RGP CEO: Pandemic Accelerated Staffing Trends Already Underway

For the staffing industry, 2020 brought myriad changes as the world adjusted to life during the pandemic. 2021 will likely continue those changes—with more yet to come.

In a blog just published by the Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), RGP CEO Kate Duchene writes that the events of the past year have been more an accelerant of staffing trends already underway, rather than a first-time catalyst.

In 2021, three trends, in particular, will drive how fast the changes we’re seeing will continue, even becoming permanent over time.

Long before COVID, employees were looking for more workplace flexibility. Many got just that in 2020 and look for even more in the future. With almost half the US workforce estimated to be working from home by 2027, look for talent to be even more borderless in the future. Finally, with generational changes—including millennials and Gen Z now the majority—human-first purpose will be a major driver in staffing careers. “For younger knowledge workers,” Duchene writes, “it’s not just about a paycheck—it’s about a purpose.”