ManpowerGroup’s Q4 2021 Employment Outlook Survey reveals that hiring intentions have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Though organisations are aggressively pursuing growth opportunities during the tightest labour market in 80 years, 69% of employers globally say they are having difficulty filling roles due to a lack of skilled talent. This is running at a 15-year high, breaking a previous high set in Q3 2021. The data suggests it has never been more difficult to attract, activate and retain talent that can fuel growth.Business Challenges Most Impacted by Growth TalentWhy is this particularly challenging for businesses? The lack of growth talent is a severe threat to competitiveness—both for individual organisations and entire economies.
“Growth talent” offers competencies that expand digital transformation, accelerate speed to market and deepen product or service personalisation. Let’s take a closer look at each of those respective areas and what they mean for organisations:Digitisation of Business Models or ProcessesDigital transformation and automation of routine tasks are escalating the demand for skill sets related to areas such as robotic process automation and information security, as well as greater digital literacy across workforces. According to recent ManpowerGroup research, 38% of companies are speeding up digitisation and automation as a result of the pandemic, while 17% have put their plans on hold.
At the same time, more jobs are being created than eliminated – 86% of employers that are automating plan to increase or maintain their headcount, compared to just 11% of employers who plan to reduce or hold plans to automate.1
The pandemic pushed all businesses online and every business is now a digital business. Without the right talent in place to fully scale up to meet the demands of a digital world, companies will suffer and ultimately fall behind their competitors.Speed-to-Market and Operating AgilityIn a rapidly evolving, innovation-driven economy, the ability to compress time-to-market depends on access to a wide range of skills— that includes everything from API engineering and sales acceleration to product and project management.
In an on-demand world, consumers have become accustomed to getting what they want, be it a product, service, or information, with a simple click or swipe of their finger. By bringing new, innovative products to market quickly, companies can attract customers while building both perceived value and brand recognition—critical in a hyper-competitive environment.Personalisation of Products and ServicesCompanies that meet consumers’ evolving expectations for more personalised experiences are better positioned to fast-track growth. This requires high-level, hard-to-find information and analytics capabilities that enable organisations to convert data into meaningful consumer engagement. Personalisation tends to increase perceived quality, customer satisfaction, trust, and especially loyalty toward a brand.Get a Competitive Edge in Optimising Workforce InvestmentsMarket intelligence tools such as the Total Workforce IndexTM (TWI) empower organisations to leverage comprehensive data and insights to address these pressing workforce challenges and secure the growth talent needed to remain competitive.
For eight years, the Total Workforce Index has provided companies with a vital edge in the race for talent. This includes the ability to see around corners and focus on short-, medium- and long-term investments in labour markets, sectors and skills sets with the most potential to shape the post-pandemic world. It’s a one-of-a-kind tool that assesses workforce potential based on over 200 factors across 75 global markets to provide a comprehensive view of four key areas: workforce supply, cost efficiency, productivity and regulation.
Download the 2021 summary report and visit the TWI website to explore the data and rankings. Reach out to the Talent Solutions team to learn more about customising the TWI for your organisation.
1 Humans Wanted: Robots Need You. ManpowerGroup, 2019
