Staff management matters

PESPod - the insiders' guide to the EU labour market

Interview with Lukasz Sienkiewicz

In the latest episode of PESPod, host David Poyser talks with Łukasz Sienkiewicz, lead author of the November 2022 PES Network survey-based report on PES staff management – challenges in the ‘new normal'. Łukasz Sienkiewicz starts by highlighting the short-term changes caused by Covid-19 in terms of “the re allocation of staff towards the services that were needed the most”, but also the significant longer-term changes being seen in a context of “more digitalisation, of course, and automation, but moving to a blended delivery of services” which are part online and part on-site. He identified a key trend as being the need to provide training and onboarding for both staff and management with regards to these new ways of working. PES have also needed to place an increased focus on measures to promote both the physical and mental health of employees in contexts of remote and hybrid working environments. Looking beyond the messages of the survey report, Łukasz presents his wider knowledge and experience with good practice PES measures. Hear about how the Dutch PES (UWV) has been moving from a ‘task-based’ model to a skills-based taxonomy and use of artificial intelligence (AI) to support improved job matching between jobseekers and employers. Such models can also provide “a good basis on which [to establish] training or retraining measures” building on people’s existing skills. This is increasingly important in a context of “emerging skills requirements relating to the digital transformation and the greening of the economy”. Finally, hear Łukasz’s views on why having a “meaningful job”, “support from your direct manager” and “trust” between an employee and employee are more important than ever in a context of hybrid work.

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