welcome to brighter

win with

empathy
Global Talent Trends 2020
Executive summary
Continuing business when business
continuity is threatened
Is today’s approach to work sustainable? According to Mercer’s 2020 Global Talent
Trends Study, thriving employees are twice as likely to work for an organization that
balances economics with empathy in their decision-making. In the current climate
of economic uncertainty, organizations’ capacity to focus on both the financial and
physical health of their employees has never been more vital.

As we move into a new decade, there Executives have no desire to hold

is fear and excitement. In the short
term, from the unknown business fall
out of a pandemic and, in the medium
term, from the continued impact and
back the technological wave, even
during unfavorable macroeconomic
conditions. Only 29% said they would
pull back on digital transformation
"
Companies are
opportunities of AI and technology.
In our survey, 77% of executives see
in the event of a potential downturn.
Rather, companies are planning to
looking for a
contingent working playing a far
greater role in the future, and 34%
increase strategic partnerships
(40%), use more variable talent pools
beacon to guide
of employees expect their jobs to (39%) and invest in automation (34%). their actions.
disappear in the next three years. In other words, downturn plans signal
that future of work strategies will
Our research
From the response to COVID-19, become survival tactics. The adoption shows that
of digitally enabled working and social
it is clear that workers expect their
employers to look after their health distancing efforts, such as remote organizations
and hold them accountable for
making decisions in their interest.
working, in business models is evidence
of the changes underway.
will win if they
With this more expansive view of place empathy
an organization’s purpose — one
that delivers positive outcomes for
With headwinds to navigate,
companies are looking for a beacon to
at the heart of
society, customers, employees and guide their actions. Our research shows
that organizations will win if they place
their decisions.
shareholders — firms have a renewed
mandate to invest both in people’s empathy at the heart of their decisions.
well-being and in their future market
value. Sixty-one percent of employees
trust their employer to look after their
health, and 55% trust their organization
Leading firms listen and use data and
insights to understand their employees,
colleagues and customers’ concerns.
And they take action to improve
'
to teach them the new skills they will individuals’ futures while enhancing
require should their job change their present-day experience. By
or disappear. investigating what enables people
to thrive and be energized, and what
organizations are doing effectively
to balance economics and empathy,
the study identifies four trends to enable
companies to stay ahead in 2020.

2020 Global Talent Trends Study | Executive Summary 2

focus on race to
futures reskill
With a new, more responsible mandate emerging, With 99% of organizations saying they want to
the challenge for business is to rethink what makes embark on transformation in 2020, and almost all
corporations successful. Although 85% of executives reporting significant skills gaps, the C-suite regards
agree that the organization’s purpose should extend reskilling as the top talent investment capable of
beyond shareholder primacy, only 35% deliver on a driving business success. Workforce capability and
multi-stakeholder model today. lack of future skills are seen as primary reasons why
transformations fail, and reskilling is one of the
investments they hope to maintain in a downturn. Just
The majority of the C-suite agrees more needs to be 28% identified cutting back on reskilling initiatives as
done: 68% of executives want to accelerate progress a tactic to mitigate economic softening.
on environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics
in 2020, and 69% believe HR should update its success
models to reflect the experience economy. However, Employees also see reskilling as an emerging part of
with responsibility for many ESG metrics and culture the deal (rising in importance as an attraction and a
change outcomes sitting primarily with HR (71% of retention driver this year). And although more than
CHROs shoulder the responsibility for culture change, three-quarters of employees say they are ready to learn
compared with between 16% and 29% of other new skills, two in five say they lack the time to take
executives), more shared responsibility is required. advantage of reskilling. In this respect, the COVID-19
pandemic may offer the opportunity required to kick-
Much of an organization’s success depends on start reskilling. Some business areas will have more time
employees trusting that their company is taking a to spare, and firms can take advantage by directing
holistic view of their careers, wealth and well-being. those employees toward online learning courses and
Yet career pipelines have tightened in recent years. As career exploration.
many as 72% of older workers say they plan to work past
retirement age and 55% of Gen X say longevity in the However, just 34% of HR leaders are investing in
workplace is limiting progression. Gen Z also want more workforce learning and reskilling as part of their
transparency on the effect of career choices and the future of work strategy. Moreover, 40% of HR leaders
long-term outlook. An intriguing finding of this year’s do not know what skills their workforce possesses.
report is that employees who know the lifespan of their We consider this a worrying lack of insight, given
skills feel more positive about the future. Employees executives’ gut feeling that less than half (45%) of their
whose companies are transparent about which jobs will workers are capable of adapting to the future of work.
change are more likely to be thriving (72% versus 56%).
Without redesigning roles and career options for those
As the COVID-19 pandemic impacts productivity, better at risk of displacement, HR cannot address firm-wide
management of older workers and good financial advice needs to fill new roles with reskilled internal talent.
for all generations will be part of creating shared value. The concern is that without an integrated approach to
More than three-quarters (78%) of employees want strategic workforce planning (which takes account of
long-term financial planning initiatives. Meanwhile how skills may change) and limited data on existing
75% of employees who feel in control of designing their skills, companies may inadvertently lose valued talent.
retirement say they are thriving, compared with 29% Long-term planning would enable firms to imagine
who lack the control they desire. Yet, with just 23% of brighter futures for their employees and boost their
companies providing financial education for employees competitiveness once economic conditions improve.
today, there is a long way to go. Pandemic-driven
disruption demands that organizations urgently rethink
financial support and ensure that decisions include both
economic and empathetic considerations (a balance
that only 37% of employees say their company is
currently well equipped to do).

2020 Global Talent Trends Study | Executive Summary 3

sense with energize the
science experience
The good news is that the workforce science discipline Delivering on the employee experience is a top priority
is gathering momentum. The use of predictive for HR in 2020. Fifty-eight percent of organizations
analytics has nearly quadrupled in five years, from are redesigning their structures to become more
10% in 2016 to 39% today, and the use of metrics people-centric. Yet only 27% of the C-suite believe
on pay inequities and total rewards usage has more their investment in the employee experience will yield
than doubled. That said, insights into workforce a business return. Why? Because executives are yet
management could be adopted more widely. Only 43% to be convinced of the link between the employee
of organizations use metrics to identify employees experience and productivity. Almost half (48%)
likely to leave, 18% know the impact of pay strategies of executives rank employees’ well-being as a top
on performance, and just 12% use analytics to correct workforce concern, but only 29% of HR leaders have
inequities and prevent them from recurring. Moreover, a health and well-being strategy. Feeling depleted is
in the current disruption are companies looking in the a worrying trend (particularly for employees in Japan
right places to ensure sustainability? Only 24% have and the UK), and two-thirds of employees globally
data on who is at risk of burnout, and only 15% feel at risk of burnout in the year ahead. Burnout risk
can determine whether it is better to buy/build/ will only be exacerbated as employees now balance
borrow employees. work with social distancing, remote working, closures
and quarantines.

The next wave of maturity requires HR to lean in to

structure analytics such that it can answer key strategic Our study shows that action is vital, given that
questions, like: In a downturn, which strategy offers energized employees are four times more likely to
the best chance of maintaining performance? Which report a healthy, flexible and inclusive workplace.
departments could deliver a similar level of output with Employees who are energized by their job are essential
more contingent staff? Where should we locate talent to transformation agendas: Energized employees
hubs to take advantage of skilled talent pools? say they are more likely to stay, more resilient and
more ready to reskill. Energized employees work in
In parallel, advances in machine learning continue to cultures that are empathetic, in environments they
filter through departments, including HR. Although find enriching, and in work cultures that are both
machines outperform humans at tasks related to efficient and embracing. Seamless interactions and
scale and speed, humans still outpace machines in better enablement of digital working in times of social
sense-checking and judgment. Sixty-seven percent distancing have a clear role to play, yet only two in five
of HR leaders are confident they can ensure AI is not companies say they are mostly or fully digital, the same
institutionalizing bias. However, ethics codes about the proportion as in 2018. This will remain a C-suite priority.
collection, application and implications of data analytics
are still in their infancy. Focusing on the desired interactions between HR
and the business is key to unlocking energy and
Talent assessment is an area where human intuition enhancing the employee experience. Delivering on
is needed alongside psychometrics to qualify findings. this aspiration requires HR to step out of its traditional
Today, only one in two employees have a positive functional silos. Despite the benefits associated with
assessment experience. This is just one example a more joined up approach, just 40% of HR leaders
of data collection that will attract more scrutiny as say they have an integrated people strategy today.
data-informed decision-making becomes common. The good news is that 50% of HR respondents have
Leading companies are on the front foot sharing moved away from traditional structures to meet their
data-driven insights with employees to help them businesses’ escalating need for agility and 26% say
make health, wealth and career decisions: 38% of they have built a fluid team to respond to different
organizations today apply intelligent “nudging” business priorities. Grappling with stability and
technology to help employees make better choices. agility will be a key theme in 2020.
Further, exploring relevant metrics and sharing them
with employees shows how the new climate of remote
working affects productivity.

2020 Global Talent Trends Study | Executive Summary 4

 Win with
empathy
Necessity breeds innovation, and it is clear
that we are already embracing new ways of
working and living. Companies are transforming
their structures to attract new generations,
reinvigorate their businesses, and promote
employee health and well-being. In short,
difficult circumstances are challenging firms to
do things differently: To care enough to put
people and productivity metrics side by side,
to put responsibility for shared futures above
short-term gains, and to build better, brighter
futures for all stakeholders. This is empathy.
And we need it to win in an evolving and
unpredictable world.

Download Mercer's
2020 Global Talent
Trends Study for our
complete findings, as
well as strategies to
win with empathy.
www.mercer.com/global-talent-trends

This year's study includes insights from more

than 7,300 senior business executives, HR leaders,
and employees from nine key industries and
16 geographies.

2020 Global Talent Trends Study | Executive Summary 5

6010484l-CR © 2020 Mercer LLC. All rights reserved.