Today, key challenges impacting workplaces and workforces in the Rail Industry are the Global Talent Shortages (at a 15 year high) with lack of skilled talent (hard and soft skills) and talent gaps, the Great Resignation, organizations supporting a workforce mix of traditional, hybrid, and remote employees and the impact on their culture, DE&I (Part II in Series), and the continual challenges in attracting and retaining talent. Most of these areas are showing no signs of slowing down.
An organization's success will come from uniting, leading, communicating, and compensating equitably (Part IV in Series). Organizations that change their mindset, solve problems, remain visionary, innovate, trust the internal workforce and external partners, and move toward opportunities will create a talent and marketplace advantage. Ensuring that you have the right people in the right places with a united workforce where everyone, traditional, hybrid, or remote employee, feels a part of the organization's culture and mission and understands how they impact driving the organization's progression must be a top priority. It is for some organizations a change in strategy on how they are putting people first. The pandemic gave organizations the closest look inside the lives of their workforce, revealing what is important to them and their employment needs now and in the future, such as child care subsidy, flexible schedule, wellbeing, less time on call, wanting to grow a career without relocating, number and frequency of individual relocations, workplace preferences, and geographic location. The solution begins with reaching each employee through internal interviews or check-ins to understand each employee, respond to them, avoid reasons for them to be part of the Great Resignation (Part III in Series), and drive solutions to gain long tenures and loyalty.
