• Work-Life Balance
    Happy Easter!祝大家复活节快乐! Happy Easter to all our dear friends at NACSHR! As we step into this beautiful season of renewal and hope, accompanied by the delightful presence of chocolate bunnies and colorful eggs, we're sending a heartfelt bouquet of wishes your way. May this Easter not only fill your homes with laughter and warmth but also ignite your professional spaces with innovative ideas and vibrant growth. Let's allow the rejuvenating spirit of Easter to inspire us to hatch groundbreaking strategies and nurture our aspirations. This Easter, let's cherish the incredible power of connection and the beauty of our community. It's the perfect occasion to strengthen our bonds and celebrate the diverse tapestry of talents and perspectives that each of us contributes. To all our HR friends, let's take this moment to deepen our dedication to creating workplaces where every individual feels valued, supported, and empowered to flourish. Wishing you an Easter that overflows with joy and presents new opportunities to make meaningful impacts. As we indulge in Easter treats and gather with our loved ones, let us also gaze ahead with hope and anticipation for what the future unfolds. May the essence of Easter inspire us to approach challenges with bravery and embrace opportunities with open arms. Here's to a magnificent Easter, abundant in peace, prosperity, and progress for everyone. May it rejuvenate our spirits and rekindle our enthusiasm for making every workplace a beacon of positivity and growth. Happy Easter, dear friends at NACSHR! May this season bring everlasting happiness and success to you and your families. 亲爱的NACSHR的朋友们,祝大家复活节快乐!当我们迈入这个充满更新与希望的美好季节,同时享受着巧克力兔和彩蛋带来的乐趣,我们向你们发送最真挚的祝福。愿这个复活节不仅让你们的家充满笑声和温暖,也在你们的职场中点燃创新的思维和活力的增长。让复活节的复兴精神激励我们孵化出创新的策略,培养我们的志向。 在这个复活节,让我们珍视连接的力量和我们社群的美好。这是完美的时刻来加强我们的联系,庆祝我们每个人贡献的多样化才能和视角。对于我们所有HR的朋友们,让这成为一个深化我们致力于创造每个人都感到被重视、支持和有力量成长的工作环境的时刻。祝愿你们的复活节充满欢乐,开启新的机会,让我们做出有意义的影响。 当我们享受复活节的美食并与我们所爱的人聚集时,让我们也满怀希望和期待地看向未来。愿复活节的精神鼓励我们勇敢面对挑战,开放心扉迎接机会。祝大家有一个辉煌的复活节,充满和平、繁荣和进步。愿它重新点燃我们的精神,重新激发我们为让每一个工作场所成为积极成长的灯塔的热情。 亲爱的NACSHR的朋友们,复活节快乐!愿这个季节为你们及你们的家人带来永恒的幸福和成功。
    Work-Life Balance
    2024年03月31日
  • Work-Life Balance
    应对心理健康危机:42%的公司计划推出新的员工福利 根据The Conference Board的最新报告,尽管HR领导们对劳动力市场的乐观程度略有上升,但员工保留和参与度的预期与去年相比有所下降,显示出劳动力短缺的持续问题。报告揭示,随着员工心理健康问题的加剧,42%的公司计划今年提供新的福祉福利。企业承认对员工福祉负有责任,并在增加对健康项目的关注和支出方面取得了显著进展。报告强调,全面考虑员工福祉不仅可以提高员工参与度和生产力,还能保留人才。  Tackling the Mental Health Crisis: 42% of Companies Plan to Offer New Employee Well-Being Benefits NEW YORK, March 22, 2024 -- Corporate America's HR leaders continue to be more optimistic than pessimistic about the state of the workforce. The Conference Board CHRO Confidence Index ticked up to 54 in Q1, from 53 last quarter. (A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses.) While retention and engagement expectations improved from last quarter, the survey reveals they are down compared to this time last year, signaling ongoing concerns about labor shortages. Hiring expectations remained stable. The survey also reveals that businesses are stepping up as mental health concerns continue taking a toll on workers throughout the nation: 42% of surveyed companies plan to offer new well-being benefits this year. Indeed, 36% say businesses are responsible for the well-being of their employees, with another 62% saying they are somewhat responsible. As a result, they are ramping up their focus on employee wellness: In addition to those offering new well-being benefits, a quarter plan to increase spending on well-being initiatives. "Taking a holistic view of worker well-being can not only improve employee engagement and productivity but also retain your talent—a top focus of both CEOs and CHROs this year," said Diana Scott, Leader of The Conference Board US Human Capital Center. The Index, conducted quarterly, was launched in Q1 2023 and is comprised of three components—hiring, retention, and engagement—as well as special questions included in each survey. Nearly 150 CHROs participated in the Q1 survey, which included additional questions on employee well-being. Key findings include: Hiring The CHRO Confidence Index: Hiring component remained the same as both last quarter and YoY, at 55. CHROs' workforce expansion plans remained stable in Q1, with fewer CHROs expecting to increase or decrease hiring in the next six months: 36% of CHROs expect to increase their hiring over the next six months—down from 44% in Q4. 13% expect to decrease their hiring over the next six months—down from 19% in Q4. Retention The CHRO Confidence Index: Retention component rose to 53 in Q1 2024 from 51 in Q4 2023. But retention expectations are down YoY from 57 in Q1 2023. CHRO expectations regarding employee retention ticked up slightly in Q1: 29% of CHROs expect their employee retention levels to improve over the next six months—up slightly from 28% in Q4. 19% of CHROs expect employee retention to decrease over the next six months, down from 22% in Q4. Engagement The CHRO Confidence Index: Engagement component rose to 54 in Q1 2024 from 52 in Q4 2023. But engagement expectations are down YoY from 58 in Q1 2023. Fewer CHROs expect declines in employee engagement in Q1: 35% expect engagement levels to increase—down slightly from 37% in Q4. 20% expect engagement levels to decrease—down significantly from 31% in Q4. Special Questions for Q4: Employee Well-Being For Q1 2024, the Index also surveyed CHROs on employee well-being. CHROs overwhelmingly agree that organizations share responsibility for their employees' well-being. 62% said organizations are somewhat responsible. 36% said organizations are responsible. Only 2% said organizations are not responsible for employee well-being. A quarter of CHROs increased spending on employee well-being in 2024. 26% said their well-being budget increased for FY2024. 69% said it remained the same. Only 5% decreased spending on well-being. Nearly half of CHROs plan to offer new well-being benefits, despite most keeping spending the same. 42% plan to offer new benefits this year. 39% do not plan to offer new benefits. 19% are discussing offering new benefits. Mental and physical health are the top priorities for new well-being initiatives. Of those offering new benefits: 20% are offering mental health initiatives. 15% are offering physical health and fitness initiatives. 12% are offering financial well-being initiatives. 10% are offering work-life balance initiatives. About The Conference BoardThe Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org SOURCE The Conference Board
    Work-Life Balance
    2024年03月24日
  • Work-Life Balance
    改善居家办公问责制的7个方法 受漫长的疫情影响以及网络通讯日益方便迅捷,居家办公了越来越合理化。居家办公成为职场大势,而管理者通常认为居家办公会严重影响员工工作效率。事实上,与其一味心里过滤不如正视其好处,适应混合式和多元化工作。 想了解居家办公问责制,就要知道是居家办公问责制的什么,其好处是什么,以及七个改善团队或企业问责制的方法。 居家办公(WFH)是许多美国专业人士的新型常态,无论是全职的远程工作还是混合式工作。然而,这种工作制度给企业和员工带来许多利益的同时也带来了特别的挑战——尤其是问责制的问题。没有了传统的办公环境,办公效率以及办公可靠度就需要刻意努力和有效的策略来维持。 在这篇文章中,我们将探讨如何改善居家办公的问责制,让个人和团队在这种新的工作环境下蓬勃发展。 What is work-from-home accountability? 什么是居家办公问责制? Accountability is taking ownership of one’s actions, decisions and outcomes in the remote work context. This means being responsible for meeting deadlines, maintaining quality levels and honoring commitments made to colleagues and stakeholders. When working from home, it’s important to establish clear expectations and guidelines for accountability. This includes: Defining specific goals and objectives Setting realistic deadlines Providing regular feedback Giving support Accountability in remote work also requires effective communication. Inform all team members about progress, challenges and any changes that may affect the workflow. This promotes transparency and allows for better collaboration and problem-solving among teams. Benefits of work-from-home accountability 居家办公问责制的好处 To enhance accountability in remote work, it’s important to recognize its significance. Some of the benefits of focusing on accountability in remote workers include: Improved responsibility: When people hold themselves accountable for their work, they’re more likely to step up and take responsibility for the outcome of their tasks. This also gives employees a sense of accomplishment and improves job satisfaction. More transparency: When you set clear expectations for remote teams, it’s easier for them to be clear about what they’re working on and when they may need help. This also increases trust among team members. Improved collaboration: Remote team accountability helps employees collaborate by outlining who’s responsible for what, so they know who to communicate with to ensure work is completed. Fewer missed deadlines: When working remotely, it’s easy to let deadlines slide past without colleagues reminding you when work is due. Improving accountability among WFH team members helps reduce the number of missed deadlines and streamlines workflows. Better work-life balance: Accountability also improves work-life balance for employees by making sure no team members have to pick up the slack for others. 7 ways to improve work-from-home accountability 改善居家办公问责制的7个方法 Leaders and managers can establish and improve WFH accountability through a few methods. Every organization is different, so you’ll need to find what works best for your situation. 1. Set a clear WFH policy 建立明确的WFH政策 The first step in establishing WFH accountability is to have a clear policy in place. It’s a good idea to ensure team members have buy-in so they don’t feel that they can’t follow the rules. Some items your policy should cover should include expected working hours, hybrid schedules and technology usage policies. Some virtual teams may work on their own schedules and timelines while others will need to have set hours in place to ensure collaboration. Many virtual teams will need more structure than others. It’s important your policy encompasses the best system for your entire organization. Work with your managers and team leaders to find out what policies will work best for everyone. 2. Clarify responsibilities 明确职责 If employees know what’s expected of them, they’ll be more likely to hold themselves accountable to those expectations. Make sure you set clear goals, deadlines and benchmarks so employees can hold themselves to them. Workers need to know what they’re responsible for and who to ask if a project is running late or they need more help. Key performance indicators (KPIs) help teams measure the quality and efficiency of their work to make changes where needed. This is particularly important in a remote work environment where team members don’t have regular physical interactions with each other. 3. Provide the right tools 提供合适的工具 Remote employees may need additional technology and tools to communicate, collaborate and complete tasks. Make sure you provide your teams with the right technology to help them meet goals and stay on track. Virtual teams will need the right communication tool for team meetings, plus project management and collaboration tools to keep each other accountable in real time. Time management and tracking tools help teams determine how to assign project deadlines and prioritize as well. Cloud-based systems help employees work from anywhere and at any time, helping them complete projects when working from home or traveling. Leadership also needs specialized software like ActivTrak to maintain visibility and manage hybrid and remote workforces. 4. Encourage clear communication 鼓励清晰的交流 The best-performing virtual teams are those who can communicate regularly and clearly about their work. Many of the tools you provide your team members will help them communicate about work status, bottlenecks and processes. However, you should also encourage communication among teams through other means, such as weekly newsletters and quarterly all-staff meetings. Just make sure that you’re not scheduling unnecessary meetings for your team’s needs. 5. Give regular check-ins 日常打卡 Beyond clear communication about the team or organization as a whole, structured check-ins for individual employees helps ensure work-from-home policies are working for each person. Give employees a chance to voice their concerns with existing policies or let their managers know where they may be struggling. This also provides an opportunity for managers to help employees see where they’re hitting goals or where they may need to work harder. WFH environments may change over time as your team members and their needs change, so flexibility and regular feedback are key. 6. Measure productivity 衡量工作效率 Remote employee management requires understanding how your teams work best and what blockers may keep them from productivity. One way to make sure you’re setting realistic goals and that team members are accountable for their work when they work from home is to monitor productivity. There are many benefits to using WFH productivity tracking software like ActivTrak, including helping team members with time management, task management and accountability. It also gives your leaders insight to make decisions driven by data rather than guesswork, so you can see where workflows and processes may need tweaking or what’s working for your remote teams. You can also see if team members may be working too much or too little and redistribute the workload as needed. 7. Reward employees for achievements 员工成就奖励 Create a culture of engagement by rewarding employees for being accountable and meeting (or exceeding) expectations. Bonuses, extra paid time off or gifts can be special rewards, but even publicly praising employees for their contributions can go a long way toward improving accountability in your team. Other rewards can include new opportunities to further their careers or take on new challenges. Different teams and employees will have different needs for feeling valued and rewarded, so let your managers find the best way to let employees know they’re appreciated. Use ActivTrak to improve work-from-home accountability If you’re ready to take the next step to enhance work-from-home accountability for your team, ActivTrak offers a comprehensive workforce analytics platform customizable to your needs. Get insights to assess and improve employee productivity and well-being and gain visibility into how work gets done within your company. Use data to inform key decisions and optimize outcomes for your remote or hybrid teams. To see how ActivTrak can empower your team, contact our sales team for a free demo. SOURCE ActivTrak
    Work-Life Balance
    2024年01月22日
  • Work-Life Balance
    Hiring Trends 2024: For Tech And Digital Global Employers ANWESHA ROY   8 MINUTE READ The hiring landscape has gone through a lot of fluctuations in the last two years. The United States and the European Union (EU) fell into recession, triggering widespread panic amongst tech and digital companies. Businesses had to lay off a large chunk of their workforce as a cost-cutting measure, some even freezing hiring temporarily. Fast-paced digital agencies and startups understood that they needed a flexible hiring approach to adapt to these circumstances. They realized that hiring remote talents from offshore locations like LatAm, East EU, East Asia, and India was a viable way to grow their workforce. Recruiters soon realized that they needed to prioritize both skills and cultural adaptability while looking for remote talents. Hiring platforms emerged as the helping hand in this matter, with their comprehensive solutions geared to deliver a fast and reliable hiring experience. In this blog, we will discuss these developments and other hiring trends for 2024, and the job roles that will grow in the near future. Hiring Trends That Will Define 2024 Adaptable hiring strategies will help tackle the talent shortage Remote hiring for remote positions is here to stay Skill-based hiring will gain more prominence India’s rising talent pool to meet global needs Talent expectations from global employers are changing Organizations will look for culture-fit talents Emergence of hiring platforms Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will play a crucial role in optimizing the hiring process     1. Adaptable hiring strategies will help tackle the talent shortage By 2030, the global tech talent shortage will rise to 85.2 million, leading to a massive loss in revenue. Global employers will be more careful and strategic when hiring in 2024. The demand-supply gap of skilled tech and digital talents is growing every year, which means startups have to work harder to onboard the best talents. They will also look to hire remote talents from offshore locations to upscale as per their budget and resources. 2. Remote hiring for remote positions is here to stay In 2023, tech and digital startups have to deal with the growing tech talent shortage amidst a precarious global economic scenario. Remote hiring is the most viable solution for these organizations, as they can easily access skilled and cost-effective talents across the globe, with a faster hiring process. Even companies following on-site or hybrid workstyles are hiring certain roles remotely, due to its benefits. contract hiring – uncertain economic conditions are compelling companies to hire full-time long-term contractual employees for flexibility and scalability. Global employers are also open to long-term contractual engagements for full-time employees, to ensure flexibility and scalability. The number of startups hiring remotely has grown from 900 in 2019, 2,500 in 2020, and 14,000+ in 2022. With a growing number of talents preferring remote workstyle, companies will be able to retain their top talents by setting up distributed teams instead of strictly adhering to local hiring. 3. Skill-based hiring will gain more prominence 92.5% of companies have seen a reduction in their mis-hire rate when implementing skills-based hiring, with 44% reporting a decrease of more than 25%. Going ahead, the qualification of a candidate will be defined by their hard and soft skills, and not just their education and work experience. Technical skills, problem-solving abilities, leadership, adaptability, and more will be closely evaluated by companies. A study shows that hiring for skills is five times more predictive of job performance than hiring for work experience. To drive this initiative, startups will rely on vetting tools and integrate them within their hiring process. The assessment will be tailor-made for tech and digital roles to aid in finding the most suitable talent. Furthermore, startups have to drop degree requirements from job descriptions and become more specific about the capabilities they are looking for. 4. India’s rising talent pool to meet global needs Contrary to the talent crisis across the globe, India is generating tech and digital talents consistently in large numbers. Their tech talent pool has grown by 120% in the last five years, with two million STEM graduates every year. The country also has a surplus of 2.5 million digital talents, presenting a great opportunity for global employers. The average salaries of Indian talents is lower than that of US, EU, and AUS talents, which means global companies can hire equally or better-skilled professionals at a lesser cost. India also has a wide network of talents specializing in emerging technologies. The number of Indian AI experts on LinkedIn has grown by 14x in the last seven years, the 5th fastest growth after Singapore, Finland, Ireland, and Canada. These reasons have helped India become the most preferred talent-sourcing hub in the world. 5. Talent expectations from global employers are changing The global labor market is very tight and the talents have an upper hand in deciding their next employer. To remain competitive, startups have to reexamine their hiring strategies and cater to what the top talents are looking for. A study reveals that top Indian remote talents want better pay, good work-life balance, and prospects of career growth while choosing an employer. Before hiring from India, global employers have to prepare an offer that fulfills the expectations of these talents. 6. Organizations will look for culture-fit talents Technical proficiency makes a candidate qualified for the job role, but a cultural fitment aligns makes them the perfect addition to the organization. Both large-scale companies and startups need talents who take initiative, have a positive attitude, and handle situations in a non-confrontational manner. Such skills will uphold the work environment and promote a healthy culture. An org-culture fit talent will be more engaged and satisfied with their job than just a skilled professional. Finding and hiring culture-fit professionals also impacts the retention rates, as a study shows that 73% of talents have left a job due to poor cultural fitment. 7. Emergence of hiring platforms According to a 2022 survey by Upwork, 50% of businesses outsource at least some of their work. Of those businesses that outsource, 38% use hiring platforms to find freelancers and contractors. Another report reveals that 48% of companies are planning to increase their use of hiring platforms for offshoring in the next two years. Hiring platforms offer a number of advantages to businesses, including access to a large pool of skilled and experienced freelancers and contractors, the ability to scale their workforce up or down as needed, and cost savings on labor costs. They also help in vetting candidates to find the right technical and cultural fit, helping in making an informed hiring decision. With their end-to-end solutions, hiring platforms help both fast-paced businesses and enterprises in upscaling confidently within a short period of time. 8. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) will play a crucial role in optimizing the hiring process 44% of recruiters find AI useful in shortening the hiring cycle, which is the main priority, 32% found it a good way to cut down overhead costs, and 24% found it helpful in identifying the right talents. Studies suggest that it takes 29 to 66 days to fill tech-based vacancies, which is a very long hiring cycle for startups. In a fast-paced environment with constant deadlines, open roles must be filled as quickly as possible. As time is of the essence, startups are beginning to leverage Artificial Intelligence (AI)  and Machine Learning (ML) in their hiring process. By reducing the time to hire, small-scale startups are also able to cut down overhead and operational costs. In fact, AI/ML have helped companies in North America cut down their costs by 40%, in Europe by 36%, and in the APAC region by 25%. Application Tracking System (ATS) is also being used by startups to ensure a seamless hiring process. The ATS is useful in organizing applications, managing communications, and tracking the status of candidature. 99% of Fortune 500 Global companies are using ATS for an elevated hiring experience and short cycle, so why shouldn’t startups? After all, it oversees all the tedious processes in hiring, so managers can focus their energy on decision-making and other important tasks. Region-wise Job Roles Which Will Grow In Demand in 2024 United States Europe Australia According to a survey by NASSCOM, future skills demand is expected to grow to 3.5-3.7 million by 2024, rising from the present 1.2-1.3 million currently employed by the industry. Building on that, here are a few predicted jobs that will be in demand in the next few years, sorted region-wise. United States   The United States is leading the world in next-gen technology, which reflects in their plans to hire more cloud engineers, machine learning engineers, data scientists, and salesforce developers. The digital sector is also growing at an average of 8.5% CAGR, and the startups are looking to hire more web developers, ad specialists, UI/UX designers, and digital marketing managers. Europe   European tech startups will focus increasingly on their core services and hire more front-end developers, DevOps engineers, and blockchain developers. Similarly, digital companies will look for PHP developers, web developers, and digital marketing managers. SaaS-based startups in the EU will focus on building next-gen products and user privacy, which is why they will hire more product managers, customer success managers, and security engineers. Australia   Despite fears of recession, Australian tech startups are focussing on resilient hiring to support their services. They will look to onboard more back-end developers, database administrators, and systems engineers. In the digital sector, SEO specialists, web analytics specialists, and digital sales representatives will be in demand. SaaS-based startups in the country will focus on better customer service by hiring account executives, customer success managers, and e-commerce managers. Jobs created by AI to look out for in 2024 Prompt Engineer Prompt engineers are experts in designing and developing AI-generated text prompts for improving the AI prompt generation process for several applications. They use data analysis and programming skills to deliver an elevated user experience in tech and SaaS products. AI Trainer AI trainers are responsible for teaching AI systems how to think and interact with users. They work with the development team to ensure the chatbots and virtual assistants respond to customer queries and resolve them effectively. These experts have a strong background in data science, natural language processing (NLP), and machine learning. AI Auditor AI auditors evaluate the safety, legality, and ethics of AI systems so they can be put to good use. They review codes, conduct data analysis, and test the systems to ensure the system does not produce biased or discriminatory responses. Machine Managers Machine managers oversee the AI-operated hardware and systems, and ensure everything is intact for peak performance. They are responsible for the efficient operation and minimum downtime of AI tools, making them indispensable for the tech sector. Final Thoughts The secret to success in talent acquisition is to identify the trends, adapt your strategy, and prepare for the future. It is important to constantly monitor the ever-changing hiring landscape to build a productive workforce for the long run. As we enter 2024, the major focus for global employers will be on identifying the best candidates for the role and leveraging digital tools for a smarter process. Digital agencies also have to offer what talents seek in their employer in order to improve their chance of hiring the best candidates. By aligning these hiring trends in advance, global recruiters like digital agencies, IT services companies, and SaaS-based tech companies can stay ahead of the curve and hire methodically.
    Work-Life Balance
    2023年10月24日