It is not new that businesses worldwide are facing a massive labor shortage. The world is seeing the Great Resignation, where people are quitting their jobs in droves, and organizations are struggling to hire qualified people. So, how are organizations combating this labor shortage? According to UiPath’s latest survey, many companies are doubling down on their automation investments and usage to sustain operations and maintain the current workforce while attracting new people.
The studyOpens a new window that surveyed 500 business leaders (C-suite and top management) at companies with more than 1,000 employees showed how integral they consider automation technology to support their teams and operations in these times. Here are a few more things that emerged from the study.
See more: The Great Resignation: One in Four U.S. Workers Plan to Quit in 2022
Automation Offers Support to Teams With Limited Bandwidth
About 62% of the respondents said they were currently struggling with a labor shortage, and 69% of them lost skilled labor that managed necessary tasks. Hence, 78% of these respondents were likely to invest or boost their investment in automation and artificial intelligence (AI) tools to manage this impact.
Most of these executives are already aware of the potential and benefits of automation. About 83% of the respondents said their companies have already invested in and use AI or automation tools. Now, they intend to or already use these tools to offset labor shortages. About 71% of the respondents said that automation helped their companies perform better by saving time, while 63% said it improved productivity. About 59% said it helped them save money. Many of these leaders felt that automation helped them maintain the status quo of production in times of labor shortage.
Besides these, respondents also believed that automation could help them attract new talent. About 58% of respondents had said that high rates of onboarding and offboarding as a top challenge in response to labor shortages, resulting in disrupted workflows. At the same time, many also realized that automation could support HR operations and expedite several back-office processes in the department, helping HR professionals spend more time communicating with employees. About 86% of the respondents said that automation could help their employees focus on creative work instead of mundane, time-consuming tasks.
Automation Training Provides Employees an Edge
Besides labor shortages, about 74% of executives struggled to attract new employees to take on necessary tasks. Providing them better access to automation and training them could significantly add value to existing and prospective employees. In fact, 85% said that providing automation training could help them retain employees and attract new people during these times.
According to studies, employees highly value trainings. According to a 2020 study by getAbstractOpens a new window , about 58% of Millenial employees and 52% of Gen Z employees said their career success depended on updating their knowledge and skills. And several employees feel that their employers should invest in their digital and tech training skills. At the same time, another UiPath study showed last year showed that only 51% of companies offer automation training to their employees. Further, another joint study by Bain & Company and UiPathOpens a new window showed that only 30% of companies give their employees access to automation.
Fortunately, companies realize that training their staff on automation gives them a significant advantage in today’s competitive market. Employees looking for a job often tend to choose organizations that can help them build on their skillsets. Providing training on automation will help companies attract the right candidates.
See more: HR Automation That Showed Results: Case Studies You Can Learn From
Our Take
As seen from the study, automation plays a critical role in retaining and attracting new talent. In addition to training and development in technology and automation, organizations should take a few other steps to attract and retain talent. For starters, they should focus on their organizational culture and enhancing their employee experience. Existing employees are the best advocates of an organization. Employees who are happy with their employer spread the good word to the outside world. Simultaneously, organizations can also relook at their benefits and compensation plan. They should focus on offering benefits that really matter to employees in these times. These could include flexible work, pay, or wellness sessions.
Finally, employers should create a brand that stands out in the crowd by taking these various steps to attract high-quality talent during the Great Resignation.
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