6 trends that will affect employers in 2018

閱讀中文版本

Randstad US' analysis on hiring and workplace trends for 2018 includes six issues that are likely to affect the workplace this year, shared below.

1: The talent shortage will outpace wage stagnation

Many businesses have not yet updated their pay packages to reflect market realities, especially for hard-to-find talent. Hiring managers must weigh the importance of the quality of a candidate against the cost to recruit them, and companies that continue to keep wages below market will struggle.

2: Agile and flexible workforce models will expand

There's a shift underway in the long-held perception that in order to attract the best candidates and build the best team, organisations must hire full-time, permanent employees. In fact, 61% of workers expect to choose agile work opportunities by 2019, such as work from home, work part-time, and more.

3: Employers will hire for culture and soft skills, train on hard skills

While hard skills reign in sectors like technology and healthcare, less-teachable soft skills will continue to be critically important — even in a more technology-driven work environment. Employers will increasingly focus on training existing or future hires, especially when they find the right culture fit.

4: STEM skill needs will continue to increase

Although much of the discourse around the STEM skills gap focuses on jobs that require advanced degrees, mid-level STEM jobs like computer support specialists, web developers and engineering technicians are actually in highest demand. These present an opportunity for employers to upskill staff.

5: AI and automation will advance

Many organisations have already begun incorporating automation into their workflows. Despite fears that automation will eliminate jobs, the need for skilled humans to operate, use and advance technologies will remain significant for the foreseeable future.

6: Talent analytics will become more sophisticated

In 2018, more organisations will place data at the forefront of strategic workforce planning, with metrics that help them understand how to build better teams, make more processes agile or lean, analyse the utilisation of resources across the company, and understand the output of cross-functional teams.

Photo / 123RF