Blogs by tag - Management Resources

When it comes to competing for top talent, healthcare and life sciences companies face myriad challenges. One challenge is the pressing need for IT and data professionals, which are common in all sectors—as ManpowerGroup’s Q2 2023 Employment Outlook Survey demonstrates. To take just one example, healthcare and life science companies are leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in many applications, such as the development and patenting of new drugs and the improvement of consumer portals that play a vital role in telemedicine treatment. The challenge here is that, as Chief Human Resource Officers (CHROs) are sorely aware, nearly all businesses in all industries are also eager to hire AI/ML skills. The competition is fierce.Other challenges are more industry-specific. In healthcare and life sciences today, including pharmaceuticals and medical device makers, divestiture and spinoffs are common. Pharmaceutical companies are exploring divestitures of non-core business units— think of this as a shift from Big Pharma to Focused Pharma. In some cases, it is easier for the large pharma clients to invest and buy research than it can be to do it themselves. Along similar lines, multiple healthcare giants are spinning out their consumer-focused health organizations. Notable examples include Kenvue and Haleon, which until recently were the respective consumer divisions of J&J and GSK.The great news about all these spinoff companies is increased focus and job creation. The challenge, for their CHROs and other leaders, is that these jobs need to be filled! The newly created businesses must start from scratch in creating an employer brand, anchored on a distinctive corporate culture that attracts and retains top candidates. And once again, the high-level skills required are in demand in every industry and every region.In fact, if there’s one point I find myself advising most often to clients and other business leaders, it’s this: recalibrate your sense of who the competition is. Whether you’re looking for your next AI genius or production worker, you’ll need to think outside the industry box. Those AI developers have attractive offers from the finance, automotive and aerospace sectors. And the production candidates? In their minds, manufacturing and packing your masks or drugs may be little different than making cardboard boxes, or picking and packing consumer electronic products or widgets. Their skills are in demand, and you need a compelling narrative if you are to land and retain them. Indeed, you’ll need more than a narrative—in spite of layoffs of high-skill staff at tech firms, competition means prospective employees are looking for, and getting, very attractive compensation. One trend I see in Millennial and Gen Z workers is greater willingness to change employers for a bump in salary. Make no mistake: these professionals whose skills you need so badly will jump ship for a $5,000 raise. You need to know the landscape, have a compelling employer value proposition —and be prepared to compete.Grow your own talent During a recent trip to Japan, I was able to study that nation’s hiring and retention practices, many of which other regions would do well to explore. For example, Japanese businesses are truly committed to growing their own talent. Companies are constantly scouting universities for employees; the battle for students with sought-after skills is intense! Japanese businesses know that hiring workers straight out of university is an excellent way to instill the corporate culture in receptive minds.That nation’s employers also genuinely believe in continuously upskilling and reskilling these employees. I can’t stress enough the wisdom of this approach; it helps CHROs address several of the big-picture trends from our World of Work industry outlook: Upskilling/reskilling helps current employees fully leverage emerging technologies, a key factor for healthcare and life sciences firms committed to digital transformation. As telemedicine continues to grow, upskilling/reskilling offers a growth path for the current workforce, and has the potential to reduce burnout and turnover. With the global supply chain under pressure, scaled upskilling/reskilling is needed to ensure newer manufacturing workers are properly trained in Good Manufacturing Practice, safety and regulatory compliance. Reading the room As I’ve noted, many of the most sought-after employees for healthcare and life sciences companies are Millennials or Gen Zers. In addition to competitive pay, these workers have a unique set of values and priorities that CHROs, hiring managers, and organizations must cater to if they are to compete.These generations have a well-documented set of values and priorities that are changing the very nature of corporate employment. In recent research, we found that today’s workers value flexibility, managers who are supportive coaches rather than taskmasters, and a team they like and trust. Work/life balance and mental wellness, not scaling the corporate ladder, are their watchwords.These traits are true across geographies and genders, but it’s important to note that women represent 70% of the global healthcare workforce, so businesses must offer a differentiated Employer Value Proposition to attract and retain them.Today’s workers also seek employers whose values align with their own. They want to feel they’re having a positive impact and working for an organization that they believe is a “force for good.” This is a powerful tool for CHROs in the healthcare and life sciences industries—which, after all, are by definition contributing to a better world.With this, one way to compete is to ensure that your corporate values align with prospective employees’ in the environmental, social and governance arena. ESG is of growing importance to the people you’re seeking to attract. At ManpowerGroup, we’re proud to be in tune with this shift in consumer values. It shows in our commitment to Net Zero, and we put our values into practice every day—such as during the planning of a recent international meeting with a key customer, when it was deemed wasteful to fly five representatives in for a single (important!) presentation; in the end, a pair of us flew while the rest of the team attended via Microsoft Teams. Women in the workforce is also a trait that we align with well in Healthcare and Life Sciences as we have committed to having 50% women in leadership by 2025.I believe this is an example of the detail-oriented thinking that’s required of life sciences and healthcare leaders seeking to compete for a finite pool of talent.The Healthcare and Life Sciences Industries are in constant shift, the ability to know the current trends- for both companies and those they seek to employee is critical to compete.About the Author Amanda Stelle is a Vice President and General Manager of Global Sales at ManpowerGroup, a global leader in workforce solutions and human resources services. She leads the Healthcare and Life Sciences vertical globally, bringing thought leadership as well as innovative and customized solutions that help clients adapt to the rapidly changing world of work and war for talent. Prior to her current role, Amanda was a Vice President of Client Solutions at ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions, where she was responsible for MSP strategic sales, innovation, solution design, market intelligence, and leading the sales team in North America. She also held various leadership roles at Mindlance and Yoh, a Day & Zimmermann Company, where she managed branch operations, P&L, sales revenue, customer relationships, and business development. Amanda holds a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Kansas. She is passionate about creating value for clients and candidates through workforce insights, best practices, and innovative solutions. She is also an active member of several industry associations and networks, such as Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) and Women in Technology International (WITI). Amanda lives in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area with her dog, Cooper and has two grown children. She enjoys traveling, volunteering, reading and lake time in her spare time.

Finding talent is a challenge in a time of economic uncertainty, but leaders are finding ways to do it.Anybody who reads the business news is reminded almost daily that the world’s largest technology firms continue to lay off employees in large numbers, but that doesn’t mean the market for good information technology workers is softening.Far from it—ManpowerGroup research shows the opposite is true. Earlier this year, we surveyed nearly 39,000 employers in 41 countries around the world. The findings were surprising. Even in a sluggish (at best) global economy, consider: 77% of employers across industries say they are still struggling to find the skilled talent they need. This figure is a 17-year high and actually increased 2% vs. 2022. The IT sector is still struggling with talent scarcity; 78% of IT employers reported they were still struggling to find the skilled talent they need. Employers across industries reported IT and data skills were the most difficult to find, with 27% reporting difficulty finding candidates with these skills. Hiring demand in IT remains strong. The Net Employment Outlook—the net of employers looking to hire vs. those planning layoffs—remained positive at 34% and was the highest of any industry vertical. CHROs, hiring managers, and IT departments worldwide don’t need to see the numbers; they’re reminded every day that identifying, recruiting, interviewing, and hiring vital tech employees is a massive challenge. In our IT World of Work 2023 Outlook, we identify seven key trends driving IT innovation and examine the effect these trends, briefly noted here, will have on the workforce: Digital transformation is accelerating in every industry. Artificial intelligence in its many forms (machine learning, large language libraries, chat, etc.) has exploded in ways the world is just beginning to grasp. AI in 2023 is what the internet was in 1993—with more far-reaching challenges and benefits The Internet of Things, already well established, will continue to grow at an exponential pace. Software development is being revolutionized by AI/ML and other factors, demanding increased attention to quality assurance talent. Enterprises will continue to move to the cloud, impacting businesses of all sizes in all industries. Security, security, security—it will become more important, and more difficult to staff, than ever. Automation and robotics skills will be vital as businesses seek to accomplish rote tasks via digital machines. With businesses needing to find talent in all these areas, it’s no surprise that many now view the entire globe as the marketplace; 55% of our survey respondents say they’re willing to hire outside their borders, with a particular focus on IT and communications. But this raises a fresh set of challenges. In the remote/hybrid ”gold rush” for talent, we’ve seen a big increase in “fake candidates.” These are people who lack IT skills but create impressive resumes. When it comes time for an interview, they may have a proxy feed them correct answers, or even stand in for them. Then these fake candidate become “real” employees and part of a large team that an end-client pays for. In my view, this is a significant problem that demands a solution. Reasons for hope So what are we seeing? I’ve laid out some major challenges, but don’t be daunted! While the statistics may look formidable, CHROs and hiring managers cannot and should not throw in the towel. Rather, they need to get creative, finding imaginative ways to fill their own talent pipeline. In my meetings with businesses of all sizes, I’ve seen some amazing solutions. Here are some reasons to roll up your sleeves and remain hopeful: Tech layoff jiu-jitsu. In this martial art, skilled competitors exploit their opponent’s body weight and momentum to their own advantage. As behemoth tech companies continue to shed the employees they hoarded back in the glory days of 2019, use the trend in your favor, welcoming these skilled professionals to your staff. Typically, young workers in the technology field set their sights on the Metas, the Googles, the Apples. But as those brand-name firms reduce headcount and freeze hiring, more talent becomes available to businesses that may be in less glamorous industries—but are great employers offering stability, flexible working conditions and interesting IT work. Tear up paper ceilings. In today’s environment, employers are getting more creative about hiring—and are doing more due diligence, often using the very big-data skillsets that are so challenging to find. The days of simply hiring by degrees and credentials are over. In IT, creative hiring often takes the form of looking beyond degrees to skills and traits. I recently spoke with a senior executive whose assistant had upskilled into a cybersecurity position within the company. The employee had no background in security, or even IT, but the savvy employer identified skills (both hard and soft) that could be used to fill a key position. Partnerships work. At ManpowerGroup, we advise clients to use a multipronged, fluid talent strategy: Build (grow your own talent), Buy (hire as necessary), Borrow (cultivate third-party communities of talent), and Bridge (help employees grow into new roles with active, long-term up-skilling and re-skilling programs). In that third category of borrowing, we see many creative partnerships in IT—large enterprises partnering with technology specialists to ensure they have the skills they need. IBM and SAP are one example as they team-up to help with cloud implementations; Verizon and Cisco, too, are partnering. These are not your father’s outsourcing deals, but rather side-by-side working arrangements intended to focus in-demand tech skills where they’re needed most. The IT skills crunch is very real, and it’s not going away anytime soon. But resourceful CHROs are finding creative solutions that will help their businesses not only access the skills they need, but snare competitive advantage by standing out in their industry. About the AuthorCarolyn Balkin is a Vice President and General Manager at ManpowerGroup, a global leader in workforce solutions and human resources services. She oversees the global sales strategy and operations for the IT industry, helping clients navigate the rapidly changing world of work and talent. She has over 10 years of experience in the staffing and consulting sector, with a focus on delivering innovative and customized solutions for complex business challenges.Prior to joining ManpowerGroup in 2016, Carolyn was a Global Senior Director of Commercial Services at FIS Global, a leading provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry. She led a team of sales professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, driving revenue growth and customer satisfaction. She also held various leadership roles at Experis and Manpower, where she managed strategic accounts and developed new business opportunities.Carolyn holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from St. Bonaventure University. She is passionate about empowering people and organizations to achieve their full potential through learning, development, and career advancement. She is also an active member of several industry associations and networks, such as Women in Technology International (WITI) and the Society for Information Management (SIM). Carolyn lives in Buffalo, NY with her husband and two children. She enjoys traveling, reading, and skiing in her spare time.