Many more companies are now willing to not only hire remote workers, but also hire them from anywhere in the world, reveals the latest survey carried out by The Conference Board.
In fact, more than one-third of employers say they are willing to consider hiring remote workers from across the globe because qualified talent is still hard to find, despite high unemployment rates, confirmed the think tank.
Approximately 36% organisations say they are willing to hire remote workers from anywhere in the US or internationally full-time, compared to just 12% before Covid-19. Around 88% said they are now “far more willing to hire remote workers”, compared to around 52% before the pandemic. However, half of the employers surveyed “still prefer staff to live within commuting distance to the office location”.
Looking ahead, many employers believe that working primarily from home is increasingly more likely for many workers. In fact, more than one-third of companies expect 40% or more of their employees to work remotely – at least three days per week – 12 months post-pandemic. That’s up from 5% prior to the pandemic.
TALENT WITHOUT BORDERS
The change of heart on hiring remote ‘talent’ from anywhere around the world is influenced by the continuing shortage of qualified talent. Finding qualified workers remains a challenge, despite high unemployment rates resulting from the pandemic. Qualified industry and manual services workers are the hardest to find, reveals the study.
Firms that employ mostly industry and manual services workers confirm that “it is now very difficult to find qualified workers compared to pre-pandemic (19% now compared to 10% pre-pandemic). Overall, around 75% of employers surveyed across the board report finding qualified staff to be just as difficult as it was pre-pandemic.
WAR FOR TALENT CONTINUES
“High unemployment typically means many job seekers per job opening. But so far in this crisis, that appears not to be the case,” commented Frank Steemers, the report’s co-author and Economist at The Conference Board. “Many people listed as unemployed are not actively looking for a job at this point in time.”
Possible reasons for this pause in the job search “include being furloughed and hoping to regain their old jobs, fears about being exposed to Covid-19 at work, or lack of available childcare”, he pointed out. “As a result, many organisations are reporting that finding qualified workers is still a challenge.” In short, the war for talent continues.
Check out the Conference Board’s findings on the pandemic’s impact on employee wellbeing over the last six months here.
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