest man on the face of the earth”
Martin Luther King Jr (Memphis Tennessee—a day before he died)
Mountain Top Speech—”I’ve looked over and seen the promised land…I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the promised land…”

20. Talent Management Model
Past
Future
Present +
Talent
Skills
Expertise
Personal Interests & Attributes
Worker
Roles
Functions
Tasks
Work
=Results
©JMToller 2004

21. Contribution Equation
C = T x A x (Mi + Me)
Contribution = Talent x Attitude x (Internal Motivation + External Motivation)
©JMToller 2009

22. Most Important HR Challenges??

23. How Engagement Effects Performance
Source: Gallup 2013 State of American Workplace Report

24. How Engaged Are Employees?
Question: If the engine powering your car was “engaged” only 30% of the time what would you do?
Source: Gallup 2013 State of American Workplace Report

25. Exponential Engagement3
Employee Engagement is a key to success in the 21st Century. How valuable is it? How do you get and keep it?
New Math: What is Exponential Power?
2x3=6 23=8
3x3=9 33=27
4x3=12 43=64
5x3=15 53=125
Source: Towers Watson, The Power of Three: Taking Engagement to New Heights

26. The Economics of Wellbeing…
$3,384
The Gallup Wellbeing Finder Score is divided into 3 categories:
Suffering; Struggling; Thriving
The annual productivity cost difference between the low-thriving group (70-79 score) and the mid-struggling group (50-59 score) is $3,384. This may not seem like much but for 91,000 state employees it equates to $300M. For ECU’s 6,000 employees it equates to $20M, so there’s plenty of “value” at stake.
------Suffering------
------Struggling------
------Thriving------
Source: The Economics of Wellbeing, Tom Rath and Jim Harter, Gallup Press, 2010

27. 5 Key Elements to Engagement…
Globoforce research notes that there is an Engagement Abyss to be avoided. Part of the gap is created by “what we know” vs. “what we do”. We need to do what we know. To walk the talk of engagement. We also need to on the lookout for employee fatigue. A great way to accomplish these objectives is to put a clear focus on communication—in all of its many forms.
Source: 5 Ways to Avoid the Engagement Abyss, Globoforce Whitepaper

28. Becoming the “Best”… The Business of HR Revenue: $2.3B
Employees: 10,849
Turnover: 2%
Applicants: 45,181 (123 pp)
Openings: 368
The Royal Treatment
Onsite Fitness Center
Job Sharing
Compressed Week
Telecommuting
SAS has been recognized as one of the nation’s BEST PLACES TO WORK over the past several years. Why? What are they doing differently? How does this help their bottom line?
Source: Great Place to Work Institute, 2011

29. Importance of Communication…
Gallup Comments:
Key takeaway: High levels of hope and communication in the workplace become critical in a volatile economic climate; in their absence, workers are less likely to remain focused on their current roles, secure in the belief that their jobs are safe.
Employees scoring in the bottom quartile on each of the indexes were about three
times as likely as those scoring in the top quartile to be searching for another job. The strong relationships between these measures and employee engagement offer clues as to how organizations with higher average engagement scores were better able to maintain positive performance outcomes through the crisis.
Source: Gallup Research

30. 21st Century Managers’ Role:
Putting the Pieces Together…
…and keeping them in balance…

31. And Maintaining Balance…
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And Maintaining Balance…

32. Integrated Talent Management
Source: SUCCESS FACTORS WHITEPAPER: Get the Right People: 9 critical design questions for securing and keeping the best hires

33. ECU Workforce Master Plan

34. Workforce Operational View

35. Top Competencies of HR Leaders…

36. Steps for Continuous Improvement
Source: People Capability Maturity Model, Carnegie Mellon University

37. Strategic Planning Hierarchy
Source: Moving Mountains, Success Factors Research

38. Sample HR Mission & Vision…
Through proactive leadership and innovative practices, the mission of ECU Human Resources is to attract, develop, and retain a diverse, talented, and engaged workforce that supports University excellence and sustains a high-performance, results-oriented work culture.
HR Vision
HR’s vision is to serve as the University’s strategic workforce architect, maximizing the return on investment in human capital through development and ongoing support of a transformational workforce and workplace characterized by:
-Consistently high achievement
-A highly competent, engaged, and inspired workforce
-Efficient and effective support systems and processes
-Institutional, organizational, and individual balance
-Appropriate influence, impact, and execution of issues relating to the University’s workforce
-A wide array of collaborative partnerships that continually support and renew the culture of cooperation, openness, and access
-Ongoing identification, analysis, and development of plans to reduce gaps between needs and results at the individual and organizational levels

39. Sample HR Values… HR Values
HR seeks to operate according to the values embedded in the University’s motto, Servire (to serve):
S uperior service provided by functional experts quickly, professionally, and competently
E xcellence in every plan, project, interaction, and transaction
R eadiness for change to enable achievement of the University’s strategic objectives
V alue-driven decisions aligned with the University’s Core Work Values
I nnovation and flexibility in developing solutions to complex HR issues, with decisions supported by information that is timely, accessible, and accurate
R elationships that are collaborative, open, transparent, and supportive
E thical perspective and practices that ensure effective implementation of University objectives

40. Leadership Styles: What’s Engaging?
Contribution
Coercion
Containment
Challenge
Commitment
A current challenge in dealing with engagement is that we have lost the true meaning/identity of leadership. Much of what is called “leadership” today is in fact “followership” under a different label. “Do what I say, when I say it” is what many so-called leaders might say. Engagement REQUIRES fellowship, not followership. “Here’s what I/we need to accomplish. How can you help achieve it?” Real leaders are those who are able to build relationships that challenge and commit others to contribute. Real leaders are innately aware that coercion and containment promote servitude, not service.
While it may be true that 20th Century managers got by with the followership activities of coercion and containment, engagement requires leaders to inspire challenge and commitment. 21st Century leadership demands an entirely different set of skills/competencies.
EXAMPLE: Back on My Feet
Back on My Feet is an American non-profit organization that promotes the self-sufficiency of homeless people by engaging them in running as a means to build confidence, strength and self-esteem. The organization was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 2007 by Anne Mahlum from Bismarck, North Dakota, and as of 2013 has chapters in 11 American cities, with continuing plans for expansion.
Back on My Feet started at 5 A.M. in late June Every morning, founder and avid runner Anne Mahlum waved hello and ran past a group of homeless men. In a few weeks, Mahlum decided to contact Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission, the homeless shelter where these men were living, and ask Executive Director Richard McMillen if she could invite the men to join her on her runs. He agreed, and the first run took place on Wednesday, July 3, 2007 with a group of nine individuals ages 28–57, who were hoping to move their lives forward both physically and spiritually through running.[1]
"For the Residential Members in our program, running is the first step along a road that leads to independence." - Anne Mahlum, Founder

41. Essential Leadership Skills…
Create self-awareness
Collaborate across boundaries
Connect deeply with various communities
Cultivate critical thinking (develop innovative solutions to complex challenges)
Courageously work to change the status quo
Catalyze change by action/example
Source: Center for Creative Leadership

42. Iacocca’s 9 C’s of Leadership:
Curiosity (be alert; experiment; act outside the box)
Creativity (take risks; manage change)
Communication (talk often to everyone)
Character (always do the right thing)
Courage (stand up for character)
Conviction (use fire in your belly to get the job done)
Charisma (be an inspiration; promote trust)
Competence (solve problems, don’t talk about solving them)
Common Sense (listen; use reason)
Source: Lee Iacocca, Where Have All the Leaders Gone

43. Welch’s Top 25… Lead More, Manage Less Build a Winning Org
3. Articulate your Vision
4. Simplify
5. Get Less Formal
6. Energize Others
7. Face Reality
8. See Change as an Opportunity
9. Get Ideas from Everywhere
10. Follow Up
Build a Winning Org
Create a Market- Leading Org
Energize Your People
11. Eliminate Bureaucracy
12. Eliminate Boundaries
13. Put Values First
16. Involve Everyone
17. Make Everyone a Team Player
14.Cultivate Leaders
15. Create Learning Culture
18. Stretch
19. Instill Confidence
20. Make Work Fun
21. Be Number 1 (or 2)
22. Live Quality
23. Focus on Innovation
24. Live Speed
25. Behave like a Small Org (regardless of size)
Source: Jack Welch, Winning

44. Delivering Leadership Capability in the 21st Century…
Empathy (understand and accept alternative perspectives—this is the “glue” that holds the pieces together)
Experience (observe others; assess results of actions; use feedback; make adjustments)
Engagement (Actively practice being/doing “with” vs. being/doing “for”)
Source: Center for Creative Leadership

45. How Effective is HR??
Source: Corporate Leadership Council

46. Building GREAT HR Partnerships
Actions and Impact on Bottom Line
Insight
Influence
I-countability
Use data-driven information (24%)
Set Service Expectations
(17%)
Be measured on completion of predefined objectives
(16%)
Tailor solutions to org needs (17%)
Communicate relevant information (14%)
Be measured on business unit Human Capital Outcomes
(11%)
Understand business operations (11%)
Articulate a strong point of view (13%)
Be measured on business unit Financial Performance
(9%)
Maintain an Enterprise viewpoint (12%)
Source: Adapted from Corporate Leadership Council

47. Final Thoughts…
Whether you think you can, or think you can’t, you’re right!
Henry Ford
We can’t become what we need to be
by remaining what we are. 
Max DePree, retired CEO, Herman Miller
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.
Steven Covey

48. Questions/Comments???
John Toller: