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2017 Global human capital trends report

The 2017 Deloitte Human Capital Trends report reflects seismic changes in the world of business. Read about the 10 trends for businesses to focus on to better organize, manage, develop and align people at work.

Organizations face a radically shifting context for the workforce, the workplace and the world of work. This Deloitte report, based on a survey of more than 10,000 business and human resources (HR) leaders from 140 countries, reveals how leaders are turning to new organizational models that highlight the networked nature of today’s world of work.

Ten key trends:

  1. The organization of the future: Arriving now. As organizations become more digital, they face a growing priority to redesign and rebuild themselves to move faster, adapt more quickly, learn rapidly and embrace dynamic career demands.
  2. Careers and learning: Real time, all the time. The new rules call for a learning and development organization that can deliver learning that is always on and always available over a range of mobile platforms.
  3. Talent acquisition: Enter the cognitive recruiter. Recruiting is becoming a digital experience as candidates come to expect convenience and mobile contact. Savvy recruiters will embrace new talent acquisition technologies to connect with candidates and constantly strengthen the employment brand.
  4. The employee experience: Culture, engagement and beyond. Rather than focus narrowly on employee engagement and culture, organizations are developing an integrated focus on the entire employee experience using pulse feedback tools, wellness and fitness apps, and integrated employee self-service tools.
  5. Performance management: Play a winning hand. Across all industries and geographies, companies are re-evaluating every aspect of their performance management programs and aligning the changes to business strategy and the ongoing transformation of work.
  6. Leadership disrupted: Pushing the boundaries. Today, as never before, organizations do not just need more strong leaders, they need a completely different kind of leader — younger, more agile and "digital-ready."
  7. Digital HR: Platforms, people and work. HR leaders are being pushed to take on a larger role in helping to drive the organization to "be digital," not just "do digital."
  8. People analytics: Recalculating the route. No longer is analytics about finding interesting information and flagging it for managers, it is now becoming a business function focused on using data to understand every part of a business operation.
  9. Diversity and inclusion: The reality gap. Fairness, equity and inclusion are now CEO-level issues, but training and education are not working well enough. The new rules focus on experiential learning, process change, data-driven tools, transparency and accountability.
  10. The future of work: The augmented workforce. Automation, cognitive computing and crowds are paradigm-shifting forces reshaping the workforce. Organizations must rethink the role of people as more and more work becomes automated.