According to PwC’s 2015 US CEO survey, CEOs say they want a workforce that reflects an increasingly diverse customer base that’s more global and tech-savvy. They are also creating new models to pave a new path forward.
They are using data-supported talent strategies; fostering innovation-friendly cultures; thinking of diversity differently; and pairing up producers, the ideas people, with performers, those who convert good ideas to good business so that opportunities — the known and the unknown — don’t get missed.
PwC analysts report in a world with more opportunities, U.S. CEOs know they need to scale up their organizations’ ability to learn and innovate. They’re looking for talent in more places to fuel the bigger bets they’re making. In all, 80% of U.S. CEOs say they are looking for a much broader range of skills when hiring than they did in the past. And 92% say they’re using multiple channels, including online and social, to recruit candidates.
Skills shortages are a factor as companies revamp recruiting methods: 78% of U.S. CEOs are concerned over the availability of key skills, up from 70% a year ago. Concern levels are rising even as CEO hiring plans are little changed on the year with 59% expecting to expand headcount in 2015 versus 62% who said the same a year ago.
Stronger growth in the United States this year, and the added interest from CEOs around the world in growth from this market, will increase the pressure building on U.S. businesses to secure the people they need to expand in new ways.
In PwC’s 2016 US CEO survey, among the top 10 trends noted is that the millennials — the “digital-first" generation — last year became the largest cohort in the U.S. labor force, and the oldest among them are now in their 30s. There is agreement that top talent want more from work than pay, and that they want to work for companies that reflect their values. Understanding what motivates people to stay and help grow the business now and in the future is important.
According to McKinsey’s 2015 Global Growth Model study, from 2005-2015 there were three times as many workers as retirees. By 2025, the ratio of workers to retirees will be 1:1, making the candidate pool much smaller. Couple that with a need for specialized employees, especially in the technology and life-sciences fields, and it is clear candidates are in the driver’s seat.
Often entertaining multiple job offers, workers are choosing the employer whose values align with their own and one that lays out a clear path to career advancement for them — making a strong employer brand critical to winning the best talent.
The skills companies need are different, too. Most U.S. CEOs (65%) say they are changing how they develop their leadership pipeline. The next generation of business leaders will have to be comfortable with many new technologies.They will also need to be able to operate in a world with multiple stakeholders and diverse attitudes toward legal systems and values. The definition of global experience as a requirement for the C-suite is broadening beyond knowledge of overseas market demand and supply chain intricacies. (PV)
