OSPE - The Voice - September 2016 - 31

what's happening to the world of work? Randstad is consistently tuned in to what's happening in the staffing world. We identify and report on the evolution of technology and how it's changing the world of work. For years, we predicted technology would trigger a significant shift. In fact, technology hasn't just disrupted the work trajectory; it's blown it out of the water. The very nature of work is being redefined. Whether you think the sky is falling (a bad thing) or we're in automatic fall over1 (not a bad thing) depends on how open you are to change and how quickly you can adapt. Your employability is directly tied to your creativity, flexibility, adaptability and innovation. Future employment landscapes will be increasingly competitive and dependent on your skill level. In 2016, the job market for engineers was slow. However, with the right specialty, many experienced engineers enjoyed a higher level of job security, because they not only designed the button, but have their finger on it. Employers will continue to do more with less. Computerized automation improves productivity, reduces waste, increases efficiency, and allows companies to produce and deliver goods and services in a timely manner with fewer, more highly skilled workers. We're seeing increasing demand (and competition) for technicians and engineers with the appropriate skills. According to the World Economic Forum, we're on the cusp of a Fourth Industrial Revolution, where "developments like artificial intelligence and machine learning, robotics, nanotechnology, 3D printing and genetics and biotechnology are all building on and amplifying one another. Smart systems - homes, factories, farms, grids, and entire cities - will tackle problems from supply chain management to climate change."2 A wonderful world if you're riding the tech wave. Less great if it's pulling you under. In the understatement of the year, technology is the driver of change. In the same way organizations are reducing redundancies in their workforce, they need to access a broader range of HR services from select suppliers who can provide a range of talent strategies that cover their total workforce. Employers want to do more than stay afloat, just as employees want to do more than simply hang on. Forward-thinking organizations like Randstad are developing all-encompassing capabilities. There is an opportunity to help clients plan for future workforce optimization. Effective hiring requires employers to seek a complete range of possibilities - both human (full and part time, seasonal, independent contractors, outsourcing, freelancers, etc.) and robotic3 that'll do the job best. Staffing requirements vary from company to company, and department to department. The needs of an accounting division differ from those of a sales department. Each requires a separate, custom approach. We call this Total Talent Architecture (TTA), an important part of which is analyzing employment needs from micro and macro perspectives, and how they impact individual organizations, industries, and society as a whole. This approach is strategic, flexible and completely customizable. It has to be, given the rate and speed at which business and recruitment are changing. All the pieces of an organization's recruitment flow must be considered, including identifying, measuring, onboarding, and engaging a workforce of traditional and non-traditional workers. This approach liberates organizations from the confines of vertical staffing, providing a wider menu to optimize production, contain costs and stay competitive. This approach offers varied opportunities for employment and a richer, more satisfying hiring and employment experience. It's more critical than ever to find new approaches to recruitment. How we work continues to evolve, unearthing new challenges and complexities. Entrepreneurs are today's business leaders, and increasingly Millennial. Mobile technologies relocate traditional workers to anywhere an Internet connection is available. For some businesses, traditional bricks and mortar are no longer required. Today's technology-driven markets are intensely dynamic, redefining and testing the relationship between employer and employee. Both sides are challenged to remain visible and accessible, focused on their goals, transparent, and still human in a world where artificial technologies are emerging faster than they can be processed. Ironic, isn't it? The one thing we can count on in times of change is change. 1 Automatic fall-over is an automated process where, if a system or server failure occurs, the control of data and applications will "automatically fall over" to a secondary system or server, with less costly downtime, and eliminating the possibility of inducing system failure during recovery. Usually requires, very little user input. http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/automatic_fall_over.html 2 reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/employment-trends/ 3 Total Talent Management Towards an Integrated Strategy for the Employed and Non-Employed Workforce; May 7, 2015; Staffing Industry Analysts, ERE Media http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/A/automatic_fall_over.html http://reports.weforum.org/future-of-jobs-2016/employment-trends/

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of OSPE - The Voice - September 2016