More and more employers are suffering from a shortage of talent at the same time jobseekers are struggling to find work. That seemingly implausible situation has become the reality in many fields as the world of work deals with a still-struggling economy and epic change brought on by rapid technological advances. 
A study from workforce consulting firm ManpowerGroup offers some explanations—as well as ideas on the role human resources can play in solving the problem.
“Macroeconomic forces continue to decrease margins, creating a need for organizations to do more with less and to have a workforce that is more agile and productive,” ManpowerGroup CEO Jonas Prising said when the study was released on May 30.
So what’s the answer to the simultaneous labor glut and talent shortage? “The answer rests with HR leaders who must possess the strategic capability to ensure a sustainable workforce and the talent their organizations need to achieve their business objectives,” Prising said.
The Manpower study found that 36 percent of employers globally and 40 percent in the United States reported suffering talent shortages in 2014. That’s the highest percentage in seven years. Despite the serious shortage of crucial talent, the study found that more than one in five global employers still aren’t pursuing strategies to tackle the problem.
The report doesn’t proclaim a silver-bullet solution, but it says the best hope lies with HR—“the one group with the expertise and influence to reshape their companies’ talent base by acting decisively to ensure a sustainable workforce.”
The report claims that the HR profession is expanding, and “as the world of work evolves, new areas of expertise are required to drive business results within organizations.”
Three new roles
HR can contribute solutions in three ways, according to the Manpower study: by becoming supply and demand experts, marketers, and designers.
- Supply and demand: Manpower’s research says HR leaders must gain a greater understanding of the talent their organizations demand and the internal and external talent supply they have to draw from. “If there is misalignment between business objectives and workforce capabilities, HR leaders need to have a plan in place to bridge any gaps, and bridge them more quickly than in the past,” the report notes.
- Marketing: The report points out that talent is now “a savvy and sophisticated consumer.” Therefore, HR needs to take advantage of an organization’s brand, message, and image in order to attract top talent. Just as marketing departments target consumers of a company’s products and services, HR needs to attract and retain the kind of employees needed to produce those products and services.“To access talent in an increasingly competitive marketplace, organizations must pinpoint and market their strengths to attract talent pools with the skills their businesses need to succeed,” the report states.The research encourages HR professionals to move away from a one-size-fits-all approach to acquiring talent and move to a focus on “one-size-fits-one career paths that allow employees to advance business goals and allow them to develop their skills and grow.” The focus must include regularly seeking employee feedback and empowering leaders to concentrate on employee development.
- Design: The research says HR leaders should be “thinking differently about how to structure work to access, mobilize, optimize and unleash the potential of current and prospective employees.” That means HR needs to branch out and consider employers’ goals rather than focusing on jobs alone.“To fully leverage the talent ecosystem, manage a diverse, and often virtual workplace, while continuing to increase productivity and innovation, work models should be reimagined,” the report notes.In addition, the changing workplace means work, especially knowledge work, will be more segmented and specific so that it will be divided into “smaller and smaller tasks, which will be distributed to many people,” according to the study. “Work will also increasingly be performed by freelancers and consultants willing to work on an outcome basis so that they can choose the work they want to do. A different way of thinking is needed to cultivate communities of work and balance the employment mix to include contingent, fully outsourced, partially retired and other workers—as permanent, full-time employment is no longer by default the best fit for employers or individuals or what drives time to value.”
Toughest jobs to fill
To compile the report, ManpowerGroup surveyed more than 37,000 employers in 42 countries. The research included identifying the 10 hardest jobs to fill globally and in the United States.
Both globally and in the United States, skilled trades were found to be the most difficult jobs to fill. In the United States, skilled trades were followed by (in order) restaurant and hotel staff, sales representatives, teachers, drivers, accounting and finance staff, laborers, information technology staff, engineers, and nurses.
Globally skilled trades jobs were followed by (in order) engineers, technicians, sales representatives, accounting and finance staff, management/executives, sales managers, information technology staff, office support staff, and drivers.