Measures to address the growing shortage of skilled workers

Following a rather moderate development in 2017, growth in Switzerland is expected to accelerate in the coming year. The experts at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) expect respectable GDP growth of 2.0 % and forecast that employment will again grow significantly. Away from this positive development, companies and their HR managers face various challenges in 2018. For example, after several quarters of subdued momentum, employment is expected to grow by 0.8 % in 2018 (source: SECO). In conjunction with this, unemployment figures are expected to decline. For companies, this positive development means that the search for suitable skilled workers will become even more difficult in the coming year. Already now, a survey by the Credit Suissethat the shortage of skilled workers is causing problems for around half of the companies.

Agility and digitization as challenges

Furthermore, agility is increasingly becoming a success-critical criterion for companies. Nevertheless, the principle of agility has not yet been put into practice by all companies. Executives and HR managers will have to ensure that the speed, flexibility, customer centricity and adaptability of companies are adapted to the requirements of the dynamic economy. Last but not least, the megatrend of digitalization will continue in 2018. The changes not only affect business processes, but also encompass companies in their entirety: from strategy and corporate culture to work structures, communication and the design of digital workplaces. For future success, companies will have to align themselves with the requirements of digitization across all areas.

Skilled labor shortage influences key HR trends in 2018

According to Yeng Chow, senior manager at staffing firm Robert Half in Zurich, five trends are at the heart of how companies and HR professionals must respond to these challenges:

• Trend 1: HR departments need to be strengthened. The speed with which specialist personnel are recruited is a decisive factor for business success. Too few personnel usually means that goals are not achieved. In almost every second company, it takes at least three months to hire the right specialist - and even longer for management positions. This is a problem for companies, because the best candidates are not prepared to wait that long. In terms of the recruitment process, the main task for HR departments will be to shorten hiring times and implement efficient employee retention measures. To do this, they need to be strengthened in terms of personnel and funding.
• Trend 2: Digitization must be the focus of continuing education. For digitization, companies need employees with the necessary skillset. The need for and importance of further training is therefore increasing. Digital qualification is one of the focal points of companies' training programs in 2018. This also involves identifying the development potential of employees and teams in the digital transformation and equipping them with the necessary tools for future tasks. This creates the opportunity to meet the frequently expressed desire of employees for further development.
• Trend 3: Adaptation of leadership culture. Changes are also necessary in the management culture of companies. This must meet the requirements of a digitized company. Therefore, a development toward a cooperative, transparent and value-oriented management style will be necessary. What do employees expect from their management? What does optimal support for managers look like? Answering these questions poses enormous challenges for companies. Individual coaching and internal exchange of experience help managers to critically question their leadership style and to develop new perspectives and approaches.
• Trend 4: More flexibility for employees - and for HR strategy. The proportion of employees working part-time, in home offices, with trust-based working hours or with shared workplaces (job sharing) will increase significantly in the coming years. Companies will increasingly respond to employees' desire for more free time and work-life balance, thereby increasing their attractiveness on the labor market and securing the loyalty of existing employees. At the same time, companies will rely more heavily than in the past on flexible workforce planning and employ more temporary workers and specialists who can apply their expertise to digitization projects, for example, and are in demand particularly against the backdrop of the shortage of skilled workers.
• Trend 5: Higher salaries in the midmarket and attractive fringe benefits. In order to be able to recruit competent personnel despite the shortage of skilled workers, medium-sized companies in particular will have to offer higher salaries and attractive additional benefits. Performance-related elements will gain in importance. However, the target and assessment cycles will become shorter. In addition, non-monetary benefits will supplement salaries or replace them in part. The composition of these additional packages will be a decisive factor in whether applicants consider a job offer to be attractive.

Source and further information: Robert Half