Hyper Flexibility Test. How to do Headcount planning in this time of uncertainty?

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What is Hyper Flexibility?

In times of uncertainty, hyper flexible headcount planning is a must. As we have seen with recent world events, anything can happen and given the past 3 years of pandemic, we just don’t know what to expect. 

That means we need to be looking for new and improved methods of hyper flexible headcount planning to account for this extreme uncertainty. 

Can hyper flexibility for employees, scenario planning for HR managers and leaders and transparency across the organization help your company through these uncertain times? Read on to find out.

Contents

What is Hyper Flexibility in the Workplace?

In this context, flexibility means the ability to adjust to changing circumstances quickly and efficiently.

It’s time to look at flexibility from all angles – what are the needs for employees, for HR leaders, and for the organization as a whole? 

Hyper flexibility for the employee and employer means finding the right balance that meets everyone’s needs with regards to workplace flexibility. Giving employees the freedom to work how, where and when they want is part of this concept. 

In order to gain a competitive advantage today, HR leaders need to plan for, attract, and retain the right talent – not a big surprise there, but scenario planning is the hyper flexible recruitment approach needed in uncertain times. 

For an organization, being flexible means it has to embrace the concept of hyper flexibility in today’s fast-moving and fast-changing world. The ability to respond to external and internal change is essential today, for employees, employers and HR leaders. Being transparent as a company about coming organizational and headcount changes is another key part to ensure hyper flexibility has a positive impact on the entire organization. 

Hyper Flexibility Employee Flexibility

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The concept of today’s workplace flexibility is evolving rapidly. With an increasingly virtual work environment comes a new set of requirements. Organizations that adapt and adopt virtual workplaces as their way of working require their employees to have a new skill set. 

Want to know more?

For more information on workplace transformation and virtual workplaces, have a look at our blog article

Beyond technical skills listed in a job description, companies are increasingly looking for new talent with power skills including hyper flexibility, because what they are focused on today will almost certainly be different in 12 months. 

“As much as 63% of employers
prefer to hire someone with transferable skills —
teamwork, time management or leadership
and train them for the technicalities of the job.”

Since the pandemic’s forced transition to remote work in the Spring of 2020, a new flexibility of working remotely is on the rise. But the needs of the post-pandemic workforce go far beyond remote work flexibility. 

Organizations need to extend workplace flexibility concepts for their employees into hyper flexible concepts and creative solutions tailored to specific needs of their employees:

Hyper Flexibility Examples

▶️ where, when and how work can be done

▶️ work-life balance

▶️ physical and emotional health

▶️ caring for children and other family members

Hyper Flexibility: Scenario Planning for Recruiters

Most recruiters focus on a certain set of roles the company needs to hire today. What would happen if companies did scenario planning and had recruiters also work on “what if” scenarios? 

David Bizer, Director and Keynote Speaker at Key Search

What is Scenario Planning?

Scenario planning means that recruiters apply agile thinking to create scenarios and strategies that allow them to adapt to changing external and internal situations – this is hyper flexibility from a recruitment perspective. 

Hyper flexible scenario planning allows recruiters and leaders of an organization to plan long term in a fast-changing global economy.

Executive search - Key Search - Remote Work–Trust and Empower Your Team
Executive search - Key Search - Remote Work–Trust and Empower Your Team

Today, taking possible future scenarios into account for headcount planning in different scenarios is essential for organizations. Every recruiter and leader will be able to name factors that could result in data that has a substantial impact on how the same scenario could play out and should be responded to.

Questions every recruiter should consider and answer for hyper flexible scenario planning are:

▶️ If the role is canceled, how do you keep those candidates in your talent community?

▶️ If the role changes, are you ready to adapt instantly to a new set of hiring criteria?

▶️ Which driving forces need to be monitored to alert recruiters and leaders of a company to early signs that one of the planned scenarios is starting to play out?  

 

“Scenarios reflect a commitment to a process that actively engages the unknown, confronting change head-on in order to closely watch how it unfolds, and making the promise to adapt at the pace of change.

Hyper Flexibility and Transparency

Everyone knows there will be change, but when it happens or is about to, many people feel ill-informed. How do you keep all of your stakeholders updated when headcount planning is constantly changing? 

David Bizer, Director and Keynote Speaker at Key Search

Do you have the tools in place to make sure all impacted parties including hiring managers, recruiters, and candidates are informed appropriately and timely? It requires transparency for realistic and effective scenario planning. Transparency is a key aspect that enables the hyper flexibility needed in today’s fast-changing economic landscape. This, together with scenario planning, allows for a proactively planned recruitment response.

Research by McKinsey suggests that transparency is also essential for an organization’s current workforce. Together with a tailored hyper flexibility offering for employees, transparency ensures that employees feel included and informed. In turn, data shows that taking these steps boosts employee well-being and productivity. 

Benefits of Hyper Flexibility

To be prepared in advance to meet the fast-changing needs of an organization and its workforce, flexibility has a positive impact on employees, HR leaders and the entire organization. 

These interdependent key factors help organizations prepare and thrive in uncertain times. Working with executive search  experts can support you with your immediate hiring needs and ensure your company’s scenario planning is prepared for an uncertain future.

At Key Search, we help our clients hire the leaders they need today, and plan their future recruitment strategy. To find out how we can support your organization with your hiring needs and scenario planning, let’s have an introductory call.

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