Rethinking Talent: Recruiting for the Workforce Ahead
Your biggest risk isn’t your balance sheet. It’s your people strategy.
The Perennial Challenge of Recruiting
Why Recruiting Needs a New Playbook
Today’s labor market is a paradox: some sectors are facing shortages while others are grappling with layoffs, and skills gaps continue to widen. Macroeconomic shifts, evolving demographics, and disruptive technologies are rapidly redefining what it means to build a resilient workforce.
And with recent government realignment and shutdowns, 2.28 million federal employees are now considering private sector opportunities.
The urgency is clear. Navigating this workforce paradox requires more than adaptation; it demands strategic foresight and actionable intelligence. SHRM turns workforce chaos into clarity, equipping business leaders with the data, insight, and strategy needed to make human capital their ultimate competitive edge.
Today’s Workforce Won’t Win Tomorrow — CEOs & CHROs Know It.
Key Data & Trends
66%
of Executives feel the current environment is less than good
56%
HR professionals rate their organization's recruiting efforts as effective
61%
recruiting professionals face challenges due to a lack of qualified candidates for open roles
30%
recruiting executives are aligning recruitment with broader business strategy
Overlaying This Shift: Federal Workforce Dynamics
Outpace Change: 4 Strategies to Future-Proof Your Workforce
You can’t build the future with yesterday’s workforce intelligence. SHRM helps you lead with insight, not instinct: diagnosing workforce risks before they hit the bottom line, quantifying culture’s impact on performance, and aligning talent with strategy in real time. Because the next disruption won’t come from your competitors — it will come from inside your workforce.
Member OnlyStruggling to attract and hire top talent?
Ask a SHRM Knowledge Advisor for practical solutions to streamline recruiting and reduce costs.
1. Prioritize Data and Technology
With complex hiring economics, HR leaders must balance costs and outcomes. Guided by SHRM’s expertise, integrate AI and data-driven insights to streamline recruitment, reduce turnover, and align hiring with business goals.
Written for recruiters, this book outlines useful technologies and digital capabilities and how to use them to positively impact your organization's recruitment activities.
Master the intersection of artificial intelligence and human ingenuity to lead innovation and equip yourself with practical, ethical, and strategic tools to implement AI solutions with confidence.
2. Adopt a Skills-First Mindset
Prioritize proven capabilities to quickly address talent gaps and boost workforce agility. Partnering with SHRM, and ensures your organization’s readiness for ongoing market and technology shifts.
The Skills Action Planner translates your assessment results into a tailored roadmap for progress — aligned with your organization’s unique goals, challenges, and opportunities.
Find a vendor to help you recruit for the skills your organization needs.
Unlock your organization’s full potential by leading the shift to skills-first talent strategies. The SHRM Foundation Skills First Specialty Credential gives you the tools to hire, develop, and advance employees based on what they can do.
3. Seek Untapped Talent
Discovering untapped talent is key to adapting to labor market fluctuations and skills gaps. SHRM helps you reach new talent pipelines, foster agility, and build resilient teams ready for change.
Due to frequent moves around the country and globe, military spouses face very high rates of unemployment and underemployment. Even so, they are a source of untapped talent for employers. New research from SHRM, the SHRM Foundation, and USAA sheds light on the challenges and opportunities in hiring military spouses.
Companies open to giving military spouses and veterans the flexibility they need to succeed can benefit from their unique skill sets to grow their businesses.
Unlock your organization’s competitive edge by mastering the art and science of attracting, engaging, and hiring exceptional talent. Design inclusive strategies, navigate global hiring complexities, and lead seamless virtual recruitment with ease.
4. Rethink Your Global Talent Strategy
As the demand for skilled talent outpaces supply, global hiring is becoming a strategic imperative. Understanding visa options and immigration shifts can make — or break — your recruitment plans.
The H-1B visa remains the go-to for specialized talent, but new policy changes — including a proposed $100,000 application fee — are reshaping how employers plan. The J-1 visa, meanwhile, offers a flexible, lower-cost route for internships, training, and short-term exchange programs.
Equip HR Teams with AI Skills for Recruitment and Beyond
42% of HR professionals cite insufficient knowledge or training as their biggest barrier to using AI effectively.
Build the confidence and capability your HR team needs to leverage AI — in recruitment, and across all HR functions. SHRM’s AI Enablement for HR program offers live virtual training, readiness assessments, practical guides, and resources to help your team automate processes, unlock deeper insights, and gain a competitive edge.
FEATURED SHRM RESEARCH
The Real Story Behind the U.S. Labor Shortage
SHRM’s latest data brief on understanding the U.S. labor shortage found that as of July 2025, 32.7% of job openings could not be filled by unemployed individuals whose most recent employment was in the same job group.
In tight markets, most organizations chase the same visible talent. Instead, HR leaders can seek those who are all too often overlooked to bridge talent and skills gaps.
Access this essential research to:
Benchmark your organization’s challenges against national trends.
Rethink your sourcing, upskilling, and retention strategies with data-driven clarity.
Prepare for the “new normal” in workforce supply and demand.
Newest Member Resources
Workforce planning helps organizations analyze staffing needs, address skill gaps, and align talent strategies with business goals for long-term success.
Get answers to questions on President Donald Trump's H-1B visa overhaul: $100,000 filing fee, lottery changes, and enforcement updates. Stay informed on immigration policy shifts.
Get guidance on political affiliation questions during the recruitment process to reduce the potential risk of liability and lifestyle discrimination claims.
Learn how to hire and retain experienced older workers. Discover proven strategies to employ and support this workforce and create a more experienced, well-rounded staff.
Five Forces Shaping the Future of Talent Acquisition
- Talent Economics
- AI & Tech
- Talent Market
- Skills-First
- Talent Pool
The New Talent Economics
Today’s hiring decisions are driven by powerful economic forces — from interest rates and inflation to shifting labor supply and demand. Local market trends and sector dynamics add another layer of complexity, while global competition for talent raises the stakes.
For HR leaders, staying ahead means anticipating these changes and adapting strategies to attract the best people, wherever they are.
Workforce Planning: The Future of Work
Workforce planning isn’t just about filling seats — it’s about shaping the future. This course empowers you to lead strategic workforce planning that drives agility, reduces risk, and fuels long-term growth.
Hiring with AI and Technology
AI and technology are transforming how HR leaders approach hiring — from boosting efficiency and supporting compliance to tackling bias in decision-making. As automation accelerates, balancing smart tools with a positive candidate experience is key.
Staying ahead means exploring the future of recruiting tech stacks and leveraging innovation to build stronger, more agile teams.
AI + HI Specialty Credential
Master the intersection of artificial intelligence and human ingenuity to lead innovation and equip yourself with practical, ethical, and strategic tools to implement AI solutions with confidence.
Resilience in a Tight Talent Market
Labor shortages are reshaping the talent landscape, driven by demographic shifts and sector-specific gaps. HR leaders are responding with creative sourcing strategies and tapping into global hiring pools to find the right skills. Retention is now a critical part of recruiting — keeping top talent is as important as finding it.
Global Hiring: Complying with U.S. Visa Requirements
Hiring global talent takes more than a good interview—it takes compliance. This course helps you navigate U.S. visa requirements with confidence, from understanding visa types to managing audits and employment verification.
Skills-First: The Talent Advantage
Skills are emerging as the new currency in talent acquisition, with a clear shift toward skills-based hiring over traditional degrees. HR leaders are investing in upskilling, reskilling, and building robust internal talent pipelines to stay competitive.
Proactively mapping future skill needs ensures your organization is ready for whatever comes next.
Talent Acquisition Specialty Credential
Unlock your organization’s competitive edge by mastering the art and science of attracting, engaging, and hiring exceptional talent. Design inclusive strategies, navigate global hiring complexities, and lead seamless virtual recruitment with ease.
Unlocking the Full Talent Pool
Unlocking new sources of talent involves welcoming older workers through flexible opportunities and engaging groups often overlooked — such as veterans and people who were previously incarcerated.
Embedding inclusion and diversity (I&D) into recruiting practices closes skills gaps, driving innovation, productivity, and business value.
Talent Acquisition: Inclusion & Diversity in the Talent Acquisition Space
Strengthen your hiring strategy with inclusive, bias-aware practices that deliver real impact. This course gives you actionable tools to recruit diverse talent, reduce bias, and drive meaningful inclusion throughout your talent acquisition process—all in just 1 hour.
Evaluate and Elevate Your Team’s Recruitment Capabilities
The Applied Skills & Knowledge Assessment tool measures your HR team’s skills against essential competencies global HR pros need, including Talent Acquisition.
Unlock the full potential of your HR function with data-driven insights.
Attend the Most Important Events to Prepare for The New Era of Workforce Planning
April 19 - 22, 2026
Dallas, TX or virtual
Winning the future starts with winning talent.
Learn how to adapt your talent strategy, build skills-first pipelines, and stay ahead of workforce shifts at the premier talent event of the year.
March 9 - 10, 2026
San Francisco, CA or virtual
Artificial Intelligence plus Human Intelligence = ROI for the workforce of tomorrow.
Dive deep into how organizations are blending AI tools with human potential to redesign jobs, upskill workers, and unlock innovation.
June 16 - 19, 2026
Orlando, FL or virtual
The largest stage for the future of work.
From AI disruption to workforce agility, SHRM’s Annual Conference brings together global leaders to reimagine work and strengthen HR’s role in business strategy.
Webinars – Free for SHRM Members!
Member-Only Weekly
Effective Recruiting Strategies for Today’s Talent Market
November 5, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Non-Member: $149
Member-Only Weekly
Untapped Talent: Older Workers
November 19, 1:00 p.m. EDT
Non-Member: $149
Member-Only Weekly
Finding the Right Talent Through a Cohesive Hiring Strategy
On-Demand
Non-Member: $75
Not a SHRM Member Yet? Here’s Why It Matters
Workforce disruption isn’t slowing down — and neither can your strategy. SHRM members don’t just stay informed; they stay ahead.
As a member, you’ll gain:
Exclusive data & insights to make confident workforce decisions
Proven tools & frameworks for strategic workforce planning
Practical case studies & playbooks to turn disruption into ROI
A global community of HR leaders to benchmark, learn, and lead with confidence
The new era of workforce planning is here. SHRM Membership is your competitive advantage.
Join SHRM Today and ensure your workforce strategy delivers measurable impact — for your people, your business, and your bottom line.
Multiply Your Impact: Bring SHRM Membership to Your Entire HR Team
As a SHRM member, you already know the value of having cutting-edge research, actionable tools, and a powerful professional network at your fingertips. Imagine the results if your entire HR team was equipped with the same resources, insights, and strategic capabilities.
With a SHRM Corporate Membership, you can:
Prove HR’s collective value by leveraging SHRM’s data, benchmarks, and case studies to connect people initiatives to P&L outcomes.
Expand your team’s impact through specialty credentials, toolkits, and events that help design business-aligned HR strategies together.
Stay ahead as a team with the latest insights into workforce trends, compliance shifts, and innovative HR practices.
Engage your whole team with a global HR community that shares real-world solutions and strategies to accelerate organizational growth.