64% of Spanish companies have difficulties finding candidates with the technical and social skills required in the current context of the pandemic, according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Projection study.
According to experts, the covid has caused the greatest labor transformation of the last two centuries, pushing many sectors to a digitization of work in an accelerated manner. And they warn that the changes produced have no reverse gear.
The pandemic and the changes caused to adapt to the new work environment has caused the greatest mismatch between the training and skills of workers with the operational needs of companies, point out from Manpower, which highlights that it is the highest gap in the last eleven years.
Companies are having difficulty finding staff in sectors such as manufacturing, followed by profiles for operations and logistics (13%) and administrative or office support profiles (8%). “Covid-19 has accelerated the digitization of many processes and now companies are looking for the perfect combination of technical knowledge and social skills in their candidates,” explains Francisco Ribeiro, country manager of ManpowerGroup Spain.
The study reflects that after the pandemic, social skills have become especially relevant for many jobs. Soft skills, social skills such as active listening, teamwork or the ability to learn and adapt, have become a key factor when selecting the best candidates.
By size of the company, it is the large companies (more than 250 employees) that today have the greatest difficulties in finding the talent they need (83%); followed by small (10-49 employees) with 67% difficulty, medium (50-249 employees) with 66% and micro (less than 10 employees) with 42%.
Spain is nothing more than a clear reflection of the trend that is registered worldwide. In this sense, the percentage of managers who are experiencing difficulties in finding Talent globally stands at 69%, the highest figure since the study began in 2006, 15 years ago. And yet it is other European countries that today are reporting the world’s biggest Talent mismatch: France with 88%, Romania with 86% and Italy with 85% top the list.
To reduce this mismatch and also attract and retain the best candidates, more than half of employers (56%) are offering flexibility measures to their employees. Thus, while 78% of organizations will need their employees to remain in the workplace full time, 13% will opt for hybrid models that combine teleworking and face-to-face and others will offer diverse alternatives to positions previously considered inflexible.
The objective is none other than to satisfy, in some way, a need clearly expressed by professionals. Today eight out of 10 demand that work allows them to reconcile private and professional life.
However, the truth is that now that vaccination plans allow some optimism regarding the Covid-19 health crisis, 8 out of 10 Spanish managers prefer to return to face-to-face work to reduce the level of concern generated by the possible lack of productivity of their teams (20%), the decrease in employee well-being (16%), the damage to the corporate culture (8%) or a reduction in collaboration levels (6%).
“Organizations must now reflect on the real possibility of maintaining hybrid employment models, guaranteeing upskilling and reskilling of employees, offering work-life balance, flexibility, and physical and mental well-being plans adapted to different profiles and promoting resilience in professionals” says Ribeiro.
