4 Current Facts Affecting the Future of Staffing

If you been in staffing for any length of time, you’ve seen many changes take place that affect how the staffing industry gets things done. It’s more important now than ever for staffing professionals to be online both as a way to do their job better and as a way to keep current with all the changes taking place every day.

Here are 4 current facts that will continue to affect the way staffing professionals do their job:

In 1991, fewer than 50% of U.S. jobs required skilled workers. By 2015, 76% of all U.S. jobs created will require highly skilled workers(American Society for Training and Development)I’ve heard it and said it thousands of times: the days when people could count on a decent living with only a high school education (or less) are gone, and no amount of nostalgia or legislation will bring them back.
Today’s workers – even highly skilled and highly educated workers – have to be committed to lifetime learning and training. Modern staffing professionals need to incorporate ongoing training and analytics into the way that they think about employees and potential employees. That goes for the staffing software they use too.
LinkedIn is the 13th most popular site in the USA based on a combination of average daily visitors and page views. (AppAppeal.com)
In a past post I talked about the growing importance of LinkedIn in the world of staffing. With roughly 60 million professional members, this is fast becoming the place to network your way into your next job or next job placement.

Staffing professionals need to set up camp on LinkedIn and participate in the discussions in order to get in front of and connected to the next professional looking for a new job. Ignore LinkedIn at your peril!
Seventy-six percent of workers reported that, although they are not actively looking, they would change jobs in 2011 for the right opportunity. (CareerBuilder)
I know someone who, as a forty something veteran teacher (over 14 years in the classroom, he told me), decided to launch out on a new career. He said, “If I had to keep teaching until 70 to provide for my family, I would. But we don’t live in that kind of world, so I’m going to take the plunge into something new.”

Despite the poor economy and high unemployment, we still have a job market that gives people – especially well-educated, highly motivated people – a lot of vocational options. Note to staffing professionals: your job isn’t just about finding people employment. It’s also about helping them find the right employment, even if that means a significant mid-life change.
YouTube has surpassed Yahoo and now ranks as the third most-visited website after Google and Facebook. (New York Times)
I’ve also heard – but haven’t confirmed – that more people do web searches via YouTube than Bing and Yahoo combined. What does this mean for staffing professionals?. Start looking for ways to promote your staffing agency and positions with videos.

If your staffing agency is doing any live training, it’s a good idea to record segments of the training and then post those videos to YouTube as many other people may also be looking for the same training. Leave your thoughts as a comment and keep reading this blog for more on YouTube and the staffing world.