Industry perspectives on top hiring and retention strategies for 2020

As year end approaches, industry analysts and practitioners are issuing predictions for 2020.

Research conducted by online staffing platform provider Bluecrew focuses on five emerging trends:

• Automation and upskilling: e-commerce growth will drive demand for more warehouse and delivery workers while automation technology will drive opportunities for upskilling.
• Workplace Flexibility: flexibility around scheduling and hours will be used to attract and retain workers without increasing wages or negatively impacting the bottom line.
• Worker classification: The struggle between government agencies and gig companies will continue and intensify. The outcome of high-profile litigation cases will set precedents as lawmakers continue to redefine classification criteria and agencies aggressively seek to recover lost revenues.
• Adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance sourcing and hiring will increase: By focusing on objective job performance data of employees and eliminating inherent biases such as appearance, employers will find more reliable, higher-performing workers and will be able to staff up significantly faster. [NOTE: see article on Illinois Artificial Intelligence Video Interview Act for indications of the limitations being placed.]
• Worker organizations and union membership: As backlash builds against income inequality and declining worker benefits and protections, private-sector, nonunion worker organizations will continue to emerge to advocate for fair pay and labor protections among various groups including teachers, retail workers, drivers, etc. Traditional union membership will also grow for the first time in decades.

Ceridian-sponsored research conducted by Hanover Research into ways companies will address workforce changes over the next decade indicates that nearly 75 percent of decision-makers are concerned about the health of their industry over the next two years. The top concerns cited in the research was increasingly complex regulation and compliance (55% of respondents), rapid technology development (50%), a shortage of skilled talent (50%), each identified by 50 percent and employee engagement (37%).

Respondents differed in their opinions of how technology will impact the workforce’s size. While 46 percent believe it will increase their headcount, 33 percent believe it will decrease it and 21 percent believe their workforce’s size will remain about the same. At the same time, 50% said they’d significantly increase the proportion of contingent workers they hire.

Implications for Workforce Management

A dynamic contingent workforce management program simultaneously driven by corporate goals and external market forces is required to keep pace. Reporting and analytics must continue to evaluate operational performance while also identifying emerging trends and opportunities for future enhancements. Managed Services Providers must provide comprehensive market data, evaluating the impact of regulatory change, technological advancements, service enhancements, and more. To learn more, contact us at marketing@nextsource.com.