Five important business trends are taking shape for 2016, says Scaling Up author Verne Harnish. He discussed the five trends in a column for Fortune magazine. They are:
Coaches are providing employees much-needed input. Companies such as Zappos have eliminated the job title of manager and replaced it with ‘coach.’ “A coach who works individually with 40 employees for one hour a week each will get far better results than most traditional managers overseeing eight to 10 employees,” Harnish writes. Employees benefit from one-on-one time each week with a manager.
Existing businesses are getting help ‘scaling up’. Support for startups is becoming increasingly robust in business incubators established by most major cities around the world. But governments and private-sector institutions will increasingly support ‘scale-ups’ — helping existing companies grow to $1 billion in revenue, he writes. Research shows that many existing companies have the potential for future growth if they become more efficient.
Quality health insurance plans are becoming a recruitment and retention tool. Many employers are shifting to cheaper, high-deductible plans for employees. But a growing number of companies are moving counter to that trend by investing in comprehensive health insurance coverage. In 2016, these companies will have both an employee recruitment and retention advantage.
More freelancers enter the workforce. Relationships between companies and talent will continue to become more fluid this year. By some estimates, nearly half the workforce will be freelance by 2020. Showing your leadership team how to organize and inspire freelancers will keep your company more agile, Harnish says.
Social responsibility, ethics take center stage. While most companies might not want to jump through the rigorous environmental and social hoops to qualify as a B Corp, many are adopting the same ethics structure. “Great employees want to work for companies that stand for more than just profit, so it will give you a leg up in the talent wars.”