Name: ManpowerGroup CEO: US job market is 'Very Strong'
Uploaded: 2022-05-03
Duration: 7 min 44 s
Description: CEO Jonas Prising says companies need to offer more than higher pay to win top talent.

CEO Jonas Prising says companies need to offer more than higher pay to win top talent.

ManpowerGroup CEO: US job market is "Very Strong"

Leadership

john it's great to have you with us to talk about manpower group. And let's begin by talking about the job market, given that your company is one of the largest staffing companies in the country. How would you describe the state of the U. S. Job market right now, the state of the U. S. Labor market is very strong. We see her employer hiring intentions are close to record highs. Our unemployment rate is almost back to where it was pre pandemic and demand for workers in really all industries and in all regions of the U. S. Is very strong. Well you're right, the unemployment rate is at historic lows. So who stands to do best in this tight market? Is that companies looking to hire or people looking for better jobs with more pay? Well right now it's clearly a worker's market. So workers are able to look at the kinds of companies where they want to be, you know, having the right wage level is of course table stakes at this point. So then it's a question of how close are they, you know, kind of flexibility can I expect kind of training and re skilling and up skilling programs do they have? And what kind of values do they represent? Do they align with the kinds of things? I believe in it that I think is important. So that's really what's driving, you know, what kind of people you're able to attract and what kind of success you have in attracting those workers? Well by now we all know about the great resignation and survey after survey says this trend is gonna continue, one in four workers plan on quitting in 2022, that's the prediction. And so we know that this is a tough market for employers to find good people in your experience. What do they need to do to attract top talent and also keep their valuable employees at the same time? So the employer market means that really has shown them the need to know exactly what levels of market demand they have to pay for to attract the workers. That is table stakes to be able to get people to want to join your organization. And then many of them are working on the other aspects of making themselves an attractive employer. What kind of benefits do we provide? The kind of um what kind of flexibility do we provide? What is the purpose of the company and why do we think that you as a candidate would be ideally suited to join this organization and be part of the team? So they're both working on the the salary levels, but they're also heavily involved in profiling and differentiating themselves in these other dimensions that really are important to job seekers today. At what point do companies pay so much that it could hurt their bottom line? Um Do you see any signs of that already? We think wage inflation has peaked And we would expect wage inflation to ease over the remainder of 2022 and that's going to be something that employees and companies are going to be very interested in because up until this point they have been able to pass on the cost increases to the consumers that is not going to be possible forever. And I think we are at the tipping point where companies are going to say, look, I can't keep on passing these cost increases on to my consumer until unless it affects demand. So we are going to be more restrained in managing our cost inflation of all different kinds so that we still have a viable and strong business. Well in tough times like these bonus, what is the most common mistake that companies employers make as companies are navigating a more turbulent environment. It will be very important for those employers to be cognizant of the branding as an employee employer company they have with candidates and really think hard about retaining their workforce maybe longer than they would have done in the past because they've experienced what it's like in a very tight labor market to attract the right kind of skills and the right kind of talent into the organization. Talk to us about a report from manpower that analyzes the lessons from the great resignation and you focus a lot on what workers want. Tell our viewers about the job seekers who are mostly millennials, what are they looking for, First of all they want a better work life balance and greater flexibility. They also want to know they're joining an organization, They're in an organization that helps them acquire new skills. So they remain marketable within the organization, but also outside on the labor market. And last but not least. They also want to align with their own views and values and understand what the organization stands for and what the organization's view and position is on various issues, societal issues. What is the company's view on climate change? Those kinds of copies are increasingly important for the millennial workforce. So do you have a some career advice? I mean some really good tip for job seekers. When you change jobs, you should really change jobs into something that you're passionate about that gives you options. That gives you the opportunity to grow your skill set and where you're aligning with the views of the organization, You're choosing an organization. You feel good about choosing going to an organization only because they pay more money may turn out to be the wrong decision, Jonas. I want to pivot our conversation to hear about your recent trip to Poland. I understand that you met with Ukrainian refugees. Many of them are eager to restart their lives hopefully in the United States. Uh, and they're gonna be looking for jobs. What did you learn about them? And how would you describe the talent pool whether they are professionals or blue collar workers. We know there are great workers, very adaptable but varying skill sets and they will be a fantastic addition to any labor force that they were to choose to settle into whether it's in europe or here in the United States as well. I understand that you're working with the biden administration as well as a bunch of american ceo uh to help Ukrainians connect to job opportunities here in the US. Um this is a great thing you're doing. I hope you're going to be very successful. How's it going so far? And how do you see this whole process playing out? That's right, Susie, we are working with an organization called Welcome that us that brings together companies, Ngos and the administration to really facilitate the entry of these refugees into the US with all kinds of support, be it housing resettlement training, particularly language training and the skill sets that they need so so far. I think it's very encouraging these individuals are motivated to come to the United States and to resettle here and um I think we are seeing some very nice progress but as we see the numbers increase, it will have a bigger impact. So looking ahead, what do you think we'll be saying about these displaced Ukrainians 345 years from now? Do you see them making any kind of significant contribution to american businesses and the U. S. Economy? We think they are going to be a terrific addition to the U. S. Labor market based on our experience with Ukrainians working in other countries. We know they're eager to participate. They are going to learn new skills, they're able and desire to learn language skills. We think there will be a great addition to us.