Reflections on Human Capital Trends 

The pace of change and disruption in the last decade is unprecedented. Organizations are challenged to adapt to make work better for their workforce and help employees become better at their jobs. I am Kartik Pant, a management consulting professional in Human Capital at Deloitte Sweden. With 5+ years of experience as a consultant in India and Sweden, I worked with organizations to design structures and manage change during large-scale transformations. My focus has been on ensuring these changes empower employees to achieve the desired business outcomes.  

In this article, I’ll share my perspective on two key trends from Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report. The report highlights eight trends that will have profound implications for organizations and humans in a boundaryless world. Focusing on the human element is key to differentiation in a world where technology is learning to do what humans do. The two trends I will discuss from the organization and workforce point of view are: ‘Embracing human sustainability’ and ‘Cultivating workplace microcultures’.   

Embracing human sustainability 

The report describes human sustainability as the degree to which the organization creates value for people as human beings. In a human-powered economy, organizations have realized the importance of their people and organizations are making genuine efforts to prioritize human sustainability. This was especially evident during the pandemic where organizations worldwide began prioritizing various aspects of human sustainability based on their industry, size, and values.  
 
The report mentions that only 10% of organizations consider themselves leaders in prioritizing human sustainability. Having witnessed it firsthand, I'd like to explore some of the reasons why these efforts often fall short. 

• Short-termism: Prioritizing profits over employee development demotivates the workforce and hinders long-term success. 
• Unclear Goals: Without well-defined goals for employee well-being, it's difficult to design effective programs or track progress. 
• Fragmented Initiatives: Scattered efforts create inconsistencies. A good benefits package cannot mask a stressful work environment. 
• Trust deficit: Empty promises and a lack of concrete action erode trust and morale. 
• Leadership Disconnect: Without visible leadership investment, employees doubt their well-being is truly valued. 

 To prioritize human sustainability, organizations need a holistic approach that considers the work, workplace, and workforce. Here are three ways to focus on human sustainability from a work and workplace (organization transformation) point of view: 

• Structure work and teams to prioritize well-being, advancement, and purpose. Mission-based teams can lead to better productivity, adaptability, engagement, and retention. 
• Identifying ways for role design to be more collaborative and driven by worker insights on what they value. The roles can then be designed to weave in well-being, purpose and match the worker’s skills and capabilities. Although it may not always be possible to involve workers in co-creating their future roles, finding some ways to do this can lead to increased flexibility and growth. 
• Foster a culture that promotes human sustainability through leadership and organizational alignment. Leaders can shift organizational perspectives and promote a mindset that prioritizes human sustainability. 

 To explore human sustainability trends from a workforce perspective, I spoke with my colleague Linn Eriksson, who is a part of Deloitte’s workforce transformation offering. I asked Linn what organizations need to focus on from a workforce perspective to create value for their people. Linn emphasized the importance of prioritizing the workforce's experiences and sense of belonging. She highlighted three practical ways to do this: 

• Develop a well-defined employee value proposition (EVP) to inspire people and transform working culture. 
• Encourage personal and business-oriented development through a learning organization with a well-defined learning and development strategy. 
• Implement a rewards strategy with a well-elaborated job architecture, salary structure, or rewards framework. 

 One crucial takeaway from the discussion above on the three perspectives (work, workplace, and workforce) is the significant role of leaders. Leaders have the power to reshape organizational perspectives and their guidance and commitment are essential in creating a culture that prioritizes the well-being and success of individuals within the organization.  

Cultivating workplace microcultures

This trend resonates strongly with me and my colleagues. In today's diverse workforce, where autonomy and adaptable work environments are valued, a one-size-fits-all approach to culture is no longer sufficient. 

Upon reading about this trend in the report, it reminded me of my experience working with a newly established tech-enabled public-sector bank. They faced challenges in attracting and retaining talent in the technology risk field, which is predominantly found in the private sector. This was due to the enormous difference in the working cultures of the institutions in the same industry but in different sectors. They created these positions as specialized positions and delinked them with the traditional career path and compensation structure. This in a way set the foundation for creating an enabling environment for the new team. When I followed up, I was glad to know that the organization continued with the same approach and were able to attract and retain talent. 

To enable the fostering of workplace microculture in different scenarios from an organization transformation point of view, consider following these approaches:  

• Conducting organization health checks, network analysis and other organization assessments to sense and understand microcultures. 
• Focus on microcultures during organization design implementation, integrating them into workforce transition activities and providing leaders with actionable strategies.  
• Incorporate microcultures into change strategies during business transformations, ensuring well-defined personas and leadership alignment across identified microcultures. 
• Pay special attention to analyzing and preserving unique enabling cultures during M&A activities. 

 By prioritizing microcultures, organizations can create adaptable work environments that cater to diverse workforce needs, leading to increased productivity, retention, and innovation. 
 
A key takeaway from the discussed trends is the crucial role of leaders in fostering human sustainability and embracing microcultures. This holds for all the trends highlighted in the report. Leaders can establish new paradigms that prioritize human performance, presenting both an opportunity and a responsibility to drive positive change within organizations. 
 
We hope you enjoyed reading this. If you would like to learn more, you can read the full report here. We encourage you to sign up to receive news on Human Capital, and welcome you to read more on Human Capital on our website. 
 
Do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or want to hear more: 
 
Kind regards, 
Kartik Pant 
Senior Consultant
kpant@deloitte.se

Linn Eriksson
Consultant
lineriksson@deloitte.se