2024 World of Work with Chris Bjorling

We're recording this right at the end of 2023 , so here we are , not knowing what's going to happen in the year of 2024 , terribly excited for it , and Chris here is going to give you some predictions as to what you can expect from the world of work .

Chris , first off , what are you most looking forward to in 2024 , in your personal and your professional life ?

So I am excited about that because it'll be the first time in so long that we've not had a little person in the house and it'll be fun for my wife and I just to be empty nesters and to enjoy that and to know that all of our kids are off on their own personal journeys now , you know , becoming full-fledged adults and contributing members of society .

From a professional standpoint , it is a great year that we've got queued up from just from the work with my organization and the company here to the charitable events that I work with , as well as the time that Billy , you and I get to spend together this year for some events that we've got queued and some events that we're looking to get into the queue .

So I'm excited for all of those things .

The strongest sign yet that higher interest rates are dampening demand for workers and boosting financial market expectations and the Federal Reserve monetary policy is that tightening cycle is now perhaps coming to an end . Are we expecting to see , for example , a lot of folks staying in their jobs in 2024 ?

Because it's still uncertain times and it seems like folks are settled again now . There's a lot of movement during the pandemic and the first sort of year After the pandemic . Are those some of the things that you're expecting to see from from the from jobs market over the next few months to the year ?

You know , the US jobs market comes and goes , and part of what we're seeing also there , too , is that there's an influx of people who've started to reenter the workforce too , and which which makes it harder , and so I think , with that concept of people reentering the workforce , the Jobs totals go down , but also the fact that people that are in positions realize

that there aren't other opportunities for me jump around too , so I will stay and and I'll be there , and so I think it's just one of those ebb and flow moments that that's occurring and as we go through those cycles of , you know , like you would be reference the Reserved boards and monetary tightings and stuff yeah , I think we're gonna have this going forward

until we get a little focus and settling down .

You know what's happening in the world from the standpoint of Wars and the efforts and the activities that are going on , the riots and things that are Currently going on as we , as we talk now , and they may be gone by the time this airs , but those types of things really disrupt us to some degree , and so I think , once those settle , we're gonna .

Until they settle , we're gonna start to see . We won't start to see the uptick that we want Going forward . I think it's the , the unknowns in this , in society as well too .

One of the pieces that's important is that when you're , when you're looking anyway , regardless of the marketplace , you really need to understand the people you want , the type of people you want , the cultural fit they are for your organization , the Skill levels that they have and capabilities they have .

There are people that will still be transitioning , so those are gonna be some of your flyers and some of your top producers that are moving around , people that have their own head-on , the crews for them that are out there . There are opportunities still to to gain the talent you need . It's just the bulk talent , which will probably be Restricted for you .

That's going down . It's , you know You're not filling just you know 30 positions , you're filling three . So you really need to be focused and understand what you want , and I think you can still get it .

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through together in a team that they naturally know how they play , that they can anticipate where one of the other players might be on the pitch and it could , over time , lead to better performances , is that a possibility with having higher retention rates ?

One of the biggest things that an organisation really wants to do is establish its culture , and one of the pieces that's coming down the line and it started in 23 and I didn't reference it in the last discussion , but it's really its corporate culture there's a renewed emphasis on the concept of identifying yourself , knowing who you are and going forward .

So , as you maintain a workforce , you can continue to build that , and that building of that culture , like you say , is a team moving forward and we know how to interact and we know how to work and we know how to be prepared for new opportunities that are coming down the line .

One of the biggest things that we've always preached over the 30 years of my company is that when there's an economic downturn or whether there's a momentary pause with things , it's the best time to prepare your workforce through training and development so that you can be prepared to handle when the floodgates open and the opportunities start arriving .

So , as you look at this time . One , you're solidifying your culture . Two , you have the opportunity to develop the individuals you want to develop .

And three , you have the opportunity to refine and produce better processes to support the work , to support your internal activities that will make you more effective and efficient as you come forward and you continue forward in your need to produce , for the organization as well as staff and project , your next models for when those hiring waves do come online .

So , beyond the euros , euro 2024 , where obviously England are going to finally win because they've never done it but they've got a fantastic team , so I'm sure at this time it's going to happen but beyond that , there are a whole bunch of really big things happening in 2024 . Obviously , it's the US presidential election .

We've got the ongoing war in Ukraine , the war in Israel , palestine , of course , elections for the European Parliament , president Trump's trial or trials , I should say Putin seeking re-election , the solar eclipse . There's a whole bunch of things going on .

What are some of the biggest factors for you , chris , in terms of what could shape the world of work in 2024 ?

Yeah , you know , and England winning that would probably be the most you know upside down event , england winning the Euro , but anyway , that's another story . All of these pieces have something to impact and shape what's occurring at the time . So in the US , you know , a lot of the world goes to what the US is doing .

So , with the election campaign , with a volatile potential presidential candidate in Trump and , like you said , his trials that are out there , there's a lot of things that can disrupt business at that time and moving forward , and so until the dust settles at the end of the year it's going to be you will have a little bit of volatility in those areas because of

that , at least in the US markets . Internationally , we're continuing to look at what's happening , not with just the wars , but also with China and what they're doing and the different opportunities that their actions may have to influence the world economy as well . So you know , there are a few things that are kind of just .

You know , let's put it this way we're not settled into our car seats yet , the music's still playing and we're still walking around and I think , once we get more understanding of the current world events , we're going to still have some of this changing attitude in the marketplace .

Now , one thing I will say is that , regardless of what goes on , there are industries , there are focus points , there are things that are still going to drive us forward and there are great industries to get engaged with , you know , from a trending cycle standpoint , that allow us to have better opportunities to expand up on and go forward with .

So you know , stuff like artificial intelligence . What's happening there and how are we enabling our products , green activities that are going around us and around us at the time , opportunities for , you know , life advancement and production of people , things that make life more comfortable but also make life more manageable for how we do things .

So there's a lot of industry pieces that will still continue to move forward , some at a very fast pace and some , you know , just at a good pace , regardless of what happens in the global scheme of things .

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Any predictions around that in terms of how machine learning , how deep language models and similar will continue to impact the world of work , will continue to impact the role that leaders have , the role that HR pros have , how it's going to augment even more traditional employee roles over the next 12 months what are your thoughts around that ?

I'm seeing that the fact that we have this artificial intelligence that's going to allow us to create learning models , understanding people needs , workforce trends , opportunities , identify opportunities for us to do better in the HR space .

I'm looking at it from a very standpoint of AI is going to help us really refine how we work in the HR space and how we can help better , enable our employees from the standpoint of being prepared for the next positions and doing better at the workspace , as well as what we're doing from an organizational standpoint . Do we have the right processes in place ?

Do we have the right actions in place that satisfy our workers and allow us to move forward with new things that are going to be influential and have positive impact ? I look at that half full component that's there .

That's going on moving AI into tools that allow us to better HR , tools that allow us not just doing the analysis of the data , the analytical pieces , but tools that allow us to just keep moving forward with giving better feedback for performance reviews , giving better options for hiring models or better options for hey , Chris , this is how we think and the AI

model thinks you should develop your plan for your future career here with us or outside of us . So I think there's a lot of positive that can come from here .

Before we hit record today , we were chatting about other potential speakers at that event , so that's a good one . I'm hoping that we get to hang about together in Chicago this year . For sherm , we've got 80 D , which is in New Orleans . I always like an excuse to go to New Orleans . What are some of the big events that you're looking forward to in 2024 ?

In 60 seconds or less .

It's going to be fun to be part of it and it's going to be fun to be part of it in Buffalo , which is a great city , got a great history there , and maybe the bills will have won the Super Bowl by then , but we don't know .

But there are a lot of opportunities that that we're walking into and we're just trying to get out there and see what's happening again and to see the advancements from year after year and , having done this for the last three or four years with you , it's fun to watch it , the movement in the organizations and in HR space , and to see it in that , you know ,

in that continuum from going year to year . So I look forward to just continue that exposure .

As we come towards the end of this particular conversation , any any optimistic advice or saying or a mantra that you try and stick to that drives you forward as and maybe you can share with other people as they're getting into this new year .

So , as you're walking through , in coming in the times where we've got some uncertainties and some opportunities for us to maybe think , oh , I can't do it , you can , and the opportunity for you to move forward is in your hands . It's the opportunity that you can take and build yourself to be prepared for tomorrow and the day after tomorrow .

It's also the opportunity that you can help your organization grow and develop and be prepared for that , and it's having that futuristic mind , focus forward attitude that's going to allow you to be successful .

And then for our people and performance podcast . It's a great opportunity for you to catch a micro burst of information from some top leaders in the HR space industry that Bill is able to , bill and I are able to bring in and have just a brief chat with .

I encourage you to look us up people and performance podcast on your on your podcast delivering tool of preference .