Workday, Inc. (NASDAQ: WDAY), a leading provider of solutions to help organisations manage their people and money, published its semi-annual Global Workforce Report today, which found that it’s an employers’ market, with the number of job applications growing four times faster than job openings. Despite these odds, top performing employees are quitting their jobs to look for better opportunities elsewhere. At the same time, organisations are turning to AI to transform how they find and keep their best people.
Key global findings from the first half of 2024 Workday Global Workforce Report include:
- It's getting tougher to land a new job: The surge in applications (31%) far outpaces job growth (7%) in the first half of 2024 compared to the first half of 2023.
- Top performers may leave first: Voluntary turnover of high-potential employees is up in 75% of the industries tracked.
- AI is becoming a must-have tool for HR teams: 77% of organisations plan to increase their use of AI in hiring in the coming year.
- Meaningful work leads to greater feelings of accomplishment and loyalty: Workers who believe they are doing meaningful work feel 37% more accomplished than those who don’t, even under workloads workers describe as “challenging.”
Workday Recruiting customers globally processed 19 million job requisitions – a 7% increase compared to the first half of 2023 – and 173 million job applications – a 31% increase compared to the same period. In the UK, customers processed 872,000 job requisitions – an 8% increase compared to the first half of 2023 – and 5.1 million job applications – a 22% increase compared to the same period.
While the job market grew, it’s becoming increasingly competitive for employees, a trend that will become more pronounced if job growth slows and unemployment keeps edging up globally. While the UK market is not as fiercely competitive as in recent years, it still presents challenges. Economic slowdown and forecasts of rising unemployment suggest increased competition for available positions. In fact, the data reveals there were only 458,000 offers/employee agreements – a 1% decrease compared to the first half of 2023.
“The findings from the report show that the market now favours employers rather than employees. However, with the war for talent ongoing, leaders must still listen to what job seekers are searching for as the data shows they increasingly want to strike the right
productivity‑flexibility balance and be offered career development opportunities alongside a fair salary,” said Daniel Pell, vice president and country manager, UKI, Workday. “Wage growth in the UK is also expected to moderate in 2024, which may potentially impact negotiation power for job seekers.”
The Job Market Remains Tough for Workers
While companies are hiring more, they're also receiving a flood of applications, making it harder for employers to select the right candidate and for employees to stand out. This intense competition is pushing employers to become even more selective, with 72% of leaders raising the bar for qualifications and experience. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, as 59% of leaders say this is likely to continue for the next year, creating a challenging landscape for job seekers, while employers struggle to find efficient and fair ways to hire the best talent.
High Performing Workers Seek New Opportunities as Employers Struggle to Retain Talent
As companies start hiring again, their most talented employees may be leaving for better opportunities elsewhere. Even though overall employee turnover has been low, data shows that top performers are most likely to leave: 75% of the industries tracked saw an increase in the loss of high-potential employees. This is a big challenge for the 50% of companies already struggling to keep their best people.
It’s no surprise then that globally and in the UK, the focus is on retention with many employers turning to internal mobility programs to help employees grow and develop within the company. These programs have been successful, with 67% of leaders reporting a positive impact on their organisation.
AI is Levelling the Hiring Playing Field and Improving Efficiency
More and more companies are turning to AI for hiring and are seeing real benefits. Most leaders (70%) say AI will make hiring more fair, and 89% believe it will make their hiring processes more efficient. It's no wonder that most companies (77%) plan to use AI in hiring even more in the coming year. The most popular ways they're using it now include testing candidates' skills (26%), screening resumes and applications (26%), and automating repetitive tasks (24%).
Testing candidates’ skills in particular has proved helpful as finding candidates with the right skills remains a challenge in the UK - particularly in technical fields.
Meaningful Work Emerges as the Key to Employee Loyalty and Resilience
In a time when companies are pushing for greater productivity, giving employees meaningful work to drive feelings of accomplishment is key to keeping them engaged and loyal. Report findings show that employees who find their work meaningful feel 37% more accomplished, even when workloads are overwhelming.
While growth opportunity, a clear strategy, and fair pay are important for employee loyalty, a sense of accomplishment is also crucial. To boost employee satisfaction, leaders should prioritise meaningful work and consider using AI tools to help employees focus on high-impact tasks.
For additional information:
- Read more about the survey on the Workday Blog, Global Workforce Report: Top Talent Is Hard to Find, Harder to Keep
- Download the report, Workday Global Workforce Report