NEW YORK, Sept. 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ManpowerGroup (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, and participant in The Economist's "Ideas Economy: Human Potential" event held last week in New York City, explained how developing a long-term workforce strategy that fails to build on individual worker interests and skills and new external marketplace realities presented by today's Human Age will jeopardize an employer's overall competitiveness.

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Speaking on last Thursday's "Epic Shifts in the Human Age," panel, Mara Swan, ManpowerGroup Executive Vice President of Global Strategy &Talent, said that relying on old work models to lead today's increasingly complex workforce is futile. Outdated thinking generally lacks the flexible, comprehensive and strategic approach needed to identify, retain and develop the right talent to fulfil a business strategy.

ManpowerGroup's talent management brand, Right Management, proudly sponsored the panel. Swan's co-panelists included:

• Rich Floersch, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resource Officer, McDonald's
• Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice at London Business School
• Gerry Crispin, Founder and Principal of CareerXroads

The panel largely focused on how business and work models must be redesigned, value propositions and people practices redefined, and social systems reinvented so that leaders can unleash the potential of their people.  It addressed how looking at workforce data without examining the connectivity between individual motivation, technological advancement and customer demands is an ineffective approach to workforce planning.

Floersch explained different motivations driving different generations while Crispin specified how companies can reinforce the education and training needed in today's workplace. Gratton referenced how innovation is driven in the field by empowered work teams. Swan detailed the core ingredients of a robust workforce strategy.

"Good analytics will help but what we really need is more in-tuned leaders, versus stubborn traditionalists, who can leverage the interconnectivity of Human Age factors in real time and avoid approaching new challenges with old assumptions, models and practices," said Swan. "Executives across the board are not spending enough time on workforce strategies and need to focus an equalizing effort put into both business and talent strategies."

"That's why ManpowerGroup started a journey five years ago to develop an extensive strategic consulting approach that unleashes worker potential by better defining and understanding the value of individual employee experiences. We're positioning companies to align their business and workforce strategies by more quickly aligning and accelerating the implementation of solutions we provide them," added Swan.

ManpowerGroup continues to advocate that employers who clearly understand causes and effects of the Human Age are best equipped to recruit and retain today's hard-to-find highly skilled talent. In this new era individuals are exercising more power.  Key factors compounded to create this dynamic platform, including: pressure on companies to do more with less; a shift in demographics defined, in part, by aging experienced workers and a shortage of qualified workers to take their place; advancements in technology that enable borderless and 24/7 workplaces, particularly for individuals who possess in-demand skills and can be more selective about where they work; and rising marketplace sophistication which demands relentless innovation, greater value and efficiency.

Unleashing the spirit, enthusiasm and potential of an individual is not a one-size-fits-all strategy, particularly as the price on skilled, increasingly hard-to-find talent continues to rise. Escalating demands on productivity and efficiency means employers are seeking candidates with a greater specificity of skills — both technical and "soft" skills — to function effectively in a volatile global market.

The Economist event coincided with the magazine's latest special issue on "The Quest for Jobs," which features commentary from ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres. In "The Great Mismatch" section, Joerres explains the need to align "Just In Time" demand for workers and the goods and services they supply. Until demand intensifies, employers worldwide have been slow to hire.

New ManpowerGroup future of work intelligence on "The Big Idea: The Age of Hyperspecialization" was published in last month's Harvard Business Review. Tammy Johns, ManpowerGroup Senior Vice President of Global Innovation and Workforce Solutions, together with Tom Malone, defined hyperspecialization as the micro-delegation of work previously done by one person into specific tasks done by several skilled people, enabling employers to win the right talent at the right time for projects requiring varying niche sets of knowledge and skills.

James Rubin, who has covered recruitment and employment issues for more than a decade and is a regular contributor to the Economist Intelligence Unit, moderated the panel.

About ManpowerGroup

ManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN), the world leader in innovative workforce solutions, creates and delivers high-impact solutions that enable our clients to achieve their business goals and enhance their competitiveness. With over 60 years of experience, our $22 billion company creates unique time to value through a comprehensive suite of innovative solutions that help clients win in the Human Age. These solutions cover an entire range of talent-driven needs from recruitment and assessment, training and development, and career management, to outsourcing and workforce consulting. ManpowerGroup maintains the world's largest and industry-leading network of nearly 3,900 offices in over 80 countries and territories, generating a dynamic mix of an unmatched global footprint with valuable insight and local expertise to meet the needs of its 400,000 clients per year, across all industry sectors, small and medium-sized enterprises, local, multinational and global companies. By connecting our deep understanding of human potential to the ambitions of clients, ManpowerGroup helps the organizations and individuals we serve achieve more than they imagined — because their success leads to our success. And by creating these powerful connections, we create power that drives organizations forward, accelerates personal success and builds more sustainable communities. We help power the world of work. The ManpowerGroup suite of solutions is offered through ManpowerGroup™ Solutions, Manpower®, Experis™ and Right Management®. Learn more about how the ManpowerGroup can help you win in the Human Age at www.manpowergroup.com.

ManpowerGroup is the most trusted brand in the industry, being the only company in our industry to be named to the Ethisphere Institute's 2011 World's Most Ethical Companies list for our proven commitment to ethical business practices, including an outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility. In addition, ManpowerGroup has also been recognized as the industry leader by Fortune magazine, who named the company in first place on its 2011 list of the Most Admired Companies in the temporary help sector.

In January 2011, at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland, ManpowerGroup announced the world has entered the Human Age, where talent has replaced capital as the key competitive differentiator. Learn more about this new age at www.manpowergroup.com/humanage

Gain access to ManpowerGroup's extensive thought leadership papers, annual Talent Shortage surveys and the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, one of the most trusted indices of employment activity in the world, via the ManpowerGroup World of Work Insight iPad application. This thought leadership app explores the challenges faced by employers navigating the changing world of work and provides in-depth commentary, analysis, insight and advice on strategies for success.

Follow ManpowerGroup Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres on Twitter: twitter.com/manpowergroupjj

SOURCE ManpowerGroup