• Culture, trust, and mission: Most Gen Z and Millennials responding to a recent Deloitte Global study want their organization’s purpose and mission to align with their personal values.11 The majority of both Pioneers (78%) and their peers (56%) feel very or extremely confident in their ability to deliver an organizational purpose embraced by their workforce. Yet fewer than 40% of respondents in either category report that their C-suite and board provide governance and oversight on such issues; roughly 25% reported tracking belonging and inclusion. Meanwhile, another Deloitte study recently revealed that 66% of business executives face increasing pressure to show their commitment to creating organizational purpose for workers, shareholders, and society.12 Not only can a shared sense of purpose improve an organization’s brand and reputation, it can also help build workforce trust.
• Workforce planning and deployment: To perform at their best and meet evolving business needs, organizations should have a workforce planning process that helps establish the right people in the right place at the right time, for the right cost. To accomplish that, they should plan for succession, cultivate new talent pipelines, and deploy workers against emerging business priorities fluidly. Proper application of such practices can have a dramatic impact. One study found that companies that can quickly reposition appropriate talent into critical roles were more than twice as likely to outpace competitors on total returns to shareholders.13 However, executive-level succession planning and effective workforce planning were among the areas of least concern across all respondents.
• Environmental, social, and governance (ESG), and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI): From college activism and social media hashtags to boardroom discussions and government regulations, there is a great deal of attention paid to ESG and DEI. Pioneers cited their ability to foster ESG and sustainable business practices as their No. 1 internal risk concern, while non-Pioneers ranked it second. When it comes to creating a diverse and inclusive culture, non-Pioneers rated this area among the bottom three in their confidence to achieve it.
• Compensation, benefits, and well-being: Historical macro trends and tight labor markets have added to the competition for talent related to compensation, benefits, flexibility, and work-life balance. Pioneers remain confident in their ability to manage risks associated with overall worker well-being (82%) and providing competitive compensation and benefits (74%), while roughly half of all others were confident in their ability to do so.
• Data, technology, and metrics: Companies can collect vast amounts of data from their workers and customers more easily than ever, transforming it into insights with the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics. Although this can benefit workers and organizations alike, if organizations do not take a responsible approach to workforce data and technology, they may be at risk of data privacy and security breaches, erosion of workforce trust, and financial or regulatory penalties. Pioneers not only ranked leaks of confidential information and the responsible use of workforce data and AI among their top concerns, they were also the least confident in managing this internal risk.