I had the opportunity to listen in on a webinar last week, presented by Kevin Wheeler founder of The Future of Talent Institute and respected author and lecturer on employment and recruiting issues. He made some very insightful comments about where he thinks the employment market is headed, especially in the near term of the next six months. You can listen to the entire webinar here. Here are some of the highlights I thought you'd find interesting, with my thoughts interspersed.
We all know that the unemployment rate is currently 10.2%, suggesting that there are loads of potential employees on the market. While there are in fact too many hard working Americans who can't find a job, there are still going to be shortages of potential employees in many highly skilled positions. Why? Because as a result of downsizing, layoffs and the like, many top performers (especially in the marketing community) have decided to start their own businesses. "Self employment grew seven times faster than wage and salaried employment from 2002-2006." We're becoming a nation of entrepreneurs. There are currently over 4% of contract workers, the highest number in years. Another illustration is www.elance.com has recently passed the $200 million mark for freelance work delivered.
Women are overtaking men in the workforce. Manufacturing and construction jobs are down, traditionally employing men. At the same time, healthcare jobs are up, traditionally employing more women than men. Women are graduating from college in much higher numbers than men. Women are moving into more management roles, and as a result will change the culture of work substantially.
Kevin points out that there is a rising "culture of sustainability". There's more thinking for the future, more thoughts of "sustaining" . . . everything. Growth rates will slow, including spending. There will be more savings, the idea that "simple is good" will prevail, "just enough" will be enough. The focus will turn to Reuse/Recycle/Retain/Refresh . . . instead of more and more, newer and newer.
"The idea of Retrain/Redeploy/Refresh will be the hallmark of employment." One of the things employees want most from their employer is "training" or "education" . . . professional growth which supports personal growth and happiness in the workplace. Employers will take existing employees and train them for the future, rather than replace them. There could be more promoting from the inside (even if they're not the "perfect fit") re-training where necessary. Retraining will be much more commonplace. Barriers to internal movement (either upwards or laterally) will be removed. E.g. Internal candidates will no longer have to "apply" for a position as if they were an external candidate, thus removing a "barrier".
Employers and recruiters will seek fewer, better candidates. There will be more effort (assessment) to find great cultural fits, then training the person for specific skills. Once internal recruiters have determined that the right candidate is not within the company, outside recruiters will be used more frequently to find those exceptional performing candidates.
Technology obviously is going to play more of a role in recruiting and hiring. Kevin believes that social communities will develop and flourish in narrow vertical categories. There will be video "everything", including as it relates to an employers online "brand identity". There will be virtual tours, online interviews, video assessment and simulations to help determine degree of fit and skills. Both employers and employees (candidates) will build online identities and then relationships. Resumes will be replaced with "Profiles".
The idea will be for the best employers to "attract" the best employees through effective communication of a culture that's supportive and nurturing for the long term. I started telling my clients years ago that they need to spend more time and effort retaining existing employees.
The workplace is changing. Savvy employers are planning for the future, and how to identify and hire those employees who can help them succeed in the future. Savvy employees are participating, communicating and growing . . . always. Being content (and complacent) is not enough. The world's changing, we all need to find a way to keep up with it.