How do you prepare for changes impacting your talent management strategies?

Talent management is undergoing more dynamic changes than ever, led by digitalization, a shifting workforce and the impact of automation and robotics. At the same time, the growing scarcity of talent is forcing many companies to scramble to meet their needs. What can you expect in the year ahead as all of these forces converge more tightly in 2018?

the overarching trends.

Talent mobilization — the engagement, attraction and movement of workers around the world — is occurring rapidly in today’s app-driven, gig economy, and the world of work has become significantly larger and more complex.

Another big workforce trend is greater adoption of automation and robotics. Their deployment as an enhancement and replacement for humans has many on edge and others excited. The rise of intelligent process automation (IPA) has the potential to automate 50% to 70% of tasks, according to McKinsey.

A clear example of how companies are changing make-up of the workforce is the growing number of temps, contractors, gig workers and freelancers. This turns out to be a double-edge sword. On one hand, companies are becoming more agile by using more flexible talent. At the same time, workforce planning has become more complicated.

Social networking is increasingly an important channel for workers to find jobs and employers to find talent. Every company should have a strategy in place for making the most of Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter when recruiting.

inside HR in the year ahead.

Here are some of the trends you can expect HR to embrace in 2018:

•          Coaching and development, aimed at raising performance, will take center stage. With talent scarce and digitalization requiring new skill sets, many companies are looking to their own by employees to support new ventures.

•          Predictive analytics is increasingly a part of every HR organization’s operations as it provides business insights to help company better manage its people resources. This will be the foundation on which a company’s HR technology stack is built.

•           Every company will need to focus on employer branding as they face growing talent scarcity. Jobseekers now have more work choices and access to information about prospective employers, so companies must present themselves in the best light.

To find out more about the big trends shaping the world of work, download Randstad Sourceright 2017 Talent Trends Report.