How the global economy is forced to do a rejig on all fronts

There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has left a trail of devastation and destruction along the slender economic fiber that connects every aspect of our lives, cutting cultural links and erecting geographical boundaries. The health crisis has morphed into a global economic crisis, putting at risk the survival, jobs and incomes of millions of people around the world.

That said, businesses and human resources departments are also having to deal with uncertainties in their hiring decisions. Unable to predict when the next crisis will hit, they have been struggling to manage their workforces in a constantly changing market.

Kensy Sy, general manager of the China operations at Alexander Mann Solutions, a global total workforce solutions firm, tells me that to attract the right talent with the skills needed during and after a crisis, organizations must revisit their workforce strategies. Human resource teams need to have considerable dexterity in redeploying, reskilling and upskilling talent to fill gaps as they arise, he says.

Many companies suspended production and operations at the height of the pandemic in China, especially in industries such as hospitality, catering, tourism and foreign trade. As the outbreak forced workers to stay at home, many began to flock to remote work platforms for new job opportunities, explains Sy.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, China’s urban unemployment rate for 2020 reached 5.3 percent in January and 6.2 percent in February, compared with 5.2 percent in December 2019. The drop was partly caused by companies reducing their recruitment operations due to the impact of the pandemic, Sy notes.

Last year, newly employed people in the country’s urban areas totaled 11.86 million, which notably exceeded the expected goal of 9 million and achieved 131.8 percent of the target for the whole year. While the first half of 2020 saw a sudden stop in recruitment activities, with firms choosing to freeze or reduce head count to sustain operations, job opportunities and demand started to spike toward the final quarter of last year, he says.

When geographic restrictions are removed, the talent pool will expand significantly, allowing companies access to a diverse pool of talent across borders, says T. B. Nair, an independent expert based in the southern Indian city of Bengaluru. Compared to bringing potential candidates to specific offices, remote work gives companies capabilities to identify and hire talent from different places and match their salary packages and benefits based on the market rate, he says.

But with the rise of remote work, employers will also need to evaluate and review priorities. They have to consider the right strategy to allocate resources to areas that matter to employees, whether that is job security or mental well-being, adds Sy.

A recent Gartner study found that 48 percent of employees will likely work remotely, at least part of the time, in the post-COVID-19 workplace, versus 30 percent before the pandemic. With heavier workloads and blurred lines between working hours and personal time, businesses must support employees who are facing burnout, it says.

One of the most significant recent changes has been that businesses have been forced to accelerate their recruitment processes, while managing them remotely and digitally to ensure adherence to social distancing measures. This trend is likely to continue until companies assess when it is safe to have in-person hiring and onboarding processes, says Sy.

While digitalized hiring will become more prevalent, there will also be new aspects like video resumes, online assessments or tests, interviews and exercises. The use of analytics for identifying the right talent will also become more prevalent.

The biggest impact of job losses due to the pandemic has been felt by workers in the 35-years-and-above category, says Sy. Many such workers had to switch career paths or move to other industries due to the pandemic, he adds. Though this is not a desirable trend, it is important for members of the workforce who fall into this segment to make the best use of digital technologies to keep themselves relevant, he says.

Employees should be open to work mobility and should improve their skills by working on different projects or performing different tasks. They should also be open to improving digital skills to keep up with the demands of the times. “Technology and digital skills give candidates a competitive advantage and also allow people to explore other opportunities,” says Sy.

Ullattil Manranjith