Talent Acquisition Newswatch - Issue 1.12

Mercedes-Benz invests over $2.2B in AI reskilling | Learning & Development | Mercedes-Benz is investing more than $2.2 billion into training its employees in data and artificial intelligence, with two pilot programs training over 600 employees in production, production-related and administrative roles. The program is to prepare for the future of automotive industry which is becoming increasingly digital and reliant on AI.

Half of Your Employees Are Looking to Leave | Talent Trends | 2023 State of the Global Workplace by Gallup finds over half of employees globally expressed some level of intent to leave their job. The labor shortage due to pandemic lockdowns has led to a more positive job market with many opportunities for high-potential, high-performing candidates, however 51% of currently employed workers are still looking for or actively seeking a new job.

What HR leaders need to know about Biden’s work with companies on AI safeguards | HR Insights | President Biden and seven companies developing AI tools have committed to developing the technology responsibly and addressing potential harm. These commitments include assessing technology for safety before release, securing it against cyber threats, and developing it transparently.

3 key ways to improve neurodiversity in the workplace | DEI | California Governor Gavin Newsom declared July 26th "Americans With Disabilities Act Awareness Day" in recognition of the systemic changes the Act has brought about. However, many neurodiverse individuals still face considerable barriers, particularly in disclosing their disability to HR or a manager. Dr. Hala Annabi, an associate professor of information science, identifies three distinct areas that HR leaders can focus on to increase neuro-inclusivity in their workplaces.

What makes an internship program shine? Meaningful work and flexibility | Recruiting & Retention | Yello, an early talent recruitment platform, recently published their list of the top 100 internship programs for 2023. The list highlighted what makes a successful program, such as meaningful work opportunities, a focus on innovation and new ideas, and flexibility and inclusivity.

AI Chatbots Are The New Job Interviewers | Technology | Companies are increasingly using AI chatbot recruiters to interview and screen job applicants, especially for blue collar jobs. However, experts and job applicants have expressed concern that these tools may be biased and discriminatory against certain applicants, such as those with disabilities, poor English proficiency, and older job applicants.

A ‘she-cession’ no more: After COVID dip, women’s employment hits all-time high | Talent Trends | Women have returned to the workforce at unprecedented rates in the US, with jobs in health care and education representing the biggest gains for women in the past year. However, many good-paying jobs in fields such as construction and tech management are still dominated by men.

Employers rank retention as top operational priority right now | Recruiting & Retention | Employers are adjusting compensation and benefits to enhance the overall employee experience and improve retention rates. Furthermore, employers are focusing on total rewards and the employee experience, as well as organisational wellbeing through HR technology, healthcare cost control and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.

Adapting corporate policies: Nurturing the next generation of AI-driven employees? | HR Insights | As the workplace evolves with advancements in artificial intelligence, it is important for HR, legal, security, and IT departments to collaborate in creating policies that nurture the next generation of AI-driven employees. Companies must be aware of risks associated with AI such as hallucinations, veracity, security, privacy, and a lack of source of truth.

8 Learning & Development Metrics That Your CEO Will Care About | Learning & Development | 8 metrics in Learning & Development that company leaders can use to demonstrate the value of their programs and prove the ROI of their investment. These metrics include how quickly new hires get up to speed, employee retention, internal mobility rate, learning completion rates, progress toward closing skill gaps, improved performance reviews, improved employee productivity, and number of skills learned per learner.

Everything employers need to know about changes to flexible working laws | HR Insights | The Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023 will enhance the existing right for employees in the UK to request flexible working arrangements. This includes employees having a ‘day one’ right to request flexible working, being able to make two flexible working requests in any 12-month period, and employers being required to respond to flexible working requests within two months.

CEOs have noticed: People-centric strategies improve the bottom line, survey finds | Recruiting & Retention | A survey of 500 CEOs across the globe conducted by Heidrick & Struggles found that 71% of CEOs see culture as a key driver of financial performance, and since 2021, they have shifted their view of culture and the bottom line in a number of ways. They cited employee engagement, increasing innovation, improving diversity and inclusion, providing employees with direction and purpose, agility, innovation and growth mindset, and positive spirit and vitality as key elements.

How a California Wine Region Is ‘Growing Futures’ By Turning Vineyards Into State-of-the-Art Classrooms | Learning & Development | The agricultural community of Lodi, California, is utilizing its winemaking history to create a career pathway for students through a collaboration between industry, schools, and the Lodi Winegrape Commission. The program, Growing Futures, is in its first year and offers technical education courses and internship opportunities to prepare students for winemaking, hospitality, and other related industries, creating a much-needed economic boost for family farms

.A Surprising (and Powerful) Truth About Great Interviewing?| Recruiting & Retention | Effective interviewing is all about maintaining discipline. The interviewer should not waste their mental bandwidth judging the candidate. Instead, they should focus on building rapport, asking the right questions, and capturing the data. Doing so will help them avoid costly hiring mistakes, get better data, less bias, and higher quality hires.

Ranked: Number of Agricultural Workers by Country | Talent Trends | 27% of the global workforce is employed in agriculture. India and China have the highest number of agricultural workers with 272 million and 229 million people employed respectively. However, countries in Africa have a higher share of agricultural workers, with Ethiopia and Tanzania having the highest share. In contrast, agriculture represents a much lower share of employment in high-income countries like the U.S. and Japan.

UK ‘risks losing workers to Saudi Arabia’?| Recruiting & Retention | Internet searches for construction jobs in Saudi Arabia have increased 293% year-on-year. This is due to the country's high wave of investments in giga projects, such as the Neom economic development zone and Red Sea tourism schemes. The Saudi construction market is projected to have a 4% average annual growth rate between 2024 and 2027, compared to the UK where monthly construction output decreased 0.2% in May 2023.

More Americans say they can never retire | Compensation & Benefits | A growing share of working Americans don't think they will ever retire due to the inability to afford it. This is due to rising inflation, a decrease in retirement savings, and the inability of many to save for retirement. Data from different surveys found that one-third of workers expect to retire at 70 or later, or never, and 40 percent of Generation X workers and nearly half of boomers expect to retire after 70, or not at all.

Tesla CFO resigns after 13 years at the company | Appointments | Tesla's Chief Accounting Officer, Vaibhav Taneja, is taking over as CFO, replacing Zachary Kirkhorn, who served as CFO for the past four years. Kirkhorn worked at Tesla for the past 13 years and is staying on until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition.

How the Southeast U.S. is preparing a battery manufacturing talent pipeline | Recruiting & Retention | The southeastern U.S. has become a hub for battery manufacturing, prompting the region to invest in workforce development programs to provide needed workers. The Department of Energy's Battery Workforce Initiative is looking to bring new talent into the sector by creating national training guidelines for local education and training programs.

Experts blame lack of trust as survey finds one in six workers do not receive enough mental health support | HR Insights | A new report has found that only 16% of employees feel they receive sufficient mental health support at work. This has led to an increase in anxiety among employees, with 55% having experienced severe anxiety in the last 12 months. This lack of trust is causing workers to avoid leadership roles, not lead team meetings, and not disclose mental health issues to HR or management.

6 Soft Skills Recruiters Will Need in the Age of AI | Learning & Development | Soft skills such as communication, empathy, relationship-building, critical thinking, cultural intelligence, and adaptability are essential for recruiters in order to get the most out of new technology and to ensure that diversity, equity, and inclusion are a part of the sourcing and hiring process.

America’s Truckers, Cargo Pilots and Package Carriers Are Fed Up?| Talent Trends | Workers in the transportation industry, including truckers, cargo pilots, and package carriers, are becoming increasingly frustrated with their working conditions. This is due to a surge in demands on these workers and is leading to labor standoffs at companies that are essential to the US supply chain.

‘Making the New American Dream’ a Reality at GE Appliance Factory?| Recruiting & Retention | GE Appliance Factory's ‘Industrial-College Signing Day’ event, which celebrates the acceptance of dozens of students into college with the help of GE Appliance Factory.?The event was part of GE Appliance Factory's mission to create a ‘New American Dream’, which is to provide opportunities for people to gain access to education and skills that will help them succeed in the modern economy.

Survey: Work-Free Vacations Elusive for Many?| HR Insights | A survey of 2,300 workers in the United States and Canada found that many workers are unable to take a work-free vacation, with 28 percent being pestered by email, 25 percent by texts, 8 percent by phone calls or social media, and 48 percent having difficulty switching off. Reasons for working while on vacation include anxiety, employer expectations, control issues, fear, and mistrust.

Don’t Let Your Company’s Culture Stifle Leadership Development | Leadership Development | An organisation's culture and context is important when developing leaders. Business software company Intuit has used four strategies to build a culture that reinforces leader growth. It outlines the need for leaders to be aware of how their culture and environment can impact their development and emphasizes the role of senior leaders in shaping that context.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Structured hiring is rooted in what we assess for every candidate… we recognise that different job profiles have different needs, so we assess on the same criteria derived from our values.” – Alison dela Cruz, Former Talent Recruitment Lead at Trivago

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