Here’s what to look for

In recent years, we’ve seen an increased focus on people programs for a strong workforce—those that make sense no matter what the future holds. In our most recent global study, for example, 67% of human resources (HR) and business leaders are taking steps to ensure the physical and emotional well-being of their people. Sixty-one percent are identifying what skills people will need for the jobs of the future.

At the same time, it’s good to ask: what areas could you be neglecting that may not be so front and center? What could you be overlooking?

It’s a question we’ve been considering in our research on the actions companies are taking now. We asked more than 1,200 business and HR leaders from 79 countries to rank the business capabilities they believe are most crucial for building a strong workforce and simply tell us which they are taking action on today. While it’s clear that leaders understand which capabilities are important to their future success, they’re not necessarily working on them.

For example, in North America, 79% of business and HR leaders say tackling unmanageable workloads is important to delivering great performance, but only 45% say they are taking action on this today.

In fact, we’re seeing a number of areas where what’s important to workforce performance and experience may not be aligned with what’s currently on the agenda. Here are five hot spots for North American companies right now: areas their leaders say are important for a stronger, more productive workforce, but that many aren’t acting on. And each has the potential to flare into a full-blown risk.