49% Of All Job Postings by S&P 100 Companies In 2018 Were For Just 39 Roles

Forty-one percent of all job postings by FTSE 100 companies in 2018 were for just 20 roles, while the remaining 59% were for 641 other roles. The most competitive roles in the U.S. and U.K. are in critical functions across IT, research and development, marketing, sales and customer service.

“In the U.S. and U.K., we’re seeing many of the same in-demand skills, including data analysis, advanced coding and solution selling,” said Lauren Smith, vice president, Gartner’s HR practice. “The 39 critical roles in the U.S. include software developers, marketing managers and computer system engineers/architects, whereas in the U.K., the most critical roles include customer service representatives and financial managers.”

Competition for talent complicates recruitment

This convergence of demand reflects fundamental changes in the workforce, including an increasing focus on digitalization. Gartner research found that 67% of business leaders agree their company must become significantly digitalized by 2020 to remain competitive. As new technologies emerge and corporate business models evolve, many organizations across most industries are pursuing the same talent.

In addition, skills and roles are themselves evolving with technology, meaning business leaders may not even know what their own talent needs will be. Gartner said most organizations expect more than 40% of leadership roles to be significantly different within five years.

Recruitment costs are surging as recruiters must handle a more complex mix of requisitions, with more specialized and unfamiliar requirements. Time to fill for open positions is increasing, especially when recruiters are hiring for talent in areas outside of their core competence.

Data helps focus the talent search

Data on external labor markets offers important future-focused, data-driven insights into emerging technologies, the associated demand for new technical skills and the geographic locations that provide rich sourcing opportunities for sought-after talent.

“Those insights not only uncover potentially new sources of talent, they also provide a more sophisticated way to view and define your talent sourcing strategy in order to drive business results,” said Lauren Smith, vice president, Gartner’s HR practice. “Understanding the increased competition in the external labor markets also enables organizations to be more strategic about which roles to fill externally, and whether they must look to their internal talent pool to fill certain positions.”

Additional information is available to Gartner for HR Leaders clients in the “Most Competitive Roles for 2019 Report.” Gartner TalentNeuron conducted an in-depth annual analysis of all job postings in the U.S. for the S&P 100 between January 1 and December 31, 2018, and identified the roles for which at least 90% of S&P organizations were recruiting. The same analysis was conducted for all job postings in the U.K. for the FTSE 100 between January 1 and December 31, 2018, to identify the roles for which at least 67% of the FTSE 100 were recruiting. The threshold for competitive roles is lower in the U.K. because many of the employers in the FTSE 100 do not have operations in the U.K.

About Gartner Reimagine HR

Gartner experts will provide additional insight into the labor and talent issues at the Gartner ReimagineHR Conference, taking place October 28-30 in Florida. Gartner Reimagine HR is the premier event for HR leaders around the world. Join Gartner and senior HR executives to hear key insights and learn actionable strategies necessary to support organizational performance. Gartner ReimagineHR will also be held August 6-7 in Sydney, and September 18-19 in London.