It's no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on the workforce across the nation and beyond. But the key for businesses to emerge from the pandemic successfully is to put talent at the top of the priority list, at least one report suggests.

Randstad Sourceright's "Talent Trends, COVID-19 & The Future of Work," released this week, analyzed trends that will be key for businesses to thrive in a post-pandemic economy, drawing from a global survey of more than 800 human capital and C-suite leaders across 17 markets.

According to the report, only 31% of those surveyed said their organization was completely prepared for a downturn in the economy. To position your business for success, the report suggests that making meaningful investments in human capital to build an agile, flexible workforce is key.

"Creating an agile workforce that is capable of executing business leaders' plans will be critical to emerging intact as an organization," the report states. "Ensuring the right human capital is available when your company is ready for growth again should be your key to long-term success."

But it's not solely the organizations that need to be agile. Employees should also be able to shift responsibilities and step in where they're needed most.

"If agility is critical for organizations during these challenging times, then talent flexibility will be key to achieving it," the report states. "Excellent problem-solving abilities, empathy and communication skills are now among the most in-demand skills. Employers are also seeking individuals with digital skills, and training and development were already important to talent strategies prior to the pandemic."

In many cases, this means employers need to find ways to reskill and upskill employees. Reskilling is not only valuable to companies that are still hiring, according to the report, but it's also an important strategy for companies that have to reduce headcount.

"A reduction may mean that some work will not be completed, and retained employees may be asked to take up additional responsibilities," the report explains. "Giving them the requisite tools and skills will be critical to sustaining operations with a limited staff."

The survey revealed that 48% of respondents are already upskilling their employees, while 38% were reskilling workers for different roles; and 86% of those surveyed said talent reskilling has been somewhat or very effective within their organization.

To make this happen, two-thirds of companies have offered learning and development opportunities for fewer than three years, the survey found, and just 16% have had a program in place for more than five years, indicating that most employers started their efforts recently, according to the report.

"COVID-19 has had an enormous and unexpected impact on the world's health and economy," said Rebecca Henderson, CEO of Randstad Global Businesses. "Perhaps the most important lesson to be learned from a business perspective is that human capital and business leaders need to expect the unexpected. The only way to be able to thrive when crisis hits, and subsequently when things stabilize, is to be agile; agile in business strategy, workforce strategy, employee reskilling strategy and tech strategy."

For some, remaining flexible has meant finding ways to work virtually in the long term. IT service provider TCS, for example, plans to transition 75% of its workforce out of the office environment by 2025 under a model called Secure Borderless Workspaces, according to the report.

"The ability to mobilize into a virtual workforce has empowered some employers even further," the report states. "Such an arrangement means companies can dedicate resources in parallel around the world to tend to urgent and critical projects, creating new ways of working that improve productivity."

The report also suggests that acquiring the right talent—especially during such times of uncertainty—requires using talent analytics tools to stay on top of the fluid needs of the company over time.

"Talent analytics will allow employers to rapidly deploy talent based on anticipated demand, availability and other market factors," the report states. "Furthermore, talent analytics will enable companies to redeploy resources from declining parts of their operations to those on the rise. For this reason, expect that your competitive advantage will depend more heavily on data and analytics going forward."

"Companies will have to prepare their workforces to adapt to unpredictable market conditions in the future," added Cindy Keaveney, chief people officer at Randstad Sourceright. "To do so will require embracing HR technologies that provide greater insight and the flexibility to deploy talent quickly based on demand and market factors."

Sarah Tincher, based in Austin, is the managing editor of BenefitsPRO sister publications The National Law Journal and Corporate Counsel. Contact her at stincher@alm.com. On Twitter: @sarahntincher.

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An agile workforce will be key to success post-pandemic

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