In early September, PeopleScout took part in the 2017 CWS Summit North America in Dallas. We were proud to be an optimum sponsor of the event, and we want to thank everyone who joined us there and extend our gratitude to SIA and the many knowledgeable speakers and contributors who made the event a success. The summit gave us a valuable opportunity share ideas, gain insights and enjoy a great opportunity to network. For those who weren’t able to make it, we want to share an overview of some of the trends we discussed.
PeopleScout at CWS
At the PeopleScout booth at CWS, we offered gourmet coffees to keep people energized for the two days of discussions and presentations. We also shared information and helpful resources, like our recent white paper on Total Workforce Solutions. For many companies with a contingent workforce, continued strategic focus means MSPs must go beyond business as usual. It is no longer just enough to attract contingent workers; companies must be able to integrate them into their total talent workforce planning strategically. You can read more in our white paper, Total Workforce Solutions: Optimize Talent Acquisition by Blending RPO and MSP.
Total Workforce Solutions
There is a growing global demand to bring together MSP and RPO services as well as a broader integration and analysis of the entire workforce, including an organization’s full-time workforce. Total Workforce Solutions cover the full spectrum of talent; including employees, independent contractors, temporary workers, part-time workers, seasonal workers, SOW, outsourced services and freelancers. These solutions allow organizations to think about talent as a whole, by incorporating both full-time and contingent workers into their total workforce mix.
At CWS, presenters showed that the number of employers having trouble filling jobs globally has increased steadily over the past seven years. These new competitive pressures combined with the changing world of work has organizations looking for new solutions. Presenters demonstrated Total Workforce Solutions as a strategy for combating uncertainty. A total workforce strategy that looks at both employees and contingent labor can help employers plan for and adapt to the changing world.
Managing Uncertainty
“Workforce Solutions for Uncertain Times” was a keynote session at CWS, but discussion of uncertainty spread throughout the event. Presenters talked about the transforming workforce. As baby boomers retire and millennials enter the workforce, the generational change is creating a new world of work. Many young workers don’t want to work in the same way as their parents and grandparents. Companies have restructured offices, embraced the gig economy and welcomed virtual employees to meet the changing expectations of workers. With another emerging labor segment, Generation Z, starting to graduate high school, more change is likely on the way. As the skills gap widens and the talent market tightens, organizations will have to adapt to these new ideas and expectations to attract and retain the best workers.
As the recent hurricanes in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean and earthquakes in Mexico and Japan remind us, natural disasters can create another type of uncertainty for organizations to manage. Scientists say storms across the globe are getting worse, which means organizations need to be even more prepared for when, not if, they will be impacted. Presenters at CWS stressed the importance of creating a plan for a situation where your workforce is unavailable due to disaster and deciding who will implement that plan.
New Technologies
Technology is transforming the entire talent industry, and several speakers at CWS discussed different technologies and the impact they’re already having. AI, machine learning and deep learning are already impacting the types of candidates that organizations look for. Companies are spending less money on labor and more money on capital investments. However, workers with the skills to operate and maintain the technology investments are in high demand. AI can also work for the talent acquisition industry, matching the best people with the right work and saving time for HR professionals.
New technologies can also disrupt industries. Uber and Lyft disrupted taxis. In the future, driverless cars could disrupt Uber and Lyft, which is why both companies are working on self-driving technology. The same concept applies in talent acquisition. Organizations need to look at new technologies and the way they’re changing work before they’re left behind. One presenter shared that more than 60 percent of temporary staffing jobs are susceptible to replacement over the next 10 to 20 years. The growing gig economy is attracting more independent workers who are drawn to new ways of working that provide more freedom. Talent acquisition professionals will have to innovate to avoid being disrupted.
If you’re interested in learning more about technology, you can check out our blog posts on AI and machine learning and data analytics. You can also download our ebook, Seven Tech Trends Shaping the Talent Landscape.
