Benefits of more efficient hiring practices could mean lower unemployment and higher GDP.
by Lauren Dixon
June 10, 2015
While talent platforms are helping hiring managers now, their potential benefits could reach much further.
According to a new McKinsey Global Institute study, “A Labor Market That Works: Connecting Talent With Opportunity in the Digital Age,” online talent platforms could make job placement more efficient — to the tune of a potential $2.7 trillion increase in global gross domestic product by 2025.
The study said that although many people are unemployed and seeking jobs, many companies still say it’s hard to find the talent needed. With more widespread use of talent platforms, people and jobs could be better and more quickly matched, increasing productivity and decreasing unemployment.
In the study, it’s estimated that 30-45 percent of working-age people globally are unemployed, inactive or part-time workers. Youth especially are affected by unemployment, with the research saying that “without a solid start to propel their careers forward, their economic prospects will be lower over their entire lifetimes.”
The McKinsey study cites a survey by LinkedIn, which asked job seekers about their current employment. Of the respondents, 37 percent said their “current job does not fully utilize their skills or provide enough challenge.” And here’s the kicker (which we all knew, right?): When people are bored and not challenged, productivity will fall, making for a less efficient business and less money earned.
Talent platforms can help people find those more engaging jobs and can help employers find employees who are a better match for positions, which leads to an overall rise in output per worker and productivity. The study says that the effect of “raising productivity by facilitating better job matches … raises global GDP by $625 billion.”
Another major benefit cited by the McKinsey study is better transparency. Information can be gathered about both the job seeker and employers to pair them. With resources like Glassdoor, people can see what others think of a particular company, thus allowing job seekers to make better decisions about companies in which they are interested.
Talent platforms also provide the ability to see a large variety of jobs, and allow people to understand wages for similar positions in their market. With this wealth of information out, students and workers can even make more educated decisions about their investments in schooling and training.
Even for those not seeking full-time employment, the digital marketplace offers many options. The study said, “if even a small fraction of inactive youth and adults use these platforms to work a few hours per week, the economic impact would be huge.”
The largest economic impact from these online talent platforms is, simply, an increase in the number of hours people can work. The study cites this potential impact as $1.3 trillion globally.
With a more efficient hiring process, time between employment would be reduced, thus cutting down on government assistance.
The benefits go on and on. Mobile apps, email, and technology in general have made our working world increasingly more efficient, so let’s apply our advancing technology to our hiring practices.
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