How companies can win the battle for talent
The global talent shortage that began before COVID-19 had entered our lexicon has only accelerated thanks to the pandemic. In the future, companies that can successfully manage the labour market will have a competitive advantage over other organisations that are falling short in the battle for talent.
With 69% of employers around the world reporting that they cannot find workers with the skills they need, talent scarcity is at a 15-year high. As the post pandemic reality advances, companies need to do more to attract and retain a skilled and diverse workforce, and it’s not just employers who are recognising the need for something new and different – workers are looking for more from their employers too.
Though these are far from the only factors, they are contributing significantly to a growing threat to businesses in every sector – talent is scarce and everyone is looking for the needle in the haystack.
But behind every challenge lies opportunity. Now is the time for organisations to get creative in attracting, recruiting, upskilling, reskilling and retaining valued workers.
The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for Q1 of 2022, found that between 32- 55% of businesses across all sectors plan to offer hybrid working models to attract and retain talent. It's a start, but more will need to be done.
With more than half of all workers (58%) needing new skills to get their jobs done, the skills revolution is in full force. Reskilling and upskilling will become non-negotiable for individuals and organisations as roles continue to require more skills than before, with both tech AND human capabilities most in demand. As the need for soft skills, including adaptability, communication, teamwork and more take on increased importance, employers will need to ensure their people are constantly being provided opportunities to improve their skillsets. Invest in people and they’ll pay dividends for business.
It’s about building bridges between the skills that you’re looking for and the roles that you’ve got. By recognising that the transition of a candidate’s capabilities cross the rigidity of a role description, and by truly understanding that capability in more detail, we can be flexible in how we bring candidates into the organisation.
By 2030, people under the age of 35 will make up 75% of the workforce. The generational divide that has segmented the workforce will continue to dissipate until dissolving completely in less than a decade. On our way to that point, people of all ages will demand even more personalisation while resenting being boxed, labelled and pitched against one another. Younger workers are set to swell the workforce and as inflation rises and savings dwindle, the pandemic-exiteers will likely return to drive the gig-work boom across generational lines. To bridge the talent gap, organisations will need to plan accordingly and hire and integrate workers from every generation to comprise their workforce mix.
The pandemic exposed the gender divide more than ever before. People from all walks of life have been hit hard by the pandemic, but it has been especially damaging to women. According to Deloitte’s Women @ Work: A Global Outlook 2021 report, 51% of women are less optimistic about their career prospects than before the pandemic, with 57% saying they plan to leave their current job within two years.
Progress that was made in closing the gender gap has hit the brakes with women leaving the workforce at alarming rates. Mass exoduses from sectors typically dominated by women – education, healthcare and hospitality – coincide with rapid growth in tech, logistics and sales where women are under-represented.As women are increasingly getting more university degrees, and achieving higher grades than men in STEM, it will be the employers who provide choice, flexibility and performance-over-presenteeism that will attract and keep the best and brightest – all while driving the skills and growth agenda.
When engaging with candidates, we need to ask ourselves: what’s going to make them stay with us? What does our work environment look like? What will they want aside from the salary? It’s about asking candidates what they need in order to work best, so that we can tell them what we’re able to offer. Organisations can learn from these requests and make any reasonable adjustments the norm.
Actions speak louder than words and people are no longer content with lip service and empty promises in the realm of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB). Though more than 30% of companies already deploy D&I training programs, continued polarisation along lines of politics, race, identity and age means organisations will increasingly be asked to take positions on social issues.
All stakeholders – investors, regulators, customers and employees – will expect even more transparency around progress, not just pledges, and will be held accountable. Organisations will need to visibly action diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging so everyone is able to benefit from economic recovery, tech advancements and climate justice.
Rethinking the future of work needs to be as much about family and care as it is about tech, robotics and machine learning. In ManpowerGroup’s What Makes Workers Thrive survey conducted in December 2021, nearly 1 in 4 workers are looking for employers who provide enhanced benefits such as additional parental and caregiving leave. Employers who provide caregivers (across all genders) with choice – flexibility and performance over presenteeism – will attract and keep the best and brightest.
To win the battle for talent, employers will need to re-examine and rethink how they accommodate the priorities of their workforce.
The global talent shortage is reshaping the game for workers and employers alike. As we continue to move towards a new normal, understanding the issues shaping what workers want and meeting those needs is the key to solving today’s talent shortage problem.
Companies that are able to go beyond what they’ve previously done for their employees will be able to weather the storm and successfully recruit the best people for their organisations.
For more information about talent scarcity and other key trends for 2022, download The Great Realisation: Accelerating Trends, Renewed Urgency – A Look at the 2022 Labour Landscape
