Diversity, Inclusion, Workforce Trends & Preparing for The Future

Diversity, inclusion, and your workforce impact your success and business. The press about the workforce, aging demographics, and talent shortages is everywhere. Consider the following:

Gen X and Gen Y make up the core demographic of social networking sites [i.e. Facebook and MySpace]. Generating an estimated 90 million viewers every month, between business, industry, professional, and internet groups.
According to the bureau of labor statistics the United States will face an overall labor shortage, continuing for decades. In 2 years, the shortage of skilled workers is expected to hit 10 million. By 2030, the estimated shortage is projected to hit 35 million.
By 2015: Hispanics will make up an estimated 15.9% of the labor force, up from 13.7% in 2006. African Americans will make up 12% of the labor force, up from 11.4% in 2006. Asians will make up 5.1% of the labor force, up from 4.4% in 2006.
By 2012 people of color will make up 35% of the workforce, and by 2015 students of color will make up 47% of college enrollment.
An estimated 3.3 million white collar jobs and $136 billion in wages will shift from the United States to low-cost countries by 2015.
People with disabilities aggregate income tops $1 trillion; they are the largest minority population in the United States that spans all other minority groups.

Integrating an overall workforce and diversity plan - as well as aligning it to your business strategy is critical. While "planning" alone is not enough, questions you should integrate include:

How will we successfully compete for our unfair share of future talent?
What is our value proposition?
Are we prepared and equipped to attract, hire, develop, and retain the talent needed to meet our business and member objectives?
What sets us apart?
What are the implications for our business?

Remember the buzz years ago about "the war for talent"? The best days are in the past as competition for critical talent will only intensify. Are you prepared?

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