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The G-P leadership team weighs in on global hiring trends, HR tech and what’s important to employees in 2023
We are living through a transformational age, redefining what work means for all of us along the way.
There has been significant change, especially in the areas of HR technology and recruitment over the last couple of years. As a company that provides access to talent so companies can grow and scale internationally, we asked our leadership team here at G-P what they foresee in 2023. They provided insights on everything from employee culture to technology trends, to potential economic and market obstacles and of course their perspective on what next in terms of global hiring.
Here are eight predicted trends to consider as you start to think about HR practices in 2023:
Bob Cahill, CEO, G-P
Prediction: The Global Talent Pool Will Become More Important and Discerning Than Ever Before
Work the World: The convergence of workforce trends created a diverse, global talent pool for organizations to source from – and these workers will prioritize job opportunities with benefits like the flexibility to work whenever, wherever (while developing new skills along the way).
“G-P recently conducted a study to examine how the global workforce feels about their professional future. We found, almost universally, that workers are, and will continue to be, invested in their careers. And for many, this is about much more than a paycheck. Despite economic uncertainty and other challenges, employees are still planning for new opportunities, including career changes, and are willing to put in the time it takes to reskill and learn new things. The fact of the matter is, despite some of the more ominous assertions that you may read about, the global workforce wants to work and is engaged in their trajectory. They want to be compensated fairly – both pay and benefits – and they want to learn and grow. In unpredictable times, this is very optimistic news and will have a positive impact on the global talent pool especially as talent is more accessible than it’s ever been before – particularly in historically challenging sectors, like tech.
In 2023 and beyond, we’ll start to see some of the workforce trends of the last few years converge – the rise of remote work means that employees now have more control over who they work for – they aren’t locked in geographically, they have more control over their hours and have the opportunity to explore employment opportunities in new industries or with companies that are closely aligned with their personal values, beliefs and passions. This will bring more diversity, of both thought and experience, to the workforce which is good for employees, employers, and society as a whole.
There is no doubt that there are challenging times ahead of us – but the Future of Work is here – and it’s going to center around employee experience. Employers need to rethink how they recruit, hire, manage and retain their employees – from where they find talent to how they keep workers engaged – focusing on professional development (including reskilling and training) and creating future opportunity.”
Nat Natarajan, Chief Product and Strategy Officer, G-P
Prediction: 2023 Will Result in Consolidation for the HR Tech Market
Tools for the Trade: Recent workforce trends brought about an emergence of new tools and technologies to assist HR teams – but not all technologies are created equal. In 2023, complexity of the global workforce will have us asking: How does my tech stack actually stack up?
“The market for HR technology has gotten incredibly crowded over the last few years – driven largely by pandemic tailwinds and other workforce trends. The industry has had to be incredibly agile –adjusting to meet the needs of customers as priorities and workflows have shifted multiple times, including moving from remote work to hybrid/return-to-office models . This has led to the emergence of new players and technologies, more competition – and quite frankly, an overwhelming number of solutions for businesses to understand and adopt. HR has certainly experienced digital transformation – there’s no turning back from this – but businesses are going to look more critically at what their needs are, and how they can optimize their tech stack.
Budget constraints and the uncertain economy will force tech to solve problems at a lower cost and with greater value creation. Teams are already feeling the same overwhelm that other areas experiencing digital transformation have – too many point solutions, and a desire to streamline tech investments to see real ROI.
In the months ahead companies will also need to think critically about how they access talent, and use technology to make the process of recruiting, managing and engaging employees as frictionless as possible.”
Heidi Arkinstall, Chief Marketing Officer, G-P
Prediction: Hiring will need to take a very collaborative approach for organizations in 2023
Marketing + HR team together. Corporate recruitment and marketing is now a team sport. As organizations unlock access to the global talent pool, so do their competitors – and a comprehensive employer marketing strategy will become an essential pillar of recruiting talent.
“Hiring is now everyone’s concern. This means a greater emphasis on building programs like internal referral networks and driving positive employee reviews in order to put their brand in front of the best global talent. It also will prompt more companies to evolve areas like internal mentorship programs and employee-led, interview processes to improve those experiences.
Candidates are looking for employers that have a clear vision and mission supported by the brand and that will go a step further in 2023. Brand and HR teams will partner even more meaningfully to activate employees as brand advocates.
Employer marketing, which is the marketing of the employee experience itself, will take a more prominent role in the overall brand strategy. Communicating to the world that a company is enjoyable to work for, that they treat their employees well, and that they are doing work that creates a positive impact in the world will, be hugely important as more candidates are in search of healthier company cultures and benefits.
Remote working has resulted in the realization that businesses can hire anyone, anywhere with companies moving away from the notion that they need to look for talent within a 50-mile radius of their headquarters. In the year ahead, it won’t just be companies we’ll see taking on a global mindset about employment. Talented professionals will also look beyond their borders to seek out opportunities with companies that share their values and can offer them opportunities for growth regardless of where those companies are based.
Melissa Cooper, Chief Operating Officer, G-P
Prediction: Transferable Skills Will Rule in 2023
New Year, New Career: More than a quarter of today’s workers want to change industries entirely— and as competition for global talent heats up, G-P’s research found training opportunities and chances to use their transferrable skills could be enough to convince workers to make the jump.
Even with an economic slowdown, there continues to be an unmet need for talent across many industries around the globe. There are many workers who have transferrable and high-value technical skills, and they will be in great demand for companies next year.
Additionally, we know that 26% of employees are looking to change careers entirely post-pandemic, according to the 2022 G-P Global Employee survey. It’s going to create a wide-open door for many businesses looking to recruit and hire high-quality employees.
We expect to see employees in tech and related industries train and develop new skills in new areas. However, according to findings from the G-P survey, employers looking to recruit and hire these individuals must keep in mind employees’ hesitation to take entry-level positions and the potential costs associated with making a career change, which will both be major concerns of career-shifting employees Career shifts will be a significant theme in 2023 because of the unique combination of global economic despondency and the growing, global, hybrid/remote-first workforce. All of these factors will prompt businesses to rethink how they recruit, hire and manage their workforce.
Richa Gupta, Chief Human Resource Officer, G-P
Prediction: In 2023 a flexible and supportive culture and compassionate leadership will be the top value proposition for employees
Choose Your Own (Professional) Adventure: Soft Perks like work schedule flexibility with increased focus on mental health will rank as the priority benefits for 2023’s career seekers.
Today’s employees are progressively focused on how they want to live their lives and connect with their family, friends and outside interests; their sense of worth is not solely tied to their job. Therefore, more companies are going to focus on how to help employees connect with the broader purpose of the company and discover the best way to fit work into their life – versus the other way around. This will play out in two main ways: even more flexibility with a greater push for mental well-being at work and constant synchronous and asynchronous communication to keep the connection and productivity going.
Flexibility for employees will increase far beyond what we’ve seen already post-pandemic. Not just the ability to work from home, but the ability to adjust the quantity and timeframe of that work. More employees will seek greater autonomy by making their work schedule fit with their life. This can benefit the employer and employee alike, so long as there are clear productivity and performance expectations in place. While more people want to work autonomously, it also risks removing boundaries where boundaries are actually useful. For example, the modern worker may need to be reminded more often by managers to plan breaks and manage zoom time better. Employers must focus on creating an open, trust-based dialogue around employee goals and needs as work becomes more personal in the year ahead.
Another consideration of this ever complex talent landscape highlights the need for certain leadership traits that will continue to be more in demand as we head into 2023 and beyond- 1) Intellectual humility- leaders who can constantly unlearn, learn and pivot to cater to the intensely changing needs of business/economy and talent, 2) Enterprise leadership- leaders who can navigate seamlessly across functional boundaries, cultures, geographies and timezones- inclusively global leaders, 3) Wise compassion- leaders who can reach the minds and hearts of their teams to care for, empower and inspire and draw the best in the team to create differentiated solutions for complex business and societal problems.
Todd Goffman, General Counsel and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development G-P
Prediction: the 2023 business environment will be the year of “leanness, agility, speed”
Need for Speed: Employer of Record (EOR) services will continue to streamline and add flexibility to international expansion processes for businesses – de-risking global growth in a tough economy.
“As a former M&A lawyer, I can speak firsthand about how slow the process of expanding into new markets used to be: you’d spend endless time on due diligence or sorting out liabilities. And this was even more of a headache with cross-border deals, which required the acquiring company to deal with things like obtaining work permits, complying with existing CBAs, developing a fine-grained understanding of the existing employment laws, dealing with benefits and payroll in unfamiliar jurisdictions, and on and on and on. Deals were held or scuttled outright as lawyers scrambled to sort through conflicting regulations and get the proper documents in place.
The rise of EOR offerings has totally upended this process. Now, instead of fully acquiring a company in order to expand into a new market (and dealing with all of the resulting complexities), businesses can quickly create fully functioning remote teams in a matter of days. Significant risks are eliminated, and businesses are freed to take care of the things that really matter – seeking out new customers, testing new products, etc.
In the coming year, we can expect this new, efficient, and flexible approach to market expansion to take an even deeper hold in the global business community. Again: leanness, agility, and speed. In the coming year, those qualities will come to matter more and more.”
Simone Nardi, Chief Financial Officer, G-P
Prediction: On a global scale, hiring is more fluid than it’s ever been in history – and we can expect to see that trend continue as we enter 2023.
Compliance without Complication: Businesses want to focus on scaling without the regulatory hurdles and headaches at every turn—so in 2023, the streamlined processes provided by EOR platforms will set the new standard for global business expansion.
Organizations are keener than ever to be assured that their remote workers are being properly cared for, and that everything is in top shape according to local culture and customs. They want to ensure everyone is on the payroll, the proper deductions are being made, employment agreements meet statutory requirements for notice and payments are made in a timely manner.
Given the degree of complexity involved here – a modern company might have 200 subsidiaries, with 40 of them operating in 22 different countries – we’ll increasingly see companies seek assurance through EOR platforms. A truly global workforce requires an unprecedented degree of compliance, and streamlining that compliance is one of the major tasks facing businesses in 2023.
In the coming year, we can expect this new, efficient, and flexible approach to global expansion to take an even deeper hold in the global business community.”
Vernon Irvin, Chief Revenue Officer, G-P
Prediction: “HR technology platforms will continue to unlock the possibilities for global remote hiring as the search for talent remains strong even as economic conditions remain uncertain.”
Short Staffed or Short Stacked?: As the global talent shortage intensifies and uncertain economic conditions continue, companies are forced to evaluate their current staffing, hiring processes and corporate goals – and will demand more from their HR tech platforms.
“As we move rapidly into a changing, global economy the imperative for change is strong. Even as economic conditions become more uncertain, many companies are unable to hire and maintain needed talent. The world’s largest economies are still facing an on-going and critical talent shortage. As recent research from the global executive recruiting firm Korn Ferry suggests, by 2030 the world’s top 20 economies face a talent shortage of 85 million workers.
HR technology platforms will continue to drive new capabilities for the remote workforce giving companies access to untapped and emerging talent markets. As new revenue streams are sought to help bolster bottom lines, access to talent will become the critical factor in whether a company can grow and scale internationally.
In 2023 HR technology will continue to evolve. There will be growing demands from companies of all sizes – from small to enterprise – that continue to want to drive growth, for fully integrated platforms that enable and simplify international expansion.”
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