A growing issue for HR and hiring heads has been the challenge of recruiting enough qualified candidates to fill positions. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are more job openings, yet fewer talent—particularly women and diverse populations—to fill them. A recent study by Perceptyx found that compared with six months ago, 48% of women are less likely to want to return to their workplace in a full-time capacity. In addition, 62% of women worked on-site in pre-pandemic times, compared to 57% of male employees. The report also highlighted that over 2 million women had left the workforce entirely since the pandemic began.
These hiring challenges continue, and according to research just published by Lever—the Talent Acquisition Suite designed with inclusivity in mind to help eliminate hiring bias—the Microsoft Work Trend Index found that 40% of people want to change jobs this year. Likewise, a survey of workers in the UK and Ireland put the number at 38%, and a similar US survey found that 26% of workers are planning to leave their current job over the next few months.
Nate Smith, Founder & CEO, Lever
"A lot of employers are really worried about the Great Resignation."
Nate Smith, CEO, Lever, said, “A lot of employers are really worried about ‘the Great Resignation’, and at the same time, they are trying to grow.” With high numbers of workers resigning or planning to resign and lower numbers of workers returning to work, there is a labour shortage in skilled and deskless areas. This has hit companies wishing to hire in high volume the hardest. A global survey of over 10,000 knowledge workers conducted by Future Forum—a think tank by Slack—found that the pandemic has changed workers’ expectations about work. The Survey revealed that 93% of workers want flexibility in their schedules, while 76% want to work in a location of their choosing. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 say they plan to change jobs, and more than half say they are open to taking a new job.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
