Experis Blog

As a rule, we know that our people perform at their best when the role they are performing aligns with their natural strengths and capabilities. Despite this, many individuals are in their current job as a result of less relevant factors, such as how long they have been with the organisation, qualifications achieved over a decade ago, or the businesses they worked for in the past. The clearest way for businesses to understand the potential of their employees and matching them to the best role is through assessment. And, when people are in the right role, employers are rewarded with more engaged, productive and motivated individuals. Assessments can also help organisations to identify skills adjacencies which may be helpful when there are skills shortages in areas of the business, or when looking to make better use of an individual’s talents. Assessments should be standard procedure across the board, as they increase the likelihood of placing the right person in the right role from 50% to over 80%. And yet, just 48% of employees have had an assessment of their skills. This means that organisations are potentially missing out on the opportunity for optimising roles as a result. Using AI to predict future skills and assess, map and develop talent To help companies understand the skills their workforce currently has, the skills they will need to help them remain competitive for the future, and how they can bridge the gap to build talent within their organisation, ManpowerGroup has designed an innovative Artificial Intelligence driven platform. Visi-Skill combines data analytics and workforce insights to help employers develop their own cloud-based skills bank. Visi-Skill captures the specific technical skills and human strengths of the workforce, analyses current roles and generates an AI dashboard of skills changes over time, projecting the evolution of roles over a one to three year period. Every role breaks down the proportion of skills required: for example, a java developer role may require 50% java coding skills, 20% C# coding, 10% software design and 20% creativity. AI uses semantics to analyse people within the organisation, and can also analyse the CVs of prospective candidates, assessing whose skills most closely align with the current and future skills demands. All of this gives businesses an unprecedented level of visibility into the skills they have available within their organisation. How organisations can use assessment and upskilling to collaborate with the machines Skills are the passport to growth and resilience for organisations and individuals alike. Here are a few ways to make sure that your organisation has the right talent for the future: 1. Know The Capabilities Of Your People Organisations need to use assessment, clean data and predictive performance to deploy talent in the most effective way, and avoid creating “skills silos”. 2. Tailor Training Companies must replace sheep-dip approaches to training with focused strategies and guidance to develop critical, in-demand skills for their workforce. 3. Bet On Soft Skills Organisations should fine-tune talent strategies to account for the fact that human skills are harder to develop than technical skills. 4. Enable Humans To Augment Technology Companies must continuously upskill their workers and create talent. And they must assess and reevaluate the skills they need, to ensure human talent complements automation. Interested in finding out more about talent strategies for the digital age? Read more of our latest insights on the future of work and skills today.

Experis, techUK and HBB are pleased to host the second Future of IoT Conference in Bristol on the 25th April. With IoT moving from connecting single products and functions, to connecting systems or multiple ecosystems with the support of 5G, AI and Blockchain integrations, interest and adoption in IoT are surging. This year, the event will cover how the burgeoning IoT ecosystem can help businesses in the UK in their transformation journeys - improving business performance and changing the way employees work. Vodafone's recent IoT Barometer report found that 34% of businesses surveyed globally have now adopted IoT, with 95% of these organisations seeing 'clear benefits of their investment'. 60% of those surveyed believed that IoT had either already disrupted their industry or would do so within the next five years. Whilst there are pockets of world-leading excellence in IoT in the UK, organisations must continue to assess where it can help to drive benefits for their customers, employess and profits in order to continue to compete at a global scale. Our keynote talks and panel discussions will be filled with insights and debate on the future of IoT, making it a worthwhile afternoon out of the office. Speakers include Professor Rob Rolley, Head of Innovation for UK Defence Solutions Centre, Geraldina Ireheta, Director of Business Development at Digital Catapult and Jill Bassett, Workforce Solutions Director at ManpowerGroup. There will also be the chance to network throughout the day with technology and industry leaders. Agenda 12.00-12.40Arrival and lunch12.40-12.50Introduction, Housekeeping and Scene Setting. Martin Ewings, Brand Leader - Experis12.50-13.10Opening Keynote - Geraldina Iraheta, Director of Business Development - Digital Catapult Session 1: IoT and business transformation The session will examine how IoT will help to support business transformation, changing the way we work and innovate, and improving performance throughout the supply chain.13.10-13.35Keynote - Prof. Rob Rolley FIET, Head of Innovation - UK Defence Solutions Centre13.35-14.05Panel Session Matthew Evans, Director, Market Programmes, techUK - Moderator Bryan Lillie, Cyber Security Managing Consultant, Capgemini Prof. Rob Rolley FIET,Head of Innovation - UK Defence Solutions Centre Geraldina Iraheta, Director of Business Development - Digital Catapult Session 2: Harnessing IoT skills across industries: Build, Buy Borrow and Bridge This session will address the changing skillsets required for organisations to make the most of the Internet of Things. We'll cover what the talent market looks like for IoT today, and how businesses can prepare themselves for their future talent requirements.14.05-14.30Keynote - James Hick, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup Enterprise & Jill Bassett, Workforce Solutions Director, ManpowerGroup Enterprise14.30-15.05Panel Session Jill Bassett, Workforce Solutions Director, ManpowerGroup Enterprise - Moderator Damon Ballinger, Manufacturing Training Manager, Dowty Maria Rancel-Lopez, Head of Procurement - People and Culture, Nationwide Dr Benedict Gaster, Associate Professor in Physical Computing, University of West of England Serrie Chapman, Founder, Women's Tech Jobs Evelyn Thompson, Group Resourcing Partner, QinetiQ15.05-15.30Afternoon break Session 3: Advancing Manufacturing through IoT This session will cover the connectivity challenge facing manufacturing and many other sectors, discussing how innovation and IoT can help to drive change and enhance performance for the future.15.30-15.55Keynote - Charles Paumelle, Co-founder and Managing Director, Microshare15.55-16.25Panel session Matthew Evans, Director, Market Programmes, techUK - Moderator Charles Paumelle, Co-founder and Managing Director, Microshare Amar Mundi, Senior Solutions Director, HCL Justin Paul, Director of Marketing, Zeetta Networks16.25-16.40Closing remarks. Martin Ewings, Brand Leader - Experis16.40-17.30Networking & Drinks ​

As technological advancements continue to reshape the context and content of work, rapid digital transformation is required across organisations of all shapes and sizes. In our ever-changing landscape, transformation has to start at the top and leaders need to lead differently to capture opportunity and stay relevant. Technology brings disruption, as well as opportunity. To keep up with the pace of change and remain competitive, leaders must be ready to lead through rapid digital transformation. And organisations must be ready to prioritise the need to develop digital leaders. A new mindset to be transformation-ready To be ready to transform, organisations must create a culture of innovation. Change always brings a level of uncertainty and resistance. It can impact decisions, hamper progress and risk disengaging people. So the imperative for leaders to drive the right behaviours has never been greater. Wherever companies are on their digital journey, they need to be even more agile and be able to deliver in the short-term while adapting for the long-term. They must take advantage of new tools and fresh thinking to help maximise opportunities. Yet, mindset and skills challenges – including resistance to new ways of working and feeling overwhelmed by complexity – prevent many organisations from achieving effective digital transformation. At the same time, a leadership gap exists in many sectors for digital leaders who are preparing their organisations to be transformation-ready. Developing digital leaders through the 80/20 rule Traditional ideas of leadership effectiveness will not drive sustained business performance in the digital age. Nonetheless, digital leadership is not a total replacement of these fundamental attributes. Instead, the 80/20 rule applies. Eighty percent of the competencies and enablers that have always made leaders effective remain the same. The other 20 percent is made up of the capabilities that are now critical for current and future leaders to be able to drive digital transformation. The 80 percent: Strong leadership skills are not to be underestimated Leaders have spent years developing valuable skills and experience. The current challenges of leading through digital transformation make this experience even more vital. Developing the critical skills and coachable capabilities of NextGen leaders is required to rapidly transform organisations. In addition to having the right inherent enablers, all leaders should possess Curiosity and Learnability together with Digital Skills and Expertise. The 20 percent: New capabilities for digital-ready leaders In addition to the strong foundation of traditional leadership skills, digital leaders also require the ability to Unleash Talent, Accelerate Performance and Dare to Lead. Existing leaders and high-potentials can be upskilled to develop these capabilities. These skills can also be amplified by infusing your talent pool with digital-ready leaders from other businesses that may be more advanced in their transformation journey. Amplifying what’s humanly possible in a digital world To lead in the digital age, business leaders need to combine the best of human and machine intelligence to create an inclusive, tech-enabled and forward-thinking company. Organisations at every stage of the transformation journey will need to identify, nurture and develop their existing workforce and future leaders to amplify what’s humanly possible in a digital world. Leaders that drive organisational strategy, set the culture, provide a clear vision and roadmap for their people, and identify, nurture and develop existing and future leaders, will successfully transform their organisations. Digital transformation is ongoing and change is dynamic, so agility and continuous adaption is essential. Leaders in the digital age must encourage a culture of measured innovation and experimentation within clear parameters, and they must learn fast. They should be prepared to quickly course-correct and optimise opportunities. They must break down silos and champion seamless collaboration and exchange of information. And, importantly, they must compete for scarce skills, engage talent in a greater variety of ways, and champion broader thinking and learnability, to fast-track upskilling and reskilling of their people. This article first appeared in the ninth edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

Technology has opened up fresh ways of working and getting work done. This means companies have more options than ever before when choosing where and how to build their workforce. Yet, overwhelming workforce data, changing talent requirements and shifting legal frameworks add layers of complexity to decision-making. Companies need greater market transparency, in order to be able to make better and faster choices about where to locate their workforces. That’s where the Total Workforce Index can help. Drawing on a global analysis of more than 90 data points, the Total Workforce Index evaluates skills availability, cost efficiency, regulation and workforce productivity of permanent and contingent workers across 75 countries. The result is a comprehensive report ranking countries where skills, productivity and labour laws make it most favourable to do business. The tool can answer questions like “How will shifting regulation and changing wages in a specific location impact our business?” and “Where can I find workers with the skills my organisation needs as technology advances?” It also offers specificity: “Where should we put our next office?”, “What should our workforce mix be in this country?” and “Where is the right location in my market to offer flexible work schedules?” Through real-time, robust data and tested insight, the Total Workforce Index™ turns complexity into opportunity. It enables businesses to execute a precise talent strategy that’s aligned to their unique needs, and most importantly, the needs of talent. Complete the below form to download your copy today. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "4674640", formId: "0baeb2f7-387b-44fb-a4e7-9a1fa5162b05" });

Digital transformation does not happen overnight, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach which works for all. When it’s done well, it allows businesses to drive new value for customers. Yet it relies on an organisation’s ability to effectively integrate their workforce with new technologies and quickly evolve their business processes. Our Digital Maturity Assessment is here to help. This short online test has been designed to give you a real-time view of your organisation and processes during your digital transformation. It allows you to measure how far you have progressed in evolving your strategy, culture, processes and technology – the four critical components of any change initiative. When you have completed your assessment, you’ll receive a tailored report benchmarking where you are on your digital journey, from aware, engaged, connected, to optimised. Whether you’re at the very beginning of your transformation journey, or if you’ve been on one for some time, the Digital Maturity Assessment will identify areas for improvement, so you can drive short and long term return on your digital investments. We invite you to click on the link below to begin the assessment. hbspt.cta.load(4674640, '18ce85b4-ff23-4593-ba12-9fd2876ce204', {});

More and more robots are being added to the workforce – but humans are too. For three consecutive years, our research has found that most employers plan to increase or maintain headcount as a result of automation. It’s clear that technology is here to stay, so it’s time to focus on how we integrate humans with machines. To learn more about the impact of digital transformation on the future of work, we asked 19,000 employers in 44 countries about: The impact of automation on job growth in their organisation in the next two years The functions they plan to increase headcount the most, and the types of skills they are looking for The talent strategies they are implementing to ensure a future-fit workforce. Our research found that by 2022, over half (54%) of all employees will require significant reskilling and upskilling. Of these, about 35% are expected to require training of up to six months, and 10% will require additional skills training that will take more than year. What’s more, 79% of employers plan to buy the skills they need, either paying higher market prices or improving compensation for existing staff. This report provides a real-time view of how automation is changing the way organisations operate: hiring more people, creating more jobs, and upskilling more so that they have the workforce they need to succeed. Complete the below form to download your copy today. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "4674640", formId: "1f70ac0c-f724-47da-a0d3-e7aae4033d20" });

Technology has opened up fresh ways of working and getting work done. This means companies have more options than ever before when choosing where and how to build their workforce. Yet, overwhelming workforce data, changing talent requirements and shifting legal frameworks add layers of complexity to decision-making. Companies need greater market transparency, in order to be able to make better and faster choices about where to locate their workforces. That’s where the Total Workforce Index can help. Drawing on a global analysis of more than 90 data points, the Total Workforce Index evaluates skills availability, cost efficiency, regulation and workforce productivity of permanent and contingent workers across 75 countries. The result is a comprehensive report ranking countries where skills, productivity and labour laws make it most favourable to do business. The tool can answer questions like “How will shifting regulation and changing wages in a specific location impact our business?” and “Where can I find workers with the skills my organisation needs as technology advances?” It also offers specificity: “Where should we put our next office?”, “What should our workforce mix be in this country?” and “Where is the right location in my market to offer flexible work schedules?” Through real-time, robust data and tested insight, the Total Workforce Index™ turns complexity into opportunity. It enables businesses to execute a precise talent strategy that’s aligned to their unique needs, and most importantly, the needs of talent. Complete the below form to download your copy today. hbspt.forms.create({ portalId: "4674640", formId: "0baeb2f7-387b-44fb-a4e7-9a1fa5162b05" });

We hear people talk about technology taking over our jobs, robots replacing workers, and even the threat of a world without work. New jobs and skills are emerging every day, while others are becoming obsolete. None of us can be certain what the future holds, but we can be sure of one thing: we’ll all need to work and think differently in the future of work. Recruitment is no exception. Artificial intelligence and automation is transforming the industry at pace and scale. But with the right skills and mindset, recruiters can augment, challenge and harness the power of technology, to deliver a more efficient and streamlined hiring process. In this podcast, Jo Pursaill – Talent Director at ManpowerGroup – talks about the effects that new technology is having on the recruitment industry. She explores the importance of ‘learnability’ in the light of these rapid shifts, and how recruiters can find and nurture talent across the different generations in the modern workplace. This podcast has been recorded as part of the Future Talent series by Changeboard, a global community for senior HR professionals. To learn more about the skills that will be required in the future of work, we invite you take a look at our latest Skills Revolution report. We asked 19,000 employers in 44 countries about the impact of automation on job growth; the skills they are looking for; and the talent strategies they are implementing to ensure a future-fit workforce. Download the report today to learn more about integrating humans with machines. hbspt.cta.load(4674640, 'dc46577a-992d-42d9-b4fe-e5856968a8c9', {});

Experis Academy was launched in Italy in 2015 and initially focused on the Motorsport industry. In March 2018, Experis Academy expanded their existing training offering by launching a new initiative in Kilometro Rosso (‘The Red Kilometre’), Bergamo, Italy. The Science and Technology Park is one of Europe’s primary innovation districts and idea incubators. In Italy, Experis Academy offers bespoke, one-off training programmes in IT and Engineering courses to provide specialised skills for the Motorsports, Robotics and Mechatronics (technology combining electronics and mechanical engineering) sectors. Content is up-to-the-minute and in line with changes in the industry. The Academy’s unique approach is characterised by partnerships with a limited number of companies that represent excellence in their sectors. At the Kilometre Rosso facility in Bergamo, partners include: The Confederation of General Industry Bergamo, ABB, Avanade, Dallara Automobiles, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Hitachi Italy, Hitachi Rail, Microsoft and Oracle. The advanced training and specialist courses are selected according to the needs of partnership organisations in an ecosystem or consortium. Organisations in the ecosystem contribute to the training programme by supplying subject matter experts – professionals from their organisations who act as teachers. On occasion, partners may supply equipment and training facilities. Students not only have the opportunity to be trained directly by experts with proven experience in their chosen fields, but upon graduation, they also have the prospect of being hired by partner companies (if they are a self-sponsoring student not aligned to an ecosystem partner). Stefano Scabbio, President Northern Europe and Mediterranean & Eastern Europe, ManpowerGroup commented: “The Skills Revolution requires a new mindset for both employers, who have a duty to support the development of workers’ skills, and for people seeking to remain employable and advance their careers by nurturing their learnability and keeping up-to-date with the latest skills. Initiatives in education to strengthen talent are important, but they are not the only answer. “The partnership between Experis Academy and Kilometro Rosso has given life to a new Training Centre for advanced specialist training in the Engineering and IT sectors – and is one of the positive examples that demonstrates it is possible to find new solutions to mutual problems and construct a stronger, shared future. For the numerous prestigious national and international partners of this project, the collective ambition was to build an ecosystem where people remain firmly at the centre.” Salvatore Majorana, Director of Kilometro Rosso, said: “The presence of Experis Academy to address the issues of Industry 4.0 is an important piece in our development plan. We have worked to create the best possible conditions and encourage the establishment of this prestigious reality, because we believe that it can bring value, not only to the companies on our campus, but to the entire territory. Developing individuals capable of managing new technological assets is an essential step to allow the industrial system to maintain and gain competitive advantage in the market.” Stefano Scaglia, President of The Confederation of General Industry Bergamo, added: “To sustain their growth, the companies of the region need an adequate quantity and quality of skilled talent. “This is the first Open Innovation project on human capital created in response to the need to build talent able to support companies in meeting the challenges of Industry 4.0. This has involved the creation of new and unique training paths where each partner actively contributes with lectures and business workshops. It is a unique experiential path both from the point of view of the content and the learning methods of the students.” Training for jobs of the future, today A selection of training programmes currently offered by Experis Academy Italy: This article first appeared in the ninth edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

Ground-breaking advanced training and specialisation courses for the Motorsport, Advanced Manufacturing, IT and Engineering sectors to create the talent and skills required to meet the current and future challenges of Industry 4.0. The significance of industry 4.0 Industry 4.0 is commonly referred to as the fourth industrial revolution and is expected to be a transformative, end-to-end digitisation of the manufacturing sector. It has been described as ‘the fusion of the online world and the world of industrial production’. According to global management consulting firm McKinsey, Industry 4.0 is a convergence of trends and technologies that ‘promise to reshape the way things are made’. Industry 4.0 presents numerous industries with significant challenges to remain innovative and competitive, not only for today, but for the years to come. Along with the challenges, however, come many opportunities to change the game by introducing inventive and original approaches to stand out from the crowd. Creating jobs of tomorrow While no sector is immune to the impact of rapid technological developments, companies that are highly tech-driven face the greatest challenges in accessing rare talent with the specialised skills to drive future growth, innovation and success. Experis Academy was created to address this issue – enabling our strategic clients in high-tech industries to change their focus from reliance on attracting talent, to developing talent with the skills they need. A different kind of Training Academy The Academy supports collaborating industry partners who are adversely impacted by acute skills shortages in key skill areas. The Academy’s focus is on increasing the size and depth of talent pools where critical skills shortages exist. To begin with, Experis Academy works with strategic clients to pinpoint the specific skills shortages they have, then identifies other organisations within their business ecosystem who are suffering from the same skills challenges. An ecosystem could be a group of companies in a supply chain, companies with shared interdependencies, industry groups, or a consortium. Once skills gaps have been identified and future skills requirements have been defined, Experis works closely with the ecosystem partners to create highly bespoke training programmes that address specific skills shortages. Rather than being an ‘off-the-shelf’ solution, content is highly agile, practical, and tailored to the needs of specific organisations and industries at that particular time. Training is delivered by subject matter experts who live and breathe their craft, ensuring each programme is tightly aligned with up-to-the minute industry needs and ever-changing skills challenges. Ecosystem partners have the opportunity to provide subject matter experts to deliver training, along with providing access to specialist facilities and equipment relevant to the training. As programmes are generally run at weekends, specialist equipment and facilities that would not otherwise be available during the week can be utilised. Benefits Individual talent: The opportunity to be upskilled and reskilled in niche, highly in-demand technical skills within rapidly transforming industries. Up-to-the-minute training delivered by world-class industry professionals currently in the field. Strategic clients: The ability to develop talent to meet specific skills gaps adversely impacting their industry. The opportunity to provide direct input into specialist training programmes created to increase the talent pool of rare, hard-to-find talent. Leveraging the proven Academy model in Italy, plans to expand Experis Academy across Europe are underway. Each country will offer bespoke programmes in line with market demand and local legislation, tailored to the unique needs of strategic clients. To learn more about plans to launch Experis Academy in the UK, please contact: mark.lonergan@experis.co.uk. This article first appeared in the ninth edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

Accessing workers with the right digital skills is becoming increasingly important for employers – yet many of these skills are in short supply. For organisations to be able to access the IT talent they need in the future, it’s important that action is taken now, to ensure young people consider the benefits of this career path. By starting early and building deep partnerships with schools and educators, businesses can ensure young people are work-ready when they leave education. One of the ways in which Experis is acting on this is through our partnership with the Raspberry Pi Foundation. By providing education, resources and tools, the Foundation aims to help more people access computing and digital making, so they can understand and shape our increasingly digital world, solve the problems that matter to them, and be equipped for the jobs of the future. In addition to hosting various company-wide fundraisers for Raspberry Pi, volunteers from Experis have harnessed their support and resources to establish a free Code Club for 9 to 11 year old students from Tyntesfield Primary School in Altrincham. Joining a network of nearly 7,000 Code Clubs that are run across the UK, the six-week-long programme is aimed at introducing children to a range of software development languages, and inspiring the next generation to get excited about computing. Demand for the Experis Code Club was overwhelming, and resulted in two Code Clubs taking place simultaneously, introducing 32 children to coding languages such as Scratch, HTML and Python. By the end of the six weeks, the children were well on their way to being proficient coders and had considerably grown in confidence. Alongside gaining a solid understanding of computer science concepts, they also improved their problem solving, communication and collaboration skills. Having received very positive feedback from both the children and the school, Experis is now looking at setting up Code Clubs in Edinburgh, London and Bristol, alongside a new Code Club in Altrincham. Reflecting on the success of the Code Club, Siobhan Thompson, School Office Manager at Tyntesfield Primary School, said: “Our children loved having Experis in school teaching a Raspberry Pi Code Club at an after school club. The classes were oversubscribed and the attendance registers were 100% every week without fail. This was partly due to the interesting, fun content of the course, but also due to the lovely staff who were warm, engaging and energetic, and delivered the subject cheerfully and confidently. We even had one parent asking if the Code Club was being held anywhere else where her son could attend. This was one of our most popular clubs ever! Thank you so much to the Experis team – you would be welcome back anytime!” 65% of those in Gen Z will do jobs that do not exist yet. Preparing young people for the labour market means starting early, and providing tomorrow’s talent with opportunities to learn about the full range of careers ahead of them. We invite you to join Experis by setting up your own Code Club to support children in your local community. To learn more, please visit codeclub.org This article first appeared in the ninth edition of The Human Age Newspaper.

UK unemployment is at the lowest level seen since the mid 1970s, while the number of job vacancies continues to rise. In 2012, there was a ratio of 5.8 unemployed individuals for each job vacancy. Now, there are just 1.7. The talent shortage is more acute than it has been for decades, and candidates with in-demand skills are firmly in the driving seat. To find out about the impact that talent shortages have on companies, we surveyed nearly 40,000 employers in 43 countries. We asked how much difficulty they are having filling roles compared to last year; which skills they most struggle to find and why; and what they are doing to solve talent shortages. Our research found that talent shortages are at the highest levels seen since our survey began in 2006, and employers in Japan, Romania and Taiwan report the most difficulty filling positions. In Japan, talent shortages are fuelled by an aging workforce, a lack of labour supply and immigration restrictions. Whereas in Romania and Taiwan, the growth of nearshoring and offshoring over recent years has left employers with unfilled roles – threatening growth and operational efficiency. In the UK specifically, large companies with 250+ employees have the most difficulty filling job vacancies – with 50% experiencing talent shortages. Large companies account for 0.1% of businesses in the UK, yet they employ 40% of the total workforce, demonstrating the significant impact that talent shortages will have on the wider labour market. Our research found that Skilled Trades, Drivers and Healthcare Professionals are the hardest skills to find in the UK. In fact, Skilled Trades have ranked as one of the most difficult skills to find since 2011, demonstrating that the problem isn’t going to fix itself overnight. Why UK employers can’t find the talent they need One-third of employers say the main reason they can’t fill roles is a lack of applicants. Given the low levels of unemployment currently seen in the UK, the lack of applicants may not come as a surprise. Another 26% say candidates lack the necessary experience. Another commonly cited reason why UK employers can’t find the talent they need is because applicants lack the hard skills they need (14%) or they lack certain soft skills (6%). As companies digitalise and transform, finding workers with the right blend of technical skills and human strengths is more important than ever. For example, sales representatives need strong product knowledge, excellent relationship management skills, and the ability to use digital inventory and analytics tools – three skill sets that are very disparate. Furthermore, IT functions need technical capabilities, alongside people management and strong communication skills. Finally, 8% of employers said applicants expect higher pay than is being offered, while 1% said their applicants wanted better benefits. It’s important that employers ensure their remuneration and benefits package is competitive, to prevent themselves losing out on in-demand talent to their competitors. Addressing talent shortages today The same old recruitment and workforce practices won’t yield different results. New people practices are required to overcome talent shortages, and employers are harnessing a number of key strategies to ensure they can secure the talent their business needs. In today’s world of work, new roles are emerging as fast as others become obsolete. With this in mind, employers must recognise that what you are likely to learn is becoming more important than what you already know. This is why many companies are beginning to tackle talent shortages by upskilling their own workforce: 72% are investing in learning platforms and development tools to build their talent pipeline. Companies are also trying to reach new talent pools, and attract people who would not previously have been considered for a role within their organisation. 41% of employers are recruiting from outside their traditional talent pool and looking to attract different demographics, age ranges and geographies, as well as groups like retirees, returning parents and part-timers. Added to this, more than one-third (36%) of employers are being more flexible about the education or experience requirements for their vacancies. We’re also seeing employers readdress their workforce strategy and utilising workers in different ways. Skilled talent is looking to work with employers in new ways, giving rise to a whole host of non-traditional employment models – such as contractors, freelancers, gig workers, offshore workers, agency workers, and much more. With this in mind, 31% of employers are using different types of workers than they have in the past, and 29% are changing their existing work model. The future of work We know that we’re operating in a high-change environment. Strategies that are effective at overcoming talent shortages today may not be so effective in the future. This means organisations must continually review and refresh their hiring strategies, to stay ahead in the future of work. Even if we don’t know exactly what the future of work looks like, we do know that companies perform better when they understand their people. And people perform better when they are understood. It has never been easier to identify people’s talents. Of course, this also means that if you want to remain competitive, you have to be even more discerning when it comes to spotting people’s potential before others can see it. By putting people first and creating a culture of learning, organisations can ensure both individuals and companies can reach their potential. This article first appeared in the ninth edition of The Human Age Newspaper.