Whether it’s being called “The Great Resignation,” “The Great Reshuffling” or something equally as catchy, employers in a wide swath of sectors are finding it increasingly difficult to fill vacant jobs. Executives at large U.S. companies confirmed this in a new report when 62 percent of them admitted to “struggling” to deal with labor shortages. The study, commissioned by RPA technology provider UiPath, also found that 78 percent of those polled are likely to invest or increase their investment in automation technology to help manage their shrinking labor force in the face of higher-than-usual turnover.
The study found that most companies are being significantly impacted by The Great Resignation. Nearly three-quarters of respondents in the study indicated they are finding it difficult to attract new talent, 69 percent said they are losing skilled people necessary to manage tasks and nearly 60 percent said higher rates of onboarding and offboarding are disrupting workflows.
Because RPA is specifically designed to automate these workflows, companies are increasingly considering it to manage short- and possibly longer-term labor shortages. Eighty-five percent of percent of executives polled indicated that implementing automation technology and training—resulting in offering more employees a chance to engage in higher-value work—would help them retain and attract staff.
“The dynamics of work and the workplace continue to evolve, creating multi-faceted pressures on employers to retain employees and attract new talent,” said Bettina Koblick, chief people officer at UiPath. “Business and technology leaders recognize automation is both a long-term strategy that maximizes the impact of their existing technology stack and a solution that helps each individual employee grow and succeed. The skills these workers gain in automation-first environments provide rich career opportunities in inventive workplaces.”