Hays’ Steve Orr discusses the biggest changes employers need to be ready for to ensure they have a strong employer brand and a healthy talent pipeline.
The world of work is in a massive state of flux at the moment, from the office environment to the changing skills landscape.
But it can be difficult for employers to know where exactly to focus their energy and what they need to do to ensure they’re actually ready for the changes that are coming.
Steve Orr is a regional managing director of Hays UK. He outlined five key trends that employers need to think about when it comes to future-proofing their workforce and their business.
Diversity
Diversity and inclusion have long been important elements when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, but in a skills-short market, Orr said diversity is also needed in the experience category of who employers hire.
“One of the changes we are seeing is that employers are much more willing to hire for potential, rather than a set list of requirements,” he said.
“This intention was indicated in our recent What Workers Want report, where 80pc of employers told us they would be willing to hire staff based on their aptitude with the intention of upskilling them. This might mean recruiting staff and providing a clear upskilling plan or hiring staff from different industries and providing training opportunities.”
Flexible working
Unsurprisingly, flexible working is a major trend that is happening right now. The pandemic accelerated this trend and forced many employers to reckon with new ways of working.
“The transition to mass hybrid, remote and flexible working may have been on the cards, but potentially five or 10 years down the line,” said Orr.
As the Covid restrictions that spurred remote working have eased, employers now have to consider the working model that not only works best for them but also retains and attracts talent in a world that offers a lot more flexibility.
CSR and ESG goals
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals have also become increasingly important, with more employees choosing to work for companies they believe in.
“Most large companies have already started down the track, but corporate and social responsibility will soon become essential for an organisation to act on – not only to do good, but to also attract talent,” said Orr.
“Corporate sustainability should be at the forefront of the agenda for organisations wanting to take meaningful action to protect the planet and reduce their environmental impact.”
Wellbeing
While the conversation of mental health and wellbeing at work had been discussed pre-pandemic, Orr said many organisations were quick to offer support to their employees during that time, putting wellbeing much higher up on the corporate agenda.
“This changed the conversation when it comes to mental health and wellbeing at work and businesses are better, more supportive and inclusive environments for it,” he said.
“We’ve already seen big employers start to introduce benefits such as enhanced parental leave, fertility leave and menopause leave.”
Training and upskilling
The skills companies require are also changing and HR and talent acquisition professionals need to prepare for this.
While digital and technical skills will continue to be extremely important, Orr said there has definitely been a shift in the importance of good soft skills and an aptitude to learn.
“Employers need to play their part too by recruiting for potential and soft skills, and then taking responsibility for training internally to fill the gap in technical knowledge. Investing in learning, development and training allows organisations and employees to have the knowledge and skills not just to keep up, but to thrive in a rapidly evolving world of work,” he added.
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