The market and the economy is an ever changing thing. While a medieval peasant could predict that he, his son, and his grandson would all be farmers, we have no idea what our job may be in five years. The process of jobs being destroyed by technology like automation, only for new jobs to then pop up has become ever faster.

But for HR professionals, this process invites nothing but chaos. Management tells HR to hire workers for this or that skillset, only for that skillset to become either shortly irrelevant or to stay in such high demand that finding qualified workers becomes practically impossible. This happens because HR is reacting to what is needed instead of proactively developing a strategy to organize and develop a future workforce.

Whether you are part of a small business or large corporation, HR professionals who take the right steps can build a workforce which will always be productive regardless of changing technologies. This requires not just revamping HR approaches, but an effort by the entire company to understand what future businesses will look like and what workers are needed.   

Hire for character, train for skill

The above statement may be an old adage, but it is all the more important today. Given how quickly skills can become obsolete, having workers willing to adjust and learn new skills is far better than workers who join with the right skills, but subsequently refuse to adapt.

But as Forbes contributor Anada Lakra points out, finding good character workers through resumes or job interviews is practically impossible. Resumes say little to nothing about a candidate’s character, and a gregarious jerk will do better in a job interview than a quiet team player.

So how do you hire for attitude? While it is not an exact science, the key is to look for examples of character and thoroughly profile candidates for times when they have shown a willingness to learn from others, a commitment to teamwork, and an ability to see the big picture. Do not just assume that the candidate who gives the best handshake or tells the best joke is a person with good character.

Build a strong, ethical company brand

Every companies wants to hire workers who have both character and skills. But in addition to the challenges in finding such individuals, HR professionals have to ensure that they hire the talents they do find instead of a competitor. And while a business may first think of offering more money or perks, they must also consider the impact of the company’s brand.

This is especially true if we make the reasonable assumption that your company is looking to hire young millennials. Millennials have made it very clear that they want to work for ethical, socially responsible companies. A study committed by Sustainable Brands found that “75 percent say they would take a pay cut to work for a responsible company” and “64 percent won’t take a job from a company that doesn’t have strong corporate social responsibility practices.”

Talk to management about the importance of building an ethical company brand and showing that the company is committed to progressive values. This will draw a steady supply of young, talented workers which will let your company readily adapt to changing circumstances.

Promote Innovation

Talented workers want to learn the skills which will help them keep pace with our changing economy as much as businesses do. And while businesses can offer training programs and such to help them learn, the ideal approach would be if they go out and learn on their own time.

HR professionals thus need to encourage their managers to promote an atmosphere of innovation, where workers are not afraid to ask questions and do not settle for “This is how it has always been done.” When workers know that a business will reward them for learning new, relevant programs, it will encourage them to learn on their own and pick up those new skills which any business will need.

Let Data Scientists be Free

I am not a math guy, and I will freely admit to finding the developing world of Big Data and analytics to be very strange and a bit scary. But I do understand that if HR professionals want to know what future workers will be like, what upcoming trends will happen in the economy, and what skills will be needed, analytics and data science are absolutely crucial.

Unfortunately as I have seen and Greta Roberts with Talent Analytics Corp points out, many HR departments hire skilled data scientists to show their commitment towards using data and then promptly never use their strange and scary advice. This is not just bad because it means that HR is not using all the resources possible, but because when the frustrated data scientist leaves, other data scientists will stay away. You will see what a differene this makes using Russell Brunson’s software.

Trust your data scientist and trust the data. HR professionals cannot ignore the future. They have to learn to be proactive and not just react, constantly finding themselves a step behind.