In the first Thomson Reuters Institute Market Insights podcast of 2022, our in-house experts take a look at the impact of the hot market for talent across multiple industries and professions
Of all the issues employers will face in 2022, talent recruitment, retention, and management will likely be among the top. This will be true in major corporations, small businesses, professional services like law firms and tax & accounting firms, and even government agencies. While some common thread can be found as to how talent questions might impact each of these employer groups, each will also face somewhat unique circumstances as well, based on their particular place in the market.
To begin to unpack how some of these issues may shape 2022, the Thomson Reuters Institute brought together its team of in-house industry experts to explore the peculiarities of each of these key groups and address how each group might face some of the talent challenges this year.
In the latest podcast on the Thomson Reuters Market Insights channel, hosted by Thomson Reuters’ Talent, Culture & Inclusion Strategist Natalie Runyon, who opens the latest episode by saying, “given the tight labor market the corresponding Great Resignation or Great Reshuffle… we are going to start with talent.”
You can hear the latest Thomson Reuters Institute Market Insights podcast here.
Looking at the potential impact of 2022, Bill Josten, who manages legal industry and law firm content, explains that many law firms are looking for precedent examples of what other firms are doing to address the challenge of recruiting and retaining top talent, but unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of examples to follow. Everyone is struggling with these questions right now, Jostens says, which puts law firms in a more experimental stage, trying to determine what path to follow. This is likely to be the case for a much of the year as these questions persist.
Nadya Britton , who managers tax & accounting industry content, offers her perspective that “tax & accounting firms are unique in that they’ve had a talent problem since before any article [on the subject] was ever written… . It’s an industry where people don’t do a lot of movement so there aren’t spaces created for people advancing.” Indeed, many accounting firms are choosing to focus on skills-related topics like client communication, building efficiency, effectively leveraging technology, and client service, among others, Britton adds.
And to close the episode, Gina Jurva, manager of both government and corporate content, echoes that much of what has been said with regard to law firms and tax practices also applies to corporate legal departments, financial institutions, and government agencies, but adds that there are also additional areas of focus to be aware of in these areas, particularly the growing importance of a focus on environment, social, and corporate governance (ESG) questions.
“[W]hen we think about ESG, I would say we cannot deny the importance of environmental issues, human rights across the globe, social justice, and of course, governance, meaning you have to have that buy-in at the top the board, C-Suite, senior leaders and government officials,” Jurva says.
No doubt, there are myriad questions related to talent on the horizon for 2022. Even in disparate industries like those covered in this podcast, there will be a high degree of commonality for the problems faced. And for leaders in those businesses and agencies who are watching steps taken by other segments of the market, perhaps there will also be commonality in some of the solutions for stabilizing the workforce.
