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Global Talent Trend 2019 Report From LinkedIn: How Your HR Department Can Stay Ahead of the Game

Global Talent Trend 2019 Report From LinkedIn: How Your HR Department Can Stay Ahead of the Game

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written on February 2019 by Marek Grygier

Global Talent Trend 2019 Report from LinkedIn: How your HR department can stay ahead of the game

With the recent publication of Linkedin’s Global Talent Trends 2019 Report, we thought we’d delve into a couple of the topics that are most relevant for all those looking to get the best out of their workforce. After interviewing over 5000 employers from 35 countries, Linkedin has come up with 4 main trends that will transform the workplace in 2019: soft skills, work flexibility, anti-harassment and pay transparency.

Soft Skills

Employers have noticed an alarming lack of soft skills within the millennial generation, who often show great technical expertise but struggle in areas such as problem-solving, time management and self-critique. HR and recruitment departments are increasingly looking for ways to measure these skills during the interview process and want to make sure that candidates are fully equipped for the workplace.

Work Flexibility

Work flexibility is another important trend for the rest of the year. Employees are increasingly seeing remote-work and flexible hours as an expected offering from employers. With gains to be made in productivity, workplace inclusion and cost-reductions for employers, it seems like more work flexibility is inevitable in job listings.

Anti-harassment

HR departments have begun to increase their efforts in preventing harassment within the workplace. This is due to increased public scrutiny and the knock on business effects it can have when left undealt with. A number of gaps are still however present between planned policies and their actual effective implementation in company policy.

Pay Transparency

Pay transparency is also set to be a major global talent trend in 2019. The gender wage-gapgeneral underpaying and improved transparency as a whole can all be improved upon by publicly sharing information on wages. 22% of talented professionals have reported that they will begin to share salary information within the next 5 years.

Flexible is the new normal

Since 2016 there’s been a 78% increase in job posts mentioning flexible working hours on LinkedIn. Whilst there are a number of benefits it can bring, including employee retention and productivity gains, flexibility also creates new responsibilities and challenges for employers. Many companies have a total lack of experience in managing remote-workers and enforcing flexible working arrangements. This can be changed however by receiving the correct training, using relevant tools and working with already established remote-work experts. 70% of employees who work remotely report feeling more productive and engaged, making it a key area for managers to explore.

The greatest reported benefit across all industries by talent-professionals is an improved work-life balance at 77%, followed by greater employee retention and talent attraction.

Flexibility will also see a greater amount of diversity within the workplace. LinkedIn notes that women are 22% more likely to categorize flexible working arrangements as a very important factor when looking for a new job.

Some challenges are however present when introducing flexibility in the workplace. Linkedin has identified three challenges related to remote work during their research: Team bonding, collaboration, and work oversight.

LinkedIn & Remote-how’s 6 steps to build a flexible work culture

1 – Know what types of flexibility your employees want

Flexibility isn’t always the same! Employees require different needs. Maybe it’s flexibility with a location that’s required, or maybe in working hours. Make sure to find out what everyone would actually like.

2 – Partner with teams outside of HR

Your tech department is equally important in ensuring the success of flexible working arrangements. Utilizing the right software when working remotely is key, along with new hardware and office requirements.

3 – Help employees connect through technology

Make sure to encourage frequent use of instant messaging and video conferencing. This helps to improve effective collaboration and create a work culture outside of the office. Don’t also forget the importance of asynchronous communication, as not everyone will be working within the same time zone. Being transparent about your workflow, determining a set frequency of communication and dedicated channels will all help your team to work harmoniously.

4 – Talk up your flex policies

Let your employees know exactly how your flexible arrangements work. Misconceptions can easily occur, so make sure everyone knows what the rules are and how to use them to their full advantage.

5 – Train leaders to manage flexible workers

A lot of managers won’t be too familiar with organizing a remote workforce. They need to have all the relevant training and skills in both technical and cultural aspects.

6 – Be flexible about flexibility

As technology and work culture changes, you can reevaluate your flexible work arrangement to make sure they’re still effective for you and all employees.

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💡Learn how your company can make the most out of the remote-work revolution in 2019, get in touch for a free consultation.
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