The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly altered the talent landscape drastically. Whether it is for good or if these changes are just temporary is yet to be seen. As with all trends, these pandemic-induced trends will also be confirmed or rejected based on employee interest and its impact on bottom lines.

But now is a good time for HR leaders to dive deep and explore what these trends are, examine whether they should be implemented or not, and prepare the workforce to adapt and thrive through upskilling and reskilling.

While global talent trends such as remote work and virtual onboarding had already been seeing an increase in adoption even before 2020, the pandemic made them a talent imperative for 2020 and now even well into 2021.

Industry analysts point out that while the above trends reflect a changing employee mindset about the modern workplace, other trends in the background such as upskilling and reskilling are poised to redefine the workforce of the future.

So, what are they?

Talent Trends for 2021 and Beyond: Focus on Upskilling and Reskilling

A Holistic Employee Experience

In the past week, how many emails have you received that started with the lines “In these unprecedented times…” or “We are in this together?”

Clichéd as they may be, their intentions are well-meaning and pleasant. HR is actually concerned about the physical and mental well-being of its employees.

This is a win-win for both parties.

Today’s HR teams recognize that an employee’s out-of-office life is strongly correlated with their in-office performance. So, enterprises are now partnering with third-party service providers to provide their employees with access to services that enable them to take care of their out-of-office life.

Forward-thinking companies are also investing in upskilling and reskilling initiatives to support employees’ long-term growth, making professional development a key part of the holistic employee experience.

This means that the strategic recruitment team has one more bait to hook great talent.

Such holistic experiences are not merely add-ons; instead, they are must-haves!

Rethinking HR & Recruitment for 2021

Recruiting and onboarding have gone completely virtual in 2021. If analyst reports are any indicator, this trend will likely persist long after the pandemic has abated.

Virtual meetings are increasingly supplanting In-person conversations. This means that HR & recruitment teams need to be diligent in their candidate research and be well-equipped with tools to carry out the same.

Similarly, people management is also changing thanks to newer technologies. For HR teams especially, an increasingly work-from-home workforce means that it is getting harder to keep track of the workforce pulse.

While tools like Zoom & Teams have somewhat stepped up to fill in the gaps as a result of the pause in watercooler conversations, they are mostly task-oriented and are at great risk of becoming mere 2-D substitutes to human interaction.

In this environment, upskilling and reskilling initiatives are critical to keeping the workforce agile and engaged. Additionally, the need of the hour is for HR teams to engage in strategic talent management at the right time and foster a sense of togetherness. Virtual happy-hours, post-work socializing sessions, and regularly checking up with employees can yield several benefits in the long run.

Remote Learning Powered By AI

Upskilling and reskilling has become a trending topic in 2020, and by the looks of it, 2021 will also be a big year for employee upskilling and reskilling.

However, several enterprises and employees are now stuck with incomplete upskilling and reskilling programs with the pandemic playing spoilsport.

If you keep in mind that specific sectors like automotive & telecom are staring at a huge talent gap by 2023, any pause in upskilling and reskilling initiatives should be a cause for concern.

Thankfully, with most upskilling and reskilling now delivered online in an entirely take-it-as-you-please format, this problem has been significantly mitigated.

But there is one more problem—the problem of finding the right upskilling and reskilling strategy for your employee.

While traditionally, this has been an activity that has been done in-person among employees, their managers, and HR, remote working has added another hurdle, thus decreasing the motivation to actively pursue upskilling and reskilling.

However, AI-powered upskilling and reskilling solutions have turned out to be game-changers in this regard.

Every activity in the re/upskilling pipeline, from identifying job roles at risk of disruption to identifying ideal job roles to transition them to, how to get there and how long to get there, is done automatically and efficiently by upskilling and reskilling solutions included in Draup.

Whether you’re a customer care executive in telecom or an insurance sales representative, you can examine your skills gaps, both technical and soft competencies, and even explore alternate career paths that might be more suitable for your career.

New-age technology powered by artificial intelligence is the common thread spearheading the evolution of talent management.

HR teams & recruiters need to be aware of these trends and identify service providers/tools that will help them create the next generation of a sustainable workforce.

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