The COVID-19 pandemic has slowed the demand for short-term talent in various sectors, such as the ones of construction, petrochemical, tourism or export. The freezing of their activity has caused it to fall, and yet, according to reports, global talent demand has grown by 7% in Asian countries, which have been fighting the crisis since December 2019. This crisis is not affecting everyone equally.
While some companies are sending their employees to work at home, others cannot as they are not equipped for remote work. In many others, it home is impossible due to the type of activity. This certainly radically changes the priorities of HR departments in recruiting new staff.
According to Talentlyft, the shipping and delivery, consumption (of food and essential products), online training and communication industries, to mention a few, are increasing their demand for talent in light of the present situation. As they need talent fast, they need a good recruiting partner with the right tools for identifying, managing and evaluating professionals.
What will happen after all this? The “Talent Gap”
The gap between supply and demand is going to grow, which will lead to a difficulty in finding the best professionals in time. Fear is reducing hiring, especially in companies with a presence in Asian countries, and candidates cannot travel to be interviewed. Even a simple handshake has become a problem.
Under these circumstances, perhaps it’s a good time to consider global recruitment to increase your pool of candidates, and online recruitment to eliminate those problems that are causing “social estrangement”. Now people cannot travel, and in the coming months we will see that the luck of “deglobalization” will remain. Why not be open to long-distance remote work can help you build the equipment you really need? It is a question of knowing and being able to adapt.
It is obvious that not all companies can afford this, so your choice will be to create increasingly safer spaces for your employees and make a greater effort to take care of your good professionals. Overall, it will be a greater task of retention than of acquisition, retention of the best talent that will tend to go to companies that have been able to adapt to this situation of “virtualization” or provide greater security.
What professionals will I need after the crisis?
Although the current situation is not good, we know that is only temporary. The uncertainty is enormous, and the COVID-19 crisis is shaking our priorities. But we must keep in mind that it is only accelerating what was already going to happen: a boom in the automation of tasks. While some jobs are going to be destroyed, others are going to emerge. The key, adapt. And it’s not just a matter of adapting professionals, it’s a joint effort between these governments, companies, and universities.
Related to this boom of automation, and rapid application of technology, these will be some of the most demanded profiles in the coming years and that without a doubt, the crisis of the COVID-19 will give you a boost: cybersecurity specialists (now that we are more vulnerable, cyber-attacks will increase), blockchain developers, machine learning engineers, Cloud architects, or Business Intelligence expert.
Reduce human interaction through chatbots or automatic inventory management in retail, virtual reality to display products or services without requiring physical presence in the manufacturing sector, or robots able to work in quarantine areas, collect rubbish or send medicines. These trends will very visibly condition talent needs in the coming years.
These profiles will require very specific knowledge at a technical level, but with great capacity to understand the business model. For other profiles with less technical qualification, but with great importance for the development of the company, you will need remote working skills, flexibility, proactivity, self-management and problem solving in periods of great stress and uncertainty. A person who works proactively and does not need constant supervision is a significant advantage, especially in this situation in which we have been forced to telework. How your candidates deal with this pressure is a good indicator for finding the professionals you need in the future.
