In our search for the relevant trends and topics for 2022, we act in the same way as our clients: Ambitious, solution-oriented and always pragmatic and realistic. It’s not about jumping on every new digital hype, but about making well-founded decisions in order to operate responsibly and sustainably. We have collected nine topics in four articles that meet this requirement and that you should be aware of in 2022. In part 3, we look at talent sourcing in 2022 in the context of the skills shortage and make an assessment: Is the topic already taking flight? Or is it just taking off?

Skills shortage | Flies

In future, your company will need a human character. The battle for talent can only be won on a factual level with a high financial investment. If you want to be successful on the job market in the future, you need to be aware of your new role and behave accordingly.

3,900,000 people. The number of people of working age in Germany will decrease by this amount by 2030. A reduction of 10.2 million people is expected by 2060. Companies will only be able to draw from an ever smaller pool of talent. These figures are a clear indication of demographic change and reflect a reality that many companies are already experiencing today in their search for suitable employees: A shortage of skilled labour in an employee market and the associated fierce competition to attract talent.

Who is actually applying to whom?

In 2022, it is therefore important to rethink a fundamental attitude: highly qualified specialists in particular can often choose between several offers. The role of the applicant is therefore increasingly falling to companies. Not the employees. There are numerous companies offering virtually the same job in the same place for different job profiles on professional networks and recruitment platforms. Employees have a free choice.

Values count

In the end, only the company itself makes the difference in this choice. Employer branding will therefore continue to be a key issue for companies in 2022. Also to meet the demands of future generations who want to identify with their employer and its purpose. The attitude, values and fundamental purpose of a company are therefore also essential aspects of employer branding that need to be communicated through appropriate channels and genuinely lived in everyday life. They connect heterogeneous people under the umbrella of a common mission, offer emotional points of contact and help to counter the shortage of skilled labour.

Employee Experience | Hebt ab

In order to be able to react quickly to (digital) changes in the future, it is important to retain the right people today and develop them in a targeted manner.

Textbook wisdom says that it is usually cheaper to keep existing customers than to keep attracting new ones. The situation is similar with employees. It is often said that a crisis shows character. And it seems that during the pandemic, many companies were unable to stand up to this test of character – or at least no longer have a place in the changed reality of many people’s lives. At the end of 2020, 40% of respondents in the Gallup Engagement Index said they would consider changing employers. And the trend is rising. Not only will talent acquisition become an increasingly serious problem in 2022 – retention will also become more and more important due to the shortage of skilled labour.
Retaining and developing employees is a significant success factor for companies that needs to be given new attention, especially in uncertain and volatile times.

The right people for the right job

Companies are social systems that pursue a common purpose. The success of a company depends largely on the people in this network. Accordingly, companies must take their needs and development seriously in 2022. An important basis for this: the ear to the ground. Data and surveys on employee experience provide important insights for talent development and increase employee loyalty. At the same time, targeted development provides the necessary skills to increase organisational flexibility for a faster response to market needs. The demand for perfect, hybrid experiences described in the topic of marketing automation (part 2 of the article series) is just one example of many.