Dive Brief:

• Private and mid-market companies are investing more in technology, which is changing how they compete for talent, a new Deloitte report concluded. Seventy-two percent of leaders surveyed see reskilling workers as a key tactic to compete in the tough talent market, according to the Deloitte Private 2019 Technology Trends report. The 500 executives polled said they are particularly interested in AI.
• The survey found that talent needs are driving much of this digital transformation. Sixty-eight percent of the respondents are planning to hire people with the right skills for emerging technology. In anticipation of shifts in marketing, sales and supply chain jobs, 54% of respondents are reskilling workers, and 52% are revising jobs to get people and machines integrated.
• Survey results also showed a shift in hiring contract workers among respondents; fewer are likely to seek the services of gig economy workers or use crowdsourcing compared to previous years. Also, only a quarter of respondents said they believe independent contractors help their companies maintain agility in maximizing new technologies’ advantages.

Dive Insight:

HR leaders reported a 12% increase in the skills gap last year, due in part to the changing needs precipitated by new tech and the shortage of qualified talent. The talent shortage is so acute that it moved from third place to first in a Gartner survey as an emerging business risk in 2019. In fact, the talent shortage surged past the top two risks in Q4 2018 — "accelerating privacy regulation" and "cloud computing" — to become the highest risk and the biggest concern for organizations' leaders in study after study. 

Organizations might have to mitigate the talent shortage by investing in upskilling new and veteran employees to build the type of workforce they need now and into the future. By some accounts, employees are already on board with the idea; while some doubt employees have the ability to change for the future of work, a partnership study with Boston Consulting Group’s Henderson Institute and Harvard Business Review Project on Managing the Future of Work found that employees are eager and ready to be trained. Workers are reportedly savvy about what the future of work entails, which may make upskilling an easier sell.

To see success with such a venture, however, experts say employers must create a culture of learning that enables employees to feel some level of control over their learning experience. Learning should be discussed at company meetings, in emails and on company websites, experts previously told HR DIve, and be a clear part of the company's plan for the future.