ABSTRACT

With the growth of technology solution tools and the resulting access to workers from around the
globe, leaders in virtually all industries have been changing the way they recruit and train their
employees. Human resources often referred to as "human capital," have expanded in terms of
where employees are physically located, as well as the type of training that is required to
adequately prepare them for their roles. In this sense, the HR responsibilities have been
challenged and are in a constant state of change in order to meet the new standards and demands
of global asset management, which includes a global workforce.

Today, human capital management is often much more about nurturing the workforce and
empowering them with the technology tools of the trade, as opposed to simply sending them off
to work in setting such as cubicles, factory lines or agricultural fields. With the ever-changing
technology that more and more workers rely on, there is a much greater demand to be sure that
they have the ongoing training needed, as well as support from a technology advisor, to continue
to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively.

In addition to the challenges related to simply trying to keep employees trained and up to speed
on the most current and important technology, another aspect that can make HR management
taxing and stressful is the global factor. There are now many human resource managers who
have employees located in all corners of the world. This brings up issues of language, cultural
differences, both in communication and also in terms of expectations, and coordination of
"virtual meetings," given the fact that members of a work team can be located in many different
time zones.

Another factor is simply hands-on management. When employees are located in a workgroup in
a common facility, it is quite simple to know and be aware of how productive employees are.
However, when people are spread across the globe in settings which are often independent to
each and every worker, it can be more difficult to quickly asses who is pulling their weight and
where there are problems. As a result, managing employees often includes relying on "electronic
metrics" which can report precise activities of each employee.