After what has been a few tumultuous years across the UK following Brexit and then covid, we’re starting to see local and global trends emerging that is likely to have a long-term impact on our future workplaces and how businesses attract Salesforce talent.
For instance, emerging economies that are gaining strong representation, demographic changes due to migration, technology developments that dissolve boundaries between sectors and change the way in which we work, and businesses operating on more flexible models, are all set to change the shape of the workplace as we head into the next 5 years.
Key focus areas for businesses to ensure they stay relevant and robust for the future are:
Work life Balance
It probably hasn’t escaped very many of you, but one of the biggest workplace trials has been considered a resounding success. Therefore, it looks like the four-day work week may become more mainstream, as it’s reported that many more companies are considering signing up for shorter working weeks. We covered this very topic in one on our previous articles, Will The Four Day Week Work?, which looked at the benefits to shorter weeks for both businesses and employees. In the past organisations may have dangled shorter working weeks in order to tempt talent into their business. Now it is likely to become de rigueur.
Changing Work Environments
The increase in flexible working, whilst creating greater flexibility for both the organisation and its team members, can often result in a slow-down of skills acquisition within the business. This mainly impacts those at the beginning of their career journey who are wishing to enter a particular technology space, or those working in very niche areas, such as Salesforce. As a result, we see the use of contractors to plug skills gaps. Whilst this can be very lucrative for the individual concerned, the skills themselves aren’t sticky within the business and are very transient. And with less people being able to get a foot in the door, we start to see a steady decline in upcoming talent, leading to further skills shortage down the line. Employers need to develop the capability to, create, manage, and increase talent across their businesses in order to stay in the competition.
Diversity
Increasingly we are seeing individuals drawn to companies that demonstrate they are committed to diversity and equity. You only have to glance at what’s trending on social media to understand how modern society is more alert than ever to injustice around discrimination. As a result, the modern-day workforce is looking to their employers to lead the way when it comes to inclusion and equality. This in itself can cause headaches for organisations as they struggle with the balance of hiring against a DEI policy or against skills. However, they needn’t be mutually exclusive. Many people flock to the UK for the opportunity that working here presents, many of whom possess scarce technology skills. Becoming a licenced sponsor for people migrating to the UK, could help to find a solution for both creating diversity and a multi-cultural environment and bring fresh skills into the business.
Income Uncertainty
There’s no doubt that everyone is feeling the pinch now. The economic climate and the cost of living crisis, has made pay and benefits a key consideration for individuals moving jobs. For larger corporations who can offer higher salaries and a generous benefits package, they may not feel the burden of increased costs, but for smaller SMEs, this could put increased pressure on them to perform. Companies, now need to think more creatively about how they reward their employees to promote wealth equality and income security.
In short, businesses need to recognise the need for change to stay relevant and to ensure they’re ideally positioned to attract top Salesforce talent. Companies that are innovative and entrepreneurial in spirit are more likely to fair much better than those than that are much slower to embrace and adopt new policies.
If you would like further advice on what the Salesforce skills landscape looks like, reach out to a team member today.