Building a future-ready workforce amid uncertainty

The tectonic plates of today’s talent management landscape are shifting under the pressure of financial market instability, crippling labour shortages and competition for in-demand skills. This has made attracting and retaining talent the leading priority for CEOs, according to Gartner.

Despite this focus, 83 per cent of HR leaders struggle to find candidates with the right skills. As external hiring becomes ever tougher, the attention of the C-suite is turning towards better leveraging the talent they already have.

Businesses urgently need strategies to create a fluid workforce, but only 24 per cent of HR leaders believe their organisations are doing it effectively. With this in mind, how can HR leaders future-proof their organisations against the uncertainty of tomorrow?

Ensuring advanced skills intelligence

Organisations need their talent to be more fluid to build, buy and borrow skills flexibly as business conditions evolve. In this context, robust skills intelligence has become a major success factor, but one which is proving unexpectedly resource intensive.

At present, Gartner research indicates that only 8 per cent of HR leaders believe they have reliable data on the skills their workforce possesses. This poses a significant challenge in terms of understanding current skills needs and preparing for changes in supply and demand.

At a time of such unprecedented change in the workplace, it’s harder than ever to predict the capabilities that will be required tomorrow.

To manage this shift, HR leaders should take a targeted approach and prioritise investment in skills intelligence for the roles that have a greater impact on the business. They can then further refine the focus to the roles that are also highly dynamic – those that are subject to the rapid and ongoing evolution in market forces today.

Having a more precise understanding of the organisation’s capabilities and needs for these roles allows HR to focus their investments on where they have the greatest impact on business results.

Embracing AI responsibly

The use of AI in the recruitment process is growing, offering automated solutions from advertisement to onboarding and the potential to cut timings from 10 to four days.

By 2028, Gartner predicts 10 per cent of hiring managers will work with an AI avatar recruiter to fill roles, up from 1 per cent today. As with any new technology, this naturally comes with risks, including an increase in AI-generated candidate profiles.

In preparation, organisations must be fully aware of the potential challenges and prioritise ethics and governance to mitigate the risk of bias.

Doubling down on DEI

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is vital to talent management. It can also act as an important strategy enabler, bringing talent into the organisation, building cohesive teams and retaining high-value employees. The potential continues to grow as DEI becomes more embedded into key business processes and functions.

Bias in talent management processes remains a key challenge, however, with only 38 per cent of employees believing HR processes are fair, according to Gartner research. There’s a clear need to de-bias job descriptions and recruitment approaches to ensure fairness and expand the candidate pool.

Importantly, it’s not enough to just remove degree requirements. The entire job description must be de-biased to include candidates without degrees.

Technology offers HR leaders vital tools to improve DEI outcomes. They can start by identifying which processes can be most improved with technology, then map them against the tools they have and those they require, considering both impact and cost.

Facilitating internal mobility

With the growing need for talent fluidity comes the demand for enhanced internal mobility to help close the skills gap. Talent teams often need to drive a shift in mindset.

Gartner research indicates only 24 per cent of HR leaders say their organisation is effective in facilitating internal mobility. It’s a barrier that is felt just as strongly by employees, many of whom wish to stay and progress within their organisation but face difficulties.

In addition, a recent Gartner survey found that one in three employees felt they could have a bigger impact in another role in their organisation. However, less than 25 per cent agree that it’s easy to change jobs outside their current business unit.

While HR leaders see the opportunity that internal mobility brings for employees, they often miss an important corollary: the personal risks and costs that employees perceive with internal mobility. Rather than focusing solely on the upside potential of internal moves, HR leaders also need to reduce the risks that employees see, thereby reducing a critical barrier to internal mobility.

Building fluid talent for the future

In today’s challenging talent landscape, HR leaders must rethink their strategies. Traditional approaches are falling short. Success hinges on mastering skills intelligence, leveraging AI intelligently, driving true DEI and reimagining internal mobility.

By preparing for and embracing these shifts, organisations can build a future-ready workforce that’s not just skilled but also diverse and agile – primed to respond to any challenges and opportunities.

Dion Love is the vice president of advisory in the Gartner HR practice.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.