The number of job losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been nothing short of staggering – with another 3.8 million people losing their jobs in the U.S. last week. While many companies have had to make the difficult decision to furlough employees, other industries are ramping up efforts to deal with increased need. Now, one collaborative effort has created a technology platform to connect companies with talent, and ultimately help more individuals find new roles.
Professional services company, Accenture, recently launched a new platform aimed at redeploying talent from companies that have undergone layoffs or furloughs with those organizations looking to hire. The initiative, called People + Work Connect, is a pro-bono project developed by Accenture in partnership with Chief Human Resources Officers at Lincoln Financial Group, Verizon and ServiceNow. The free, employer-to-employer platform allows companies to, “quickly identify and fill jobs in locations where there is need.” By using an analytics-driven platform, People + Work Connect, “gives organizations that have open positions a view into the workforces available to fill those jobs, enabling companies that have available employees to help their people find new roles.” The founders of the project believe the effort will continue after the crisis has subsided. Christy Pambianchi, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Verizon, explains, “We expect this type of collaboration to become the norm going forward. Now is the time to build a more resilient workforce—for today and tomorrow.”
The People + Work Connect effort shines a light on how quick thinking, an open mind and technology can help us deal with some of the challenges coronavirus has created for both business and society. While some jobs may never recover after the pandemic, organizations that are quickly able to identify and reassign transferable skill sets into new roles will help to keep our economy going and communities thrive.