The top 10 talent trends for next year have been released and sustainability is underscored as part of the return to a growth strategy in 2022.

Overview of 2022 business climate: ESG-centric strategies to take center stage

Companies will be expected to increase their efforts towards addressing sustainability and climate challenges as part of their business strategies. Although Singapore has made some progress towards sustainability over the years, 2020 was a notable year for a sudden urgency in how businesses should approach sustainability. Thus, companies with long-term Environmental, Social, and Governance- centric strategies (ESG) and strong, transparent sustainability reporting are primed for success against their competitors. Sustainability is expected to be rooted in business strategies even beyond 2022. Thus strategic and operation roles with a focus on ESG would likely increase, especially in the finance and supply chain sectors.

Furthermore, according to this report by EY, ESG promotes long-term value creation through an integrated approach that considers both financial and non-monetary value contributed by customers, suppliers, shareholders, regulators, and society which would collectively shape an organisation’s total long-term value. Other than identifying and addressing sustainability risks, an ESG-centric approach would also lead to the creation of new business opportunities. Companies are not only searching for smarter solutions to increase profitability but are also looking for solutions that are beneficial to society and the environment as well. Key considerations in the creation of long-term value would include “business strategy and transformation, performance improvement of systems, processes and tools, risk management and compliance, and measurement, reporting, and assurance”.

Top 10 talent trends in Singapore for 2022

Here are the top talent trends for 2022:
1) Spotlight on sustainability in 2022
2) More ESG roles in Banking and Financial Services companies
3) Talent acquisition specialists needed as hiring increases
4) Logistics operators to focus on supply chain optimisation
5) Hypergrowth expected in the Technology sector
6) Consistent demand for Flexible Recruitment
7) Revolution imminent in Life Sciences
8) Customer-Centric Marketing will come to the fore
9) Social Selling and Customer Success rising in prominence
10) Candidates prioritise companies with hybrid work models

What do you think of these top 10 talent trends for 2022? How do you think your company can prepare to move in tandem with these expected changes?