Large HR companies are like a leading indicator of the health of the job market. But there are events that even they are not aware of, such as the unusual resistance of the economy —and, with it, of employment— to the rate hikes carried out by the central banks to combat inflation. On the other hand, Becky Frankiewicz (Texas, 51 years old), president for North America and global commercial director of the human resources group ManpowerGroup, is clear that the future of work will inevitably pass through technology. The senior management, who previously worked in other large companies such as PepsiCo or Deloitte, will repeat it on several occasions during this conversation at the company’s headquarters in Madrid.
Ask. Both in countries with low unemployment, such as the US, and in economies with high unemployment, such as Spain, it is argued that there is a lack of workers. Is it a global phenomenon? What do they blame it on?
Answer. It is a phenomenon that we have perceived, in one sector or another, in the 75 countries in which we operate. There is a mismatch between the skills employers need and those available in the labor market. “Available” is a broad term: it may mean that there is a growing workforce or there may be new skills that people need to be trained in. A piece of information: 80% of companies have problems finding technological profiles. And people think that it is a problem only for technology companies, but no: now all companies are technological, they are all in a digitalization process. In addition, the hospitality and leisure industry has come back strong from the pandemic. And now there is a major struggle in almost all tourist cities and countries to find workers, especially in Spain, where hospitality and services are among the fastest growing segments in terms of demand for workers.
Q. And in terms of training, is there a imbalance between the labor market and the university?
R. It’s complicated. On the one hand, the structure of universities has tended towards specialization: you are a lawyer, you work in finance or in marketing. When the work was done in a linear fashion, that made sense. Now, with the irruption of technology, the work is done laterally, more broadly, and that means that you have to have a multitude of skills and not be specialized in one thing. The work has changed and the demand changes with it. On the other hand, skills keep pace with technology, and as technology advances, and it advances quickly, jobs that don’t exist now will appear. I have three daughters who are in their formative stage. 67% of the jobs available when you graduate college don’t exist right now.
Q. So, what would you recommend studying to your daughters to enter such a changing job market?
R. I tell them to study a combination of technical skills (hard skills) and interpersonal (soft skills). On the technical side, anything related to technology, although none of them are very interested in it —which, by the way, is a problem with women—: mathematics, pure sciences, all of them are good for coping with an economy that it’s side. Anything that can give you data processing or synthesis skills is good. On the other hand, that of soft skills: communication. Interpersonal skills are in demand, and especially with the advent of artificial intelligence. Leaders are being asked for more empathy than ever and more clarity about where the organization is headed. One of my daughters is studying Medicine, so, well, she’s interested in science, even if it’s not math. The other studies Communication and Anthropology. That is, human behavior. That is a success. The other one is still small, so we’ll see (laughs).
Q. Although there have been advances, parity continues to be a task for the world of work: there are sectors, such as technology, that are made up mostly of men. What challenges do you see in this regard?
R. Covid had a disproportionate impact on women. The most affected sectors were those overrepresented by women: hospitality, education, childcare, services. Many lost their jobs, the children returned home, and someone had to take care of the elderly. Most of that role fell to women. We lost at least 18 months of representation, first because jobs changed, and second, because many decided to stay at home. Now the challenge is how to reintegrate into the labor market. Services are back with a bang, but they don’t provide the flexibility that many need, and, as I said, the future lies in technology. Only 8% of girls in school are interested in technology. I don’t think they all have to work in technology, but if two-thirds of the jobs are going to be related to it, we have to bridge that gap.
Q. Continuing with the challenges and technology: artificial intelligence (AI).
R. Most people who ask me about AI expect me to be concerned. I’m not: we embrace artificial intelligence. Every time there are technological advances, people say, “Oh, technology is going to take jobs.” History tells us that every time there is progress, new jobs are created. So technology is actually a powerful ally. We see that companies that make their digital transition faster are creating more jobs. Now, we have to focus on how we are going to increase the abilities of the population at a rate that we have never seen before.
Q. And how do you apply it in your business?
R. As a company we have decided to embrace artificial intelligence in our business, but with guardrails. We know that AI has biases and we will try to reduce them as much as possible. We are already working on ways to apply it, all in tests. For example, we work on the identification of skills. When people report their abilities, they count about 11 different ones. If the AI analyzes them, it can be tripled. We are under-analyzing our abilities. It also has potential to describe job offers.
Q. After the worst of the pandemic, there was a lot of talk about the Great Resignation, especially in the US. Has there been a change in preferences among workers?
R. Coming out of the pandemic, companies began to hire like crazy, because they were afraid that talent was going to escape them. The relationship between employer and worker changed, and the power that the company historically had passed to the worker: in the US you get up to three times more salary increases for changing jobs than you would get in your current job. The salary is still the most important thing, but the workers ask for new things: guarantees of well-being, of mental health. There is another phenomenon, known as the end of family sacrifice: I want to be able to drop my children off at school before going to work. And also, and this is interesting, it is not just a claim of office workers, we see that there is a democratization of labor flexibility. The last change is that the employee cares about how you act as a company: they don’t care about companies signing promises and then not making any commitments or moving forward on those promises.
Follow all the information of Economy and Business in Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter
Five Days agenda
The most important economic appointments of the day, with the keys and the context to understand their scope.
RECEIVE IT IN YOUR MAIL
#Becky #Frankiewicz #Manpower #companies #find #technological #profiles