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This is a period of radical business change. Vibrant companies exist in businesses that were unknown before the advent of the Internet. Multinational companies - once dominated by American and European parent organizations - now have diverse geographic ownership. And more businesses, regardless of size or industry, have begun to outsource and offshore.
At the same time, broad demographic changes are occurring. There are increasing retirements in the developed nations and greater numbers of young workers in developing nations. The percentage of the population between the ages of 15 years old and 64 years old in North America is decreasing while Brazil and India are showing increases (see Figure 1 on page 7). This demographic is creating global movements of jobs and population, as companies seek to fill skill and labor needs for their varied operations. These changes are contributing to shortages in certain professions that will grow in scope and impact. Skilled and educated workers will be in demand everywhere.
The notion of the workplace is changing as well, to include many settings outside of a traditional office, plant or other physical structure. And work itself increasingly extends well beyond the traditional eight-hour boundaries, bleeding into other aspects of life.
Together, these developments are creating workforces and workplaces that are as varied and geographically dispersed as the businesses themselves. For organizations - whether domestic or global this revolution in business and labor practices brings enormous, new challenges in managing a radically different workforce and workplace. Past models and approaches are insufficient. While most companies have long recognized it's no longer a "one-size-fits-all" world and brought far more customization to their total rewards programs during the last decade, it's becoming clear that few advanced far enough. We are at the earliest stage of understanding the challenges of finding, keeping and engaging talent in a genuinely global and intensely competitive business environment. What will it take to meet that challenge?
In part to answer that question, Towers Perrin completed one of the largest single surveys of full-time workers worldwide. The goal was to understand, from employees themselves, "what matters and why" in gaining their focus, dedication, energy, brainpower and full commitment. The study was designed to uncover the elements of the work experience that make...