Today’s post is from Nerissa Reyes from AVANTI People Partnership International in Manila, Philippines. Nerissa is the immediate past chair of the NPAworldwide board of directors. AVANTI People Partnership provides executive search and staffing for various multinational companies across functions. In the fast-growing “business process outsourcing” arena, AVANTI provides cross-border recruitment solutions on a global scale.
During a future of work conference, we were asked this question, “If you were a car, what type of car would you be?” The answers included traditional cars from the reliable Volkswagon Beatle to the flashy Lamborghinis. The best answer was a driverless car, an UBER type…the car of the future, enabled by satellite, reducing human intervention.
It’s a global phenomenon, advances in technology have created disruption in our lifestyle and the way we think and work.
The Philippines and India have been business process outsourcing hubs supporting global back office services for the past 18 years. However, artificial intelligence and automation, deconstruction of jobs have threatened even the outsourced jobs. Entry-level roles across various functions & industry sectors including IT, financial, manufacturing, retail, and wholesale are easily automated. Hence, we are now experiencing job losses and looking at hundreds of positions that have become redundant.
How can the global workforce catch up? Employees must be flexible enough to learn new skills. Artificial intelligence can collect online personal data, financial information, and market trends, but human intervention is still needed to analyse and interpret conflicting data,
How do we position recruitment firms? According to Ian Knowlson, futurist and business growth and sales coach, the niche recruiter will be in demand. You have to be a specialist in your field. There will be jobs that require your sourcing expertise due to the predicted shortage of skilled professionals in the highly advanced professions of the future.
Clients will value your knowledge of their market and strong industry network. Use artificial intelligence and automated tools for your recruitment process. Review your current business model to compete in the scarcity of talent and provide solutions to client needs.
In every country, across industries and age groups, the global workforce is facing dynamic changes. In every disruption there is opportunity to be bigger and better.