Sheep are always scrambling for greener, more delicious pastures. Farmers have Border Collies to keep them on the farm, and according to new research out of Hong Kong, HR leaders may need to take on some Border Collie qualities themselves.

Employers in the city had a complicated 2022, as workers left the area and companies struggled to keep employees. The trends are expected to continue in 2023, so businesses are turning to outsourcing and retention efforts.

Where in the world? Hong Kong, a city that has experienced economic struggles since social unrest broke out in 2019, is facing a talent shortage. Hong Kong has the second fastest-growing job market in the Asia-Pacific region, based on its hiring rate, according to the South China Morning Post. In 2022, 89% of open roles were for remote jobs as the area struggled to find talent locally and the city’s population shrunk. To fill the gaps temporarily, the city is hiring workers in Ukraine, India, the Philippines, the UK, and the US.

Many workers in Hong Kong want higher salaries and more flexibility, and 60% of employers expect to lose staff over the next six months, according to a February report from Morgan McKinley, a talent consultancy. Furthermore, 60% of employers said they plan on hiring more workers in the first half of 2023. In addition to outsourcing, HR leaders are leaning on hybrid work, wellness benefits, and learning and development opportunities to help boost retention.

“2022 was another year of high demand to hire but short supply of talent in Hong Kong, across most sectors,” Robert Sheffield, managing director at Morgan McKinley, said in a press release.

Satellite view. If this all sounds familiar, that’s because it is. Even with layoffs in the tech sector, many places in the US are struggling to find talent. Talent stateside has some similar aims to workers in Hong Kong, wanting more flexibility and mental health benefits. 

Keep reading here. — KP

Employees in different functions have different learning needs—but what those needs are might take L&D leaders by surprise. Given the rapid pace of change in today’s business world, the skills required to succeed in any job are also quickly changing.

“Leaders recognize that business success requires organizational agility, and learning is the fuel to make that happen,” LinkedIn’s VP of talent development, Linda Jingfang Cai, wrote in a recent blog post. “Collectively, we build an adaptable and growth-oriented workforce that can respond quickly to market challenges and emerging opportunities.”

Following up on a finding from a September 2022 LinkedIn report that one-quarter of the skills required for jobs today are different from those required in 2015, LinkedIn identified the most in-demand skills today by job function in its 2023 Workplace Learning Report. To do so, it analyzed data from job postings and the skills possessed by candidates who were either contacted by recruiters or hired in the past six months.

The results reaffirm previous findings that “soft skills” like management, communication, and leadership are valuable for most roles. These accounted for three of the top six trending skills across all jobs in September 2022, as well as problem-solving, time-management, and strategy. The 2023 report broke this down further by job function. Keep reading here. — AK

Dizzying headlines about layoffs and a potential looming recession have hammered our inboxes and smartphone notifications for months now. Here at HR Brew, we’ve filed our fair share of stories helping you understand what the heck’s been going on lately.

But if payroll companies’ recent earnings are any indication, at least some employees are still getting paid, so payroll and human capital management (HCM) systems were able to boast a successful final quarter of 2022 on earnings calls this month.

Expanding offerings. “I think the [payroll software] category as a whole has changed over the last decade,” Paycor’s CEO Raul Villar Jr. told investors on the company’s earnings call. “It’s really added some really powerful modules around recruiting, around attracting, around retaining employees, and so in this hyper-tight labor market, I think that’s been a big driver of accelerated demand.” Keep reading here. — AD

Today’s top HR reads.

Stat: Local and state governments lost 1.4 million days worth of productivity in 2022 due to work stoppages. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Quote: “Neighborhood leads are encouraged to set norms with their teams around sharing desks, ensuring that pairings of Googlers have conversations about how they will or will not decorate the space, store personal items, and tidiness expectations.”—internal Google memo on new desk-sharing rules (CNBC)

Read: The University of Texas system is halting all DE&I-related policies across its campuses. (the Texas Tribune)