Clair Kim March 30, 2021 Consumerization within the workplace has been a hot topic for a number of years, flowing through various sectors, including finance and HR. Essentially, consumerization has changed the dynamic between organizations and their employees, which is why it is so important to understand.
There are different definitions of consumerization floating around. However, the basic concept behind all definitions is the same; personalization in the workforce. The concept revolves around the creation of social, mobile, and consumer-style experiences for those in the workplace and how the interaction between the organization and its employees is affected.
So how does consumerization affect your workplace? Here are the 3 areas within human resources where you will see its impact.
Expectations of Emerging Leaders
The workplace has evolved from being mainly made up of a certain generation to encompassing entirely new demographics. Different generations with very different upbringings, expectations, and mindsets, are becoming the norm in the workforce. This demographic evolution propelled consumerization forward, as organizations set out to transition themselves to meet their new and future employees.
The common expectations of Millennial and Gen Z employees are personalization and collaboration. These generations grew up with digital devices, creating a natural tendency to rely on social media platforms and digital tools. While these tools and mediums were made for consumers, they are becoming increasingly expected to translate over into the workplace.
That being said, HR will need to consider these expectations of their current and future employees, in regards to their day-to-day and workplace interactions. Consider creating protocols to replace workplace habits and processes to be more relevant and expected.
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Candidate Experience
One example of this is candidate experience. A typical recruitment workflow for organizations includes the full recruitment cycle and policies about getting back to candidates, among other things, as well as a turnaround time in regards to getting back to the candidates.
Now, if the business were to think about gearing a similar experience for their customers, they’d realize that it would be ineffective. It’s likely that the organization only gets back to candidates if they want to offer them the position. However, by that time, it’s too late, as the candidate has already accepted another offer because the organization took too long in issuing a response.
With this insight, the organization can create better processes for its employees. They can decide to be extremely proactive, getting back to all of their candidates within a week. They can also create a custom dashboard that provides real-time updates and enables communication.
Talent Development
Another area where consumerization makes a significant impact is in talent development. Continued talent development is a strategic objective for many organizations. However, consumerization is affecting the process and attitude that employees have towards talent development.
When you consider rising talent development trends such as the creation of their own development plan, immersive learning, or bite-sized learnings, it involves a continued conversation between the workplace leaders and employees to make such an experience possible.
This means that the organization will need to monitor what areas of training and development are being addressed, and what is not. Through the window of consumerization, organizations must be able to recognize any gaps in order to make any necessary changes.
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