World views: How are recruitment professionals across the globe making a social impact?

Labour market reboots, reskilling, evolving worker priorities and world of work transformations are top of agenda in most countries. So, there has never been a better opportunity to shine a light on the positive contribution of recruitment professionals and of the businesses they work for in developing innovative approaches to intensifying workforce challenges. This is the mission, not just here in the UK, but across the globe.

This showcasing role is at the heart of the work of the World Employment Confederation (WEC) – the representative body for the global HR services industry – and is the core driver of its annual Social Impact Report. As an example, below are seven solutions to the skills and staffing squeeze identified in last year’s report:

1. Helping employers to review resourcing strategies and recruitment procedures - Employers are having to review established resourcing and recruitment strategies out of necessity. This has been the platform for HR services professionals to demonstrate their expertise and provide strategic advice and support to employers.
    

2. Delivering agile staffing solutions to mitigate the impact of skills and labour shortages - The skills mismatch is not only making it harder to hire permanent staff but is also making the whole process increasingly drawn-out. The ability to access temporary, contract and interim management staff (for more senior and technical roles) is providing a vital outlet for employers.
   
   Across the world, over one-third of agency workers were previously unemployed or inactive. This demonstrates the role that temporary work plays in not only helping individual jobseekers to progress through work, but also in helping employers to access new staff.
    

3. Taking a lead on reskilling, transitions and career management - According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 1.1 billion jobs are liable to be radically transformed in the next decade. The global HR services industry is at the forefront of making positive change happen, by helping to identify the most in-demand skills and pre-empting future skills needs, working in partnership with colleges and training providers and feeding into policy debates around skills and the future of work.
    

4. Supporting international recruitment drives - With candidate shortages intensifying in many countries, there is one other important short-term solution: hiring staff from overseas. There are political, social, financial and practical challenges associated with international recruitment. But HR services firms are using their expertise and networks to manage these risks and ensure positive outcomes for workers and employers.
    

5. Adopting a sector-specific approach to staffing and skills shortages - Addressing the evolving skills and staffing needs of employers – from professional services to logistics, from hospitality to healthcare – requires a clear understanding of the sector and of the skills needed to fill specific roles. The HR services sector is stepping up by boosting the sectoral expertise of front-line consultants and by taking part in sector-specific skills initiatives.
    

6. Bridging the expectation gap - Hiring campaigns will not succeed unless the evolving needs and expectations of workers and candidates are taken into account. This is being reflected in changes to organisational culture and employer brand revamps. Worldwide, close to 60 million individuals access new work opportunities through the private employment services industry each year. With this comes awareness of what makes people tick, what factors impact employment-related decisions the most, and what really drives performance, discretionary effort and a sense of belonging. Nurturing this understanding is at the very heart of being a ‘people industry’.
    

7. Building a strong collective voice to influence future skills and employment policy - Addressing the skills mismatch and intensifying labour shortages requires a concerted policy response. The global recruitment and HR Services Industry must remain at the forefront of global and national level debates around skills, employment, and the future of work. Creating the right policy and regulatory framework will provide a platform for the sector to use its expertise and energy to maximum effect and play its part in closing skills gaps.  

Bespoke research like the WEC’s Social Impact Report looks beyond what could or should be done and focuses on what the industry is already doing to make a difference through recruitment innovation, agile staffing, reskilling support and other practical ways forward. It also offers a powerful reminder of the pivotal and pioneering role that recruitment professionals play in the UK and across the world.