Top Stories & Industry Insights For Staffing Leaders This Week
Get an inside scoop on what's happening in the staffing and recruiting world with this roundup of the top news stories, industry trends, and blog posts from around the web from this week.
The tug-of-war between securing top-tier talent and the push to bring employees back to the office is still ongoing. Working more flexibly has become a non-negotiable for many professionals. After experiencing remote work's benefits, many employees prioritise jobs that offer hybrid or fully remote options, even over other perks - provided the remuneration aligns with their expectations. This need presents a crucial balancing act for employers: the demand for exceptional skills versus the insistence on a full-time in-office presence. Striking the right compromise will be pivotal in attracting and retaining the best talent.
Hiring contingent workers may seem straightforward, but behind the surface lies a complex array of regulations and requirements that can easily catch organizations off guard. As business models change and the numbers of freelancers, contractors, consultants, temporary agency help and gig workers grow, strains on the traditional employer-employee model can sometimes be played out in litigation and regulatory change.
U.S. job seekers are split on whether the labor market will heat up or cool down in 2025, with 33% predicting a decline in jobs in their desired fields, 29% foreseeing an increase, and 38% reporting the same number of opportunities, according to a Jan. 8 report from Express Employment Professionals. Job seekers feel divided about other aspects of the job hunt as well. While 51% said they’re optimistic about finding a job easily in the next six months, 49% said they anticipate difficulties.
Customer centricity is like figuring out what does the customer actually want, and then improving that experience, and as a result, we can actually increase the price. So, what I argue is you have the same analogy about your employees. If you improve the employee experience, as you do with the customer experience, you actually get more out of your employees because they’re more motivated. They’re more productive. They’re more innovative. As a result, they’re less likely to leave.
Employers across the world appear to be falling short in upskilling employees as per the latest "People at Work" report from the ADP Research. The report found that only 24% of the global workforce feel confident that they have the skills needed to advance to the next job level. Only 17% of workers also agreed that their employers are investing in the skills they need for career advancement. In fact, only 3.8% of workers said they learned new skills on the job within two years of being hired.
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Real wages increased by 3.4% between September and November 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, their quickest pace since 2021. According to labour market statistics released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), real regular pay rose by 3.4% and real total pay (including bonuses) rose by 3.2% on the year when using the consumer price index (CPI) measure for inflation. Regular wages adjusted for CPI but including owner-occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) grew by 2.5%, while total pay rose by 2.4%. Annual growth in employees’ average earnings – without adjustment for inflation – for both regular and total earnings was 5.6%.
According to Gartner, which generated $5.9 billion revenue in 2024, DEI initiatives faced heightened politicization and legal scrutiny, with 40% of executives viewing them as polarizing. Consequently, this has placed leaders in a challenging position: Preserving the business benefits of DEI while navigating complex external dynamics. Expanding on this further, CV Viverito, Director Analyst at Gartner HR predicts: “In 2025, most organizations will not abandon DEI but will evolve their approach.
Be mindful of how you present new tasks to employees who lack self-confidence. Rather than flatly saying, “I need you to develop next year’s department budget,” prepare to provide additional guidance. Offer some decision-making tools and parameters for the project. You will not only set them up for success from the beginning, but you will also be empowering them to have confidence that they can do the best job possible with the given task.
The WEF report highlights that 86% of employers anticipate their organizations will be driven by AI by 2028, with 80% of employees planning to use GenAI tools in the next five years. This shift is not limited to tech roles; all jobs now require some degree of tech literacy. For example, AI is already streamlining tasks like lesson planning for educators and data analysis for healthcare professionals, freeing up time for more creative and strategic work.
This week's industry insights are brought to you by the team at the KTRIAN. Weekly digest for staffing leaders to gain a better understanding of the economic trends influencing their business, as well as the human capital issues affecting staffing and recruiting to make more informed decisions.
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KTRIAN Solutions is an offshore recruitment process outsourcing solutions provider for staffing firms based in the U.S. and EU region offering a spectrum of services - full life cycle recruitment, sourcing and screening, MSP/VMS support, and executive search.