LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky Discusses the ‘Great Reshuffle’

LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky introduced the concept of the “Great Reshuffle” Thursday, with some help from Satya Nadella, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, the professional network’s parent company. Roslansky explained in a blog post Thursday, “We are living through a moment of change unlike anything we’ve seen before in the history of work. We call it the ‘Great Reshuffle,’ a time when everyone is rethinking everything. Business leaders are rethinking their entire working models, cultures and company values. At the same time, employees are rethinking not just how they work, but why, looking for opportunities that best match their needs—whether that’s greater flexibility, better pay or deeper fulfillment. At the core of it all is the beginnings of a new, more dynamic relationship between employers and employees.” A live interview with Roslansky and Nadella will be streamed on Roslansky’s LinkedIn page at 8:15 a.m. PT/11:15 a.m. ET Thursday. Roslansky said LinkedIn surveyed more than 500 executives at the C-suite level in the U.K. and U.S., and common themes included: Flexibility: 87% of employees said they would prefer to remain remote at least one-half of the time, and a majority of the executives surveyed are focused on adapting to that reality.See these changes as an opportunity: Roslansky wrote, “Executives are optimistic about the opportunity to rewrite their playbooks when it comes to hiring, skills development and engaging their talent.” The share of remote jobs posted on the professional network increased more than 8.5 times since the start of the pandemic, going from 1.9% of total global job posts in March 2020 to 16.3% this August. And remote job postings on LinkedIn are seeing twice as many views and 2.5 times more applications than postings for on-site positions. Roslansky also addressed changes LinkedIn has made to its platform to help move the process along, writing, “As companies shift the way they work, they need ways to signal these changes to job seekers. To help with this, we’re making it easier for hirers to list if their open job is remote, hybrid or onsite. We are also making it easier to share how they are approaching the future of work on their company page, including testing or vaccination requirements, or whether they will embrace a remote, hybrid or fully in person culture.” Job seekers can filter for hybrid, on-site and remote positions in the professional network’s job search tool and indicate their preferences on their profiles via the Open to Work feature. Saying that 72% of leaders believe training is crucial to helping people work effectively in a hybrid world, the company has made almost 40 LinkedIn Learning courses available free-of-charge—on topics including being a manager no one wants to leave, cultivating well-being and supporting your team through hybrid work—along with creating a free learning path on How to Work Remotely Effectively. And new skill building platform LinkedIn Learning Hub will enable employers to facilitate community-based learning; identify and promote personalized content for their employees to build the right skills; and provide deeper skill development insights to inform their learning strategy for the future. Roslansky concluded, “With the right principles and tools in place, every leader can seize the opportunities that reside within the ‘Great Reshuffle.’ It will require engaging employees with trust and empathy. It will require new working models, cultures and company values. Ultimately, it will require more discussion and dialogue between employers and employees to drive the best answers and bring people along as part of the process. If we see that change take place across all companies and all societies—and in ways that are inclusive of communities historically locked out or that have seen inequities exacerbated by the pandemic—we will see something big happen in the world. We will create the possibility of unleashing greater levels of progress and prosperity than ever before.”