People responsible for managing the duties of employees are well aware that some large-scale disruptions such as social or geopolitical crises can occur. The future is uncertain, so the key should be to actively support employees, allowing them to adapt more easily to dynamic changes and unexpected events. This will not only help to achieve sustainable results and benefit the company, but also enable employees to grow. To create a workforce strategy tailored for the present day, it is necessary to consider human resources, which have been extremely important since the dawn of time - those being humanity, specialization, competition and scarcity. These four factors combined make it much easier to see how workforce strategy is linked to business strategy, technology and culture.

People looking for a new job are often motivated by their values. Among other things, the priorities of employees are influenced by the problems faced by the general public. Among representatives of Generation Z, which is currently conquering the labor market, it can be seen that the demands on employers are getting higher. Companies are expected to take an active role against climate change or take a strong stance in the face of social justice issues. Company ethics is something that is becoming increasingly important and attracting more job applicants. An indication of a company that is moving forward in line with the spirit of the times is to provide diversity of personnel in terms of identity. Showing the company's humanity as much as possible is a great way to draw people in. The basis is to communicate the essence of the goal in such a way that as much of the public as possible identifies with it and that it is in line with currently appreciated values.

The turn of the 20th century was the beginning of the rapid development of transportation, mass production and distribution. This helped to create an economic surplus, which was used to stabilize the labor force. Consequently, workers were able to focus on performing their main duties, consistent with their skills. These events provoked widespread discussion regarding the actual value to stakeholders and shareholders. After the passage of time, it turned out that they also helped create more competition in the labor market. Today, one can see a similar turn of events, when it is the digital revolution that has intensified the competition between potential job candidates. Location is no longer as important as it once was, as the trend is now shifting to a hybrid or remote work mode. The boundaries of different sectors are increasingly blurring. Some of the skills that are sought after for specific positions may also be possessed by employees from completely different industries. All this means that the number of interested people per job offer is on average much higher than a few years ago. Being the person responsible for managing employees, one should be aware of the responsibility that lies on their shoulders. Strengthening the company's position, creating the best possible strategy and introducing a favorable business model will not be a success if the company does not have at its disposal employees with the right skills. Having people with exceptional aptitude and unique knowledge on your staff is the key to successful business development.

The origins of the formation of specialization and the general division of labor into smaller sectors are considered to be the beginnings of agriculture. Further deepening of specialization took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when society faced industrialization and rapid development of technology. The development of mass production began to require not only the operation of specialized jobs but also the use of machinery designed for specific functions. Nowadays we can see the increasing specialization of organizations, which is directly influenced by digitalization. Companies are increasingly narrowing the scope of their activities by focusing exclusively on offering services and products that are their specialty. They are also more willing to use the support of partners or external specialists. In addition to this, new and even more specialized jobs than previously existed are constantly being created, such as cyber risk specialists. One of the priorities of any company should be to detect as soon as possible whether hiring an expert in a particular field will be necessary in the future. The moment a business has a unique opportunity but does not have properly qualified employees, it can easily be missed. The main challenge is to develop the right intuition to keep abreast of changes taking place in terms of specialization. Even if you manage to correctly diagnose what kind of employees you need to get and what their qualifications should be, the next problem may be reaching the desired job candidates. Access to potential employees depends on a number of different variables; however, it is assumed that a company that offers jobs on attractive terms has far more room for maneuver.

Various types of crises, public health threats and other unpredictable events have a very large impact on the workforce. A good example is the plague epidemic that occurred in the 13th century through which about a third of the population in Europe died. This situation had a direct impact on a significant decrease in the labor force, which at the same time meant an increase in the bargaining power of serf peasants. A further consequence of this crisis was the overthrow of the economic power of the feudal lords which had been unshakable until then. The pandemic that has gripped almost the entire world since 2020 has also significantly affected the labor market. Some industries are suffering from a huge shortage of workers because the public has ceased to fear making changes and has become accustomed to the risks associated with the unknown - more and more people have dared to leave secure jobs in favor of seeking better, albeit less certain opportunities. Dynamic technological advances are also contributing to the labor shortage. On the one hand, automation means that more and more jobs can be taken over by machines, which contributes to layoffs in some industries, but on the other hand, there is an increasing demand for employees who specialize in operating advanced technologies. Demographic trends are also significant, as they can very vividly illustrate the number of potential employees present in the labor market at any given time. However, shortage does not always have to mean only a lack of candidates for a particular job position. This concept also includes the phenomenon of not having the right skills by employees who are already working in the company. Having in its staff a large number of specialists and experienced experts, it may turn out that some of them do not have the appropriate skills that are required as a result of dynamic changes in the labor market. Companies very often try to solve this problem by offering their employees various courses, training or supporting them in retraining.

A closer look at these four issues allows one to come to a fairly obvious conclusion - hiring strategy influences many issues related to the operation of the company, such as the organizational model, operational approach and financial strategy. A detailed analysis of the company's current situation in terms of scarcity, humanity, specialization and rivalry allows us to assess what the biggest opportunities and biggest challenges facing the business are today.

The first step in analyzing these four factors is to look at each of them separately and see how they are currently manifesting themselves in the company's operations. It is necessary to take a sincere and objective approach, even if the answers to the questions at hand are not always satisfactory. In the context of humanitarianism, it is essential to consider whether the company is sufficiently involved in issues affecting both its closer community and global problems. It's also worth taking a closer look at the main organizational goal and seeing how consistently it is being implemented - if it's set at all. An objective look at the value proposition for employees versus competitors is also vital, as well as considering what else can be further improved in this regard. Developing specialization is likewise very important so one should raise the question of whether its progress affects in any way the functions of individual positions. A company is primarily made up of people, so paying attention to the skills that employees have will also be key. It may turn out that some of them are particularly gifted and have competencies we didn't know about before, or on the contrary, that it will be necessary to provide additional courses and training. These four factors are inseparable from each other, so during the analysis we can conclude that certain aspects related to one factor directly affect the other. This makes it easy to see what the strengths and weaknesses of the company's strategy are. If a business has a refined strategy that is objectively very good and takes into account the conditions in which the company operates and its unique set of attributes, there will be far fewer things to improve.

The most successful companies are distinguished by their differentiation. By conducting an analysis in advance, it is easier to indicate what unique value the company creates and what potential it has. This is very useful when constructing a long-term strategy for at least the next few years. Being guided by the company's long-term goals is important even when making relatively short-term decisions. It is worthwhile to construct a precise action plan anticipating the next stages of the company's development and indicative timeframes. The plan should be regularly checked and confronted with the progress made in reality. Of course, making necessary corrections and changes is most welcome. These actions maximize the effectiveness of the company in achieving its goals. The most successful businesses are those that operate according to a set plan yet are also not afraid to plan dynamically and do not cling to previous arrangements if they are no longer good enough. Thus, it can be considered that this is a sure recipe for achieving and even exceeding predetermined goals.