The persistent shortage of employees will cause higher investments by companies into human capital and automation. Employers will also focus more on analyzing employee behavior in order to better understand their preferences to ensure their loyalty. Extending of flexible working models can also be expected. This are results of an analysis of the labor market trends for 2018 by HR consulting firm Randstad.

'In the context of technology penetration practically into all areas of business, the demand for workers with technical skills has been rising,' says Jacek Kowalak, CEO of Randstad Czech Republic.'We are stepping into an era influenced by artificial intelligence, which, on the one hand, will cause that certain job positions will disappear, but on the other hand, it will create new jobs. In these new positions, however, technical skills combined with progressive thinking, flexibility and the willingness to learn new things will be alpha and omega,' he added.  

According to Randstad, among trends for 2018 are:

1. Wage growth and adjustment of non-financial benefits.

2. Development of flexible working models. Flexible working arrangements and a more relaxing working environment will become the key to employability and employee retention. 

3. Greater emphasis on the so-called soft skills in the recruitment process. Employers will increasingly focus on "soft" skills when recruiting new staff. In the training of employees, on the other hand, they will focus on "hard" skills. This does not apply to medical, law professionals, etc, of course.

4. Greater importance of technical (STEM) skills. The importance of corporate academies is on the rise. 

5. The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation. 

6. Sophisticated employee analysis as a tool for maintaining people's loyalty. Randstad experts expect a massive boom in the use of advanced analytics and tools for identifying key personalities in teams, factors of (de)motivation. 

Full article in Czech.