If there's one buzzword to emerge from the Covid-19 pandemic, it's definitely “hybrid”.
With hybrid working expected to rise to prominance in the coming months, a new report from consulting firm Robert Half claims hybrid skills are reshaping the job landscape in the UK.
The Robert Half report argues that job advertisements are beginning to demand a deeper mix of skills. For example, more than half of system administrators are now also required to satisfy customers, and software developers are being asked to establish customer rapport.
At the same time, all finance and insurance clerks are required to have customer relationship management (CRM) abilities, administrative and executive secretaries are asked for business intelligence skills, and advertising and public relations managers need software configuration skills.
Employers that want to develop a hybrid skills-focused team should draft a five-step plan, Robert Half suggests. This plan should include evaluating business goals and priorities, auditing employees for skills and job functions, and building a flexible staffing plan.
“Three of the top business priorities for the first half of 2021 amongst general managers we recently surveyed include talent management, identifying new opportunities for business growth and investing in new technologies,” said Matt Weston, Managing Director of Robert Half UK.
“This combination of talent, business growth, and new technologies is not only informing recovery strategies for many companies at this stage of the pandemic but is also directly translating into new-look job descriptions and evolving skill sets. As much as the ‘anywhere workforce’ is likely to be a permanent part of the employment landscape moving forward, so too is demand for these new hybrid skills.”