The New Talent Market (We’re Facing)

If you’re an employer waiting for the workplace to go back to normal aka 2019, it is never going to happen. The credit goes to COVID-19 and it accelerated (but did not create) the following workplace trends; the desire for flexibility, doing meaningful work, and the pace of technology. All these things have enabled hybrid and remote work but also transformed the types of jobs and skills needed. As employee expectations continue to go up, organizations need to change how they recruit and retain talent.

For a large part of the workforce, they’re still driven by compensation and promotion, but according to research done by McKinsey & Company, most of the talent pool has different priorities or wants more, and alas it is the responsibility of employers to attract this group. The worker-employer relationship is changing, and it will likely remain that way regardless of what is happening in the economy, mainly due to the fact that the roles where the competition is fierce—will set the trend.

There are correlations between earnings and purpose, loyalty, and engagement. If people consider the work they’re doing to be boring or if the workplace is awful, nothing else matters. Employers should reevaluate their employer value proposition (your company’s core benefits that make up your wider employer brand) to offer engagement and meaningful work and a welcoming work environment.

To succeed in this new talent market there are five changes employers should consider.

  1. Source Candidates for Potential
    Job descriptions that start with a baseline of education and experience requirements for roles that don’t really need said requirements to do the job are deterring candidates with great potential from applying. Broaden your search by shifting the focus from degrees to skills. By doing this you’re not lowering the barriers of entry, you’re just changing them. The tight labor markets are encouraging a move in this direction.

  2. Let Employees Create Their Own Career Paths
    Employees want flexibility and that means allowing them to personalize their jobs for how they work best and what they need. Additionally, instead of an established career path, they want to make their own way. After seeing how quickly things can change and the required skills can shift, employees want to assume responsibility for their professional development.

    In addition to developing a skill set for a specialty, people are also seeking skills that can transfer from industry to industry, so keep that in mind when hiring. As an employer you can even offer employees the opportunity to expand their skills by presenting employees with a courses or training in areas they may want to get better at like writing, public speaking, basic coding, accounting, etc. There are online courses that offer these skills and employees can take these classes at their own pace.
  1. Introduce Two-Way Learning Relationships
    Create a mentorship program that pairs more experienced workers with those with less experience but ensure that both the senior and less-experienced worker teach each other something. The younger person may have a lot of experience with a new software that the more experienced worker needs to know and the more senior person will likely have years of vital work experience and advice to share. This two-way dynamic gives everyone the opportunity to learn and corporate cultures that boost an environment where learning is valued is attractive to new talent.

  2. Allow the Technology to Expand Who You Hire
    Because of the technologies available that allow us to work from anywhere—whether it’s at the office at home or on the road, the pool of talented candidates you can recruit has expanded vastly. The flexibility to of these technologies have changed how work is done—employees can now collaborate with people all over the world so efficiently. You’re not necessarily limited to the talent within a 40 mile radius to your office anymore.

  3. Nurture A Corporate Culture That Embraces Diversity
    Pledging to do more to create a diverse and inclusive workforce is fantastic, however hiring diverse candidates that fit into your existing corporate culture isn’t the best way. It’s about ensuring that your existing corporate culture is supportive enough to include all kinds of talent. That’s when you get creative and innovative ways of thinking.

It is estimated that technology is going to transform a billion jobs and the hunt for talent around the world is going to be intense, but if companies, like yours can create a better employee value proposition and make your corporate culture attractive to increase retention rates, you will be able to face this new talent market head on.

Nexxt is a recruitment media company that uses today’s most effective marketing tactics to reach the full spectrum of talent – from active to passive, and everything in between. Learn more about hiring with Nexxt.

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