According to LinkedIn’s latest Work Change Snapshot, ten per cent of workers hired in 2024 have job titles that didn’t exist in 2000.
The report highlights how drastically jobs have changed – and are changing – as technology evolves. Of the 5,000 business leaders that LinkedIn spoke to, 7 in ten in Australia say that the pace of change at work is speeding up.
But how are small businesses handling these changes? ISB heard from small-business leaders about how their roles have changed, and are changing, due to technology.
Hiring for new skills
Some of the business leaders who reached out to ISB have already hired new talent to help them keep up with changing demands in the workplace.
“I have hired a specialist in AI to work on some prompts for me to meet my marketing goals,” said Shona Gates, owner of Team Sexy Selfish. “It has been money well spent.”
Lel Smits of the Stock Network says that she has already hired data specialists to keep on top of her digital strategy. “As AI and emerging tech evolve, we foresee growing our team further, ensuring we stay at the forefront of digital education.”
Expanding roles
Though some SMEs are hiring new talent, many have unsurprisingly had to absorb these demands themselves rather than creating new jobs.
“For us, it has been an expansion of roles, rather than new hires for specific roles,” said Jane Kilkenny of Fitness Energy. “For example, senior team members incorporate social media marketing and online training platforms for clients.”
Jo McKenzie, who runs her virtual digital support business Call on Jo entirely solo, expressed overwhelm at the amount of technological change. “[Solopreneurs] are often taking on pretty much all of the roles that the big businesses have employees for.”
Even HR professionals at large companies are feeling overcome, according to LinkedIn. It’s Change Snapshot found that 53 per cent say expectations of them at work are higher than ever before. Under these conditions, how on earth can small businesses – many of whom are solopreneurs – keep up?
How can SMEs keep up?
It seems that many small-business owners are adapting to changed skill demands the way they always have: by taking up the challenges themselves. Many have committed to continually upskilling themselves and their staff, weaving tech education in their day-to-day processes.
“It’s critical for small businesses to build a culture of continuous learning, upskill current employees and ensure agility in the workforce,” says Adam Gregory. Gregory is the Senior Director of LinkedIn’s ANZ Talent & Learning Solutions team. “Small and micro businesses that lack the capacity or resources to continuously hire new talent should consider in-demand skills when building their teams to future-proof their business for the changing nature of work.”
Many of the small businesses that reached out to ISB said that they were not considering new hires because they felt they could upskill themselves and their teams adequately.
Pete Williams of Simply Headsets said he’s using tech, not new employees, to adapt. “After 15 years in the biz, we have no current plans to hired a full-time ‘AI wrangler’, but we’re leaning into tech that simplifies processes and gives our customer service team an edge.”
“I don’t see myself hiring specialist roles in the future for AI but will be educating myself on how to use AI to improve the way we run our business,” said Jason He of Kaleido Loans.
Tom Adam of Canberra Martial Arts & Fitness explained, “I don’t see the need to hire different staff. But we must ensure they are well trained on the available solutions.”
The importance of soft skills
When it comes to upskilling the small-business workforce to keep up with changing tech trends, Gregory urges employers to consider soft skills when building their teams.
“When hiring, instead of focusing on job titles, we need to hire people based on their skills,” he said. “Today, the top five skills that hiring managers in Australia consider the most important in the era of AI show an emphasis on people skills: Problem-Solving Abilities, Communications Skills, Critical Thinking, Time Management and Listening Skills.”
As many small-business owners know only too well: it’s not the tech skills that matter most, but the ability to learn them quickly.
