Its What Workers Want Report 2019 found that although 70% of organisations are investing in automation, a quarter (24%) do not currently promote their investment when recruiting.
Employers that fail to highlight their investments could be missing out on talent, as nearly half of employees (48%) said they would be attracted to work for an organisation that was investing in automation or has plans to do so.
Thirty-seven per cent of employers said they promote their investment in digital transformation during interviews, 34% promote it on their website and 27% do so in job ads.
Of the respondents who said they wanted to work for an organisation that is investing in digital transformation, 56% expected to be updated about this in an interview, 50% expected to see information in job adverts and 48% expected to be able to find information on an employer’s website. Only 13% expected to only find out about digital transformation investment at offer stage, and 17% during onboarding.
The research comes as employers are struggling with skills shortages across several sectors, with nearly two-thirds (58%) saying they lack the skills to implement automation among existing staff and more than a third (39%) experiencing moderate to severe skills shortages when hiring.
Simon Winfield, managing director of Hays UK and Ireland, urged employers to better promote their investments in tech and automation. “Employers shouldn’t be afraid to promote their investment in digital transformation and automation, in fact they should be shouting about it. Our research found that employees are positive about digital transformation in the workplace and nearly half of UK workers would be attracted to work for an organisation who is investing in these areas,” he said.
He added that this will help to open up the talent pool: "As employers compete to find talent they should be promoting their investment at key points in the hiring process – ranging from job ads to the interview stage. By promoting it more heavily they’ll open up the talent pool by appealing to workers who rate this investment highly.”
Staff in the private sector are slightly more interested in working for an organisation that is investing in digital transformation than those in the public sector (50% compared to 43%).
Fifty-one per cent of professionals currently working in very large organisations said they are more likely to want to work for an employer that is investing in digital transformation, compared to 42% of professionals currently working in small organisations.
The report surveyed 5,194 employers and 9,358 employees.
