While many fear automation taking away jobs from human workers, this new technology can actually support working people and create new jobs. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs 2018 report predicted that automation technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) will actually create another 133 million new jobs by 2022.

However, these new jobs, paired with increasing digitization of the enterprise, calls for a different type of talent, according to Infosys’s Talent Radar report. The report surveyed more than 1,000 CXOs and other senior-level respondents worldwide, from companies with at least $1 billion in revenue, to determine today’s talent needs and how to prepare for them.

SEE: Recruiting and hiring top talent: A guide for business leaders (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Companies now need employees with soft skills and technical skills, but these technical skills must be up to date and able to evolve, the report found. The top technical skills companies currently demand include, analytics (67%), user experience (67%), automation (61%), IT architecture (59%), AI (58%), and business architecture (58%).

When looking at soft skills, or interpersonal skills, collaboration skills are more valued than individual ones. Teamwork (74%), leadership (70%), and communication (68%) hold the most value in today’s enterprise, the report found.

All of the top skills companies look for do vary by industry; however, to help companies land the talent they need, the report identified the following four strategies:

1. Cast a wider net for new hires

Rather than targeting elite universities, companies should also look to fill talent gaps through community colleges, trade schools, and those back from military service.

“One of the things we recommended in our workforce planning study was to be open about the way we source and not just rely on college recruiting, because you can only go so far with that,” said a strategic planning advisor of a large American oil and gas corporation in the report. “We’re probably missing out on some talent that could add greater diversity to the way we work.”

2. Reskill and redeploy in-house talent

Employees must evolve to keep up with a changing digital enterprise, and companies need to provide adequate tools for success. Whether through online training, in-office training, boot camps, and hackathons, companies are responsible for reskilling their workforce.

3. Engage temporary workers and gig economy strategically

The gig economy and remote work are popular for a reason and can be extremely beneficial tools for organizations. Using temporary workers can be utilized for any initiative that is short staffed, and the purpose will vary by industry. Big organizations can save money by hiring temporary staff for projects, rather than more full-time talent.

4. Align organizational structure to evolve business needs

An agile organization must have an agile infrastructure. Hierarchal (49%) and matrixed (50%) organizational models were cited as the most popular models for digital initiatives. In the hierarchical model, every employee has one clear supervisor; and in the matrixed model, employees typically have more than one manager. Both are effective, but are chosen based on the business needs.

For more, check out Culture over salary: How to win top talent in a modern workforce on TechRepublic.

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