According to McKinsey, a staggering 50 percent of existing work activities in the pharmaceutical- and medical-manufacturing industry will be automated in the near future and thousands of jobs will disappear and new ones created. As manufacturers are accelerating their work with AI, machine learning, automization, digitization, advanced technologies and data analytics, companies needs to hire not just for their current need, but for the future.
The Canadian Ice hockey legend, Wayne Gretzky once famously said: “I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”
Hiring, retraining and retaining talent are the three biggest factors that set apart a great company from an average one. Now, combine this with a demonstrated ability to think FUTURE instead of just NOW when closing current organizational gaps and the company can gain a key competitive edge. Grabbing the attention of employees’ and external candidates’ and inspiring them to stay, develop and engage in a dialogue about solving your company's organizational challenges are more critical than ever. To succeed in this endeavor, companies need to build recruitment, retraining and retainment strategies that are innovative and future-oriented. For instance, when you are making a replacement hire, do not to think about the role you are hiring to as a 1-1 replacement, instead you should also have a firm eye on your future needs.
I know, hiring during this ever-changing economic climate is both challenging and unpredictable. Employees are currently leaving their employers at a record rate and figuring out how to hold onto your current talent and quickly fill current vacancies has naturally become your main priority. So, right now you are probably thinking very much in the short term – retain and hire to fill current vacancies 1-1. However, instead you should think how can I best retain, retrain and hire for the future taking into account not only the future of my organization as a whole but also the future of each individual employee.
“When you identify skills shortages and opportunities, think strategically”
We are facing a global reskilling revolution says The World Economic Forum believing that we need to retrain more than 1bn people on new and evolving skills by 2030, as jobs are transformed by the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. A study from LinkedIn shows that skill sets for jobs have already changed dramatically since 2015 - by a whole 25 percent. So, when you identify skills shortages and opportunities, think strategically, because abilities that are completely necessary now may be irrelevant in a few years.
In terms of hiring or reskilling talent you should keep a steady eye on the 7 fastest-growing professions of the future: care, engineering and cloud computing, sales marketing and content, data and AI, green jobs, people and culture, and specialized project managers. However, many of these fast-growing jobs are already now undersupplied and not meeting both current and future demand.
In addition to the mentioned disequilibrium between demand and supply of talent, we seem to be moving towards a more fluid market where workers leverage their specific skill sets rather than focusing on a linear path. This also implies, that employers will need to be less fussy about “career changes” and unorthodox resumés, as workers demand the freedom to assess next moves based on where their skills are most needed — and best compensated. So, what do candidates prioritize in a new employer? Three things. They want an employer that offers 1) upskilling, 2) inclusion and 3) flexibility – and an “employee experience” providing them with a sense of purpose and pride in their work and in their organization.
“Upskilling and reskilling isn’t just a nice way to attract and retain talent, it’s a necessity.”
In this highly competitive candidate market, more than ever it is important to hire meaningfully. Hiring not just for your current need, but for the future, will put your company in a more sustainable position. Additionally, upskilling and reskilling programs should be a leading priority for organizations if they do not wish to loose heir employees to the competition and stay competitive for the future. But, striking a balance between meeting current business needs and investing in the long-term development of staff is certainly no easy task. Sources: