Talent Intelligence Outlook: helping you make informed workforce decisions.

October 19, 2016 Rebecca Henderson

One of my favorite things about being Group President of Randstad Sourceright is the opportunity to speak with business and talent leaders from around the world. Through these interactions, I get a firsthand account of the challenges human capital leaders are grappling with daily and how they view the future.

Facing multiple demands from many stakeholder in their respective organizations, they have the unenviable task of delivering the best talent swiftly and cost effectively under constantly changing conditions. Not surprisingly, one of the biggest challenges human capital leaders struggle with, in every aspect of their planning, is a need for market intelligence.

To many business and human capital leaders, intelligence is one of the most powerful, yet elusive, resources for empowering their decision-making. The volume of data is greater than ever. The challenge is to arrive at meaningful intelligence that can provoke the right conversations, inform planning and support strategic decisions. Relevant data, when provided in historical, sector and geographical context, can help provide that needed level of intelligence; and that’s important because, after all, knowledge is power.

That’s why I’m excited to announce the launch of our global Talent Intelligence Outlook Report, a quarterly business survey providing actionable insights you can use to inform your workforce and talent strategy discussions. We ask C-suite, talent acquisition, HR and procurement leaders for their outlook on past, current and future activities. This provides a rich, contextual view of how your peers around the world manage talent, how they invest in technology, what their business goals are and how committed they are to innovation and talent-centric practices.
 

cutting-edge developments

We’ve organized our inaugural Q4 2016 report to closely examine some of the most cutting-edge developments in the world of work, as well as the current and future business climate. Across four themes, we provide a comprehensive snapshot of hiring practices, the use of non-traditional labor, the adoption of talent innovation and the journey toward integrated talent management.

To achieve a true global view of how organizations are adapting in each of these themes, we surveyed more than 400 HR, procurement and C-suite leaders in 10 countries. These are the decision-makers who oversee workforce strategy, manage talent across the entire enterprise, inform business leaders on growth resources and lead transformative efforts to prepare their companies for the future. In addition to the main report, we are offering country-specific snapshots of what respondents told us in each of the 10 markets.

A few key findings really stood out to me, and these demonstrate how forward-thinking, strategic and important human capital leaders have become. First, they have been instrumental in delivering talent to the business during a very healthy economic period. Among a majority of respondents, growth is occurring either as planned or beyond expectations. That has translated into robust hiring in the past year that will likely continue into the next 12 months.

To support strong demand for talent, they are considering innovative ways to attract, engage and win great talent. At the same time, they’re learning how to leverage technology and automation to improve productivity and alleviate talent scarcity. Most human capital leaders believe developments in robotics, the digitalization of HR and talent management technology will have a big impact on their workforce.

Also, they see a growing use of flexible talent to ensure the right types of workers and skills are deployed across their operations. This has led to a sizable majority of respondents committed to or planning adoption of an integrated talent model. Clearly their opinions affirm what’s happening around the world.

market indices in 2017

To assess how prepared they are for transformation, starting in 2017, we will also release market indices around business health, organizational maturity and readiness in adopting technologies and integrated talent models. Every quarter, these indices will accompany updated economic and hiring data, along with additional new themes that capture the most pressing developments in the world of work. You will get an accurate assessment of how peers execute in these areas to help you determine whether you’re headed in the right direction.

We believe the Talent Intelligence Outlook Report will become a regular resource for driving your talent conversation and informing your planning decisions. By harnessing the power of market intelligence within the context you need, we hope you come away more informed and prepared for whatever your company may encounter in the road ahead. Request your copy here.

About the Author

Rebecca Henderson

Rebecca Henderson is CEO of Randstad Global Businesses and executive board member of Randstad. In this core leadership role, Rebecca brings more than 20 years of experience in all facets of talent acquisition solutions and technology. With deep insights and progressive perspectives, Rebecca steers Randstad Global Business’ development to ensure human capital leaders can play a strategic role in driving growth locally, across regions and globally. Rebecca is a highly regarded leader in the talent management field and has been recognized by Staffing Industry Analysts in “The Global Power 100 Hall of Fame.”

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