Dive Brief:
- Employers may not be looking at the alternative workforce as a strategic source of value to address the skills gap and contribute to company growth in a meaningful way, Ceridian has concluded after conducting a survey of U.S. and Canadian business leaders.
- Among those surveyed, only about half said their organization would increase its reliance on remote workers, independent contractors and outsourcing in a big way in the next two years.
- That's despite respondents' general concern about the health of their industry in the next two years and a belief that their organization will experience a skills gap during that time.
Dive Insight:
The skills gap remains a major concern for HR and business leaders alike. A January PwC survey, for example, found that CEOs are worried about a lack of key skills, with 55% saying today's skills gap is limiting innovation.
Some say that a reliance on contractors and outsourcing will see them through, as an agile talent plan can allow employers to scale up or scale down on certain skills as needed. But others, including those in the PwC study, see training and upskilling as the best solutions.
Either way, "adaptability" is the name of the game, experts suggest. A recent Forrester report said an adaptable organization is defined by its ability to: 1) increase or decrease staffing levels as needed; 2) eliminate a hierarchal system so that all employees' contributions are recognized; and 3) assemble or disassemble cross-functional teams as situations change.