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This October, I had the pleasure of hosting Ceipal‘s second all-virtual conference of this year, Ceipal Connect. With around 2,000 registrants from around the world, the event was a testament to how the staffing & recruitment industry continues to collaborate and progress, despite the business difficulties of COVID-19.
This conference’s theme was simple: how to make staffing firms more successful. And yet, as the conference unfolded, I realized that the question was much more complicated than it seemed. Today, our industry has so many changing variables. The sudden shift to remote work, the demand for contingent labor, the skills shortage… The list goes on and on.
Luckily for me, the speakers gathered at Ceipal Connect offered innovative solutions to the challenges we face today. Here are three key takeaways that I found particularly useful.
1. Upskilling workers is an immediate must for corporations.
According to Gartner, 74% of CFOs say that they expect to move previously on-site employees to remote post-COVID-19. This revolution in the way we work means that employees will have to develop new skills to meet their new environments.
With as many as 375 million positions becoming obsolete by 2030 (due to automation and artificial intelligence), C-Level executives must prioritize upskilling their workforce’s “soft” skills. How creative are your workers? How emotionally intelligent, and how adaptable? During COVID-19, companies have learned that these skills are a must for any contemporary business.
2. Investing in Total Talent Management (TTM) is the best way to close the skills gap.
In 2019, the skills gap grew by 12%, with two-thirds of HR leaders reporting a gap in their organization. Even with the high unemployment rate, many business leaders continue to struggle to find workers with specific skills (e.g., skilled trade workers and nurses). Innovative companies are addressing this shortage by leveraging TTM strategies. 61% of companies said that their inability to fill critical positions was a main driver to adopting TTM best practices, like investing in contingent labor or SOW services. And once companies adopted TTM, they were 2x as likely to see sourcing non-employed workers as a competitive advantage.
3. Automating talent acquisition is the only way to stay competitive—and unbiased.
One trend has remained constant throughout COVID-19: automation. With hiring on the decline and certain skills running short, automation is a powerful tool for talent acquisition. In fact, over 80% of recruiters agree it increases their productivity. But productivity is only half the story. 20% of companies are leveraging recruitment automation to support their diversity initiatives, and 61% of talent acquisition professionals believe this automation reduces unconscious bias. That means that automation helps companies achieve a broad array of talent goals, ranging from skill sets to diversity management.
For me, these three insights were key pointers on how to succeed in the changing talent landscape. And as we look toward the end of Q4 and toward the beginning of 2021, I think that adopting these strategies will help recruitment and staffing transform for the better in new and exciting ways.
