As business leaders grapple with pressing hiring objectives, the role of human resources is increasingly pivotal in 2024. Data from Deloitte’s Private Company Outlook reveals that nearly two out of three surveyed business leaders envision difficulty attracting talent that aligns with their organizational needs in the coming year.
Cash flow limits, finding local talent and retaining valuable employees are also key concerns for this group of 100 executives from U.S.-based private companies with annual revenues of $100 million to more than $1 billion.
Turning to tech
The talent shortage underscores the critical role HR teams play in supporting organizational leaders at a time when traditional hiring patterns are in flux. Considering AI’s promises of efficiency and new digital solutions on the market, many companies will budget for innovative platforms and software. In fact, one-third of surveyed executives said they would prioritize strategic investments in technology.
There is a significant reason to expect that talent acquisition tech will contribute to achieving this objective. At HR Tech in late 2023, Madeline Laurano of Aptitude Research Partners and Tim Sackett of HRUTech.com reported that 63% of companies they researched are currently investing or have plans to invest in AI solutions for talent acquisition problems.
Calling on skills
Like many business and HR pros, the company leaders surveyed by Deloitte emphasized the importance of specific skills. Information technology emerges as the top-needed aptitude, followed closely by sales/marketing and supply chain expertise. More than half of the respondents have committed to increasing skills-based hiring to ensure they find people who can perform in these areas.
Skills will drive internal talent strategies as well, with 43% of surveyed leaders planning to address their talent gaps through proactive training and reskilling initiatives. They responded that this approach would be primary, taking precedence over direct hiring, engaging contract workers or turning tasks over to automation.
According to reporting from experience management firm Qualtrics, the emphasis on training and reskilling not only addresses immediate talent gaps but also aligns with the evolving demands of the workforce, with many employees looking for career growth and professional learning opportunities.
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