New Workforce Models and Hiring Challenges

Have you been keeping up with the recent hiring and workforce news? Well, we are here to keep you updated and informed to help you navigate how your company can position itself to hire the best talent. We want to bring to your attention the news regarding the current challenges with workforce models.

In brief, the coronavirus crisis has caused tremendous challenges in how companies work. Businesses struggle to find the right balance of working conditions, locations, and models for their employees. Companies and executives need to be acutely aware of these challenges to operate more efficiently and attract the best talent to their organizations. More importantly, the executive search needs to adapt to the changing work conditions to help their clients connect with the best executives who fit their workforce policies.

In this post, we hope to:

• Show the new challenges to workforce conditions
• Explain what they mean to businesses attracting the best executives
• Suggest search solutions and strategies to compete proactively in the candidate marketplace

At the end of this article, we hope he will come away with a better understanding of what businesses are facing any talent acquisition, and we hope to provide you some solutions to navigating a new environment and recruitment. We also hope to connect with you to learn more about how we can help your business attract talent and compete in the marketplace.

What Happened

The pandemic has caused drastic workforce changes from work locations, safety requirements, and new technologies. Since the vaccine rollout, companies have been debating a fully or partially return to the pre-covid19 work state while also keeping the things that worked during the period of remote work. Hunt Scanlon reviewed an executive search survey to provide some key findings of how executives navigate this debate. Read more below about what they found.

Hybrid Workforce Models is the Future

As recently seen from Apple, executives are combining remote and on-site work requirements. Forbes noted that “44% of companies expected remote work to increase profits“. Many companies are looking to bring employees to the same work location around three days out of the workweek. Like Spotify and Salesforce, some companies have entirely ruled out definitive on-site work location requirements, showcasing how technology and strategies can aid a new workplace. However, companies like Amazon, Toyota, and Ford, will still require production workers to remain on-site with health screenings while allowing managerial and white-collar employees to work remotely. Leadership will have to balance the benefits of different workgroups in their companies to provide more significant benefits and flexibility to attract the talent and compete with other employers.

Workers obviously like the option to work from home, but not everyone wants to work fully remotely. Forbes found “Respondents to our survey also found remote employees have improved their work-life balance and retention rates by 46%“. A recent staffing survey shows that 54 percent said they prefer a hybrid workplace. Also, the survey revealed that 78 percent of workers want to return to a central location at least part-time. Employers need to meet their employee’s preferences to maintain productivity and retain their workforce to remain competitive in the talent marketplace.

No Commute, No Break

With wider adoptions of video conferencing and communications software, managers and executives have a hard time stopping their daily work because the extra time they have accumulated from no commute has allowed them to catch up on administrative tasks and coaching employees. A staffing survey points out that 24 percent said they work later due to remote work, and 26 percent said they start work earlier. Without a natural and physical separation at the end of the workday, many leaders and employees struggle to clock out and recover from a long workday.

Additionally, partially separated teams tend to divulge communications problems. Per a study, Digital communication tends to breed more conflict because social inhibitions are lowered. The BBC states, “And the lack of shared social identity that is more common in partially distributed teams can harm team effectiveness and performance, by impairing trust and team spirit.”

Lack of Desire to be On-site or at Work

Some workers do not desire to go back to a physical workplace at a central location because they value the additional time being with family. Many people are still struggling with child care and sharing daily responsibilities with their families. Others see commuting to a central physical location as a waste of time, and they consider this valuable time would increase productivity and efficiency.

More importantly, many lack interest in going back to their jobs because many seek more value out of their careers and employers. On one hand, the younger Millennials and Gen Zers desire work that meets their passions. An executive search survey shows that many Gen Zers decide to quit without having an alternative simply because they are dissatisfied.

On the other hand, Baby Boomers are nearing the end of their careers, and they seek employers that provide retirement benefits and long-term financial stability. Also, older executives want to positively impact their careers by receiving recognition for their achievements and loyalty at their current companies.

What This Means For You

Executives involved in workforce planning and hiring need to create a purposeful workplace that attracts candidates they desire for their business to meet their strategic goals.

Things to consider will be:

• Length and cadence of remote work
• Choice of crucial technology that breeds collaboration and efficiency
• Employee experience while at work
• Tying the hiring and workforce strategy with the company’s mission and goals
• Creating rules and processes that aid passions/recognition and decrease burnout

Leaders need to think twice and review all the information before deciding on their workforce and hiring strategies because it will help or hurt their companies reputation in the executive recruitment environment. Executives need various benefits, rules, and processes to bring the maximum value to their employers, and not all executives are the same. A catered approach to provide all employees with the most value will help attract and retain the best executives for their business.

How We Can Help

Chapel Hill Solutions can help your business attract the best executives and talent by helping create the best hiring strategy. Our consultative approach will help your business position itself successfully during these challenging times. If you are interested, please click the button below to set up a meeting with our leadership team to discuss your needs and desires.

We look forward to hearing from you!