Looking ahead in 2014 and beyond, constant change will be the new normal for talent management professionals. Market forces and other external trends continue to reverberate in the industry, among them:
 

• A rapidly evolving, complex regulatory environment
• Economic turbulence, uncertain growth, and financial markets that behave unpredictably, with implications for budgeting and talent acquisition
• Disruptive technologies applied to HR, such as predictive analytics and social technology, combined with techniques for ensuring the privacy and security of employee data
• A diverse workforce, which occasionally includes three or even four generations in the same workplace, as some Baby Boomers delay or work into retirement. At the same time, the temporary workforce swells—up to 2.7 million in 2013, more than three-quarters of a million higher since 2009
• Geographically distributed workforces and “road warriors” make it difficult to administer policies, processes and procedures
• Problems attracting skilled workers, particularly in professional services, technology, engineering, medicine, and other specialized industries
• A talent management software market that has consolidated, giving professionals a more integrated set of solutions to choose from