Platform brings together firms laying off with those hiring

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Image: Accenture

A platform that brings together organisations with staff who have been laid off or furloughed because of the coronavirus with those in urgent need of workers has been launched by a group of chief HR officers.

The free-to-use People + Work Connect platform – which was developed by professional services firm Accenture, insurance and investment firm Lincoln Financial Group, software company ServiceNow and mobile network operator Verizon – allows organisations to share the skills and experience of the employees they have put on furlough with those with vacancies.

Under the UK’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, employees who have been furloughed are unable to work for other organisations while on leave. Accenture said it would look at each market’s legal requirements as it rolls the service out globally.

Accenture CEO Julie Sweet said: “Covid-19 has led to unemployment that is surpassing record highs. The United Nations estimates that the economic effects of Covid-19 on the world of work are proving to be far worse than the 2008-2009 financial crisis, with cut-backs equivalent to nearly 200 million full time workers expected in the next three months alone. At the same time, companies are urgently looking for thousands of workers to provide essential services and cannot fill these jobs fast enough.

“We expect this has the potential to put hundreds and thousands of people back to work across the globe.”

So far, organisations including Walmart and Marriott have registered to use People + Work Connect, while an additional 250 are expected to be on-boarded over the next week. It is currently only available for private sector organisations, but it is expected to incorporate public sector roles soon.

Christy Pambianchi, executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Verizon, said: “This employer to employer platform will enable organisations to quickly identify and fill jobs in locations where there is a need and we can hopefully eliminate friction points that can extend the time it takes for people to find work.

“While the pandemic has been the driving force behind People + Work Connect we expect this type of collaboration to have a lasting model into the future.”

It is only open to employers and is not a job board that can be used by individuals seeking work. There is no personally identifiable information on the platform.

It is open to companies with 100 or more roles available.

Donna Morris, chief people officer at Walmart, said: “We’ve set a goal to hire 150,000 new associates by the end of May and right now we’re adding 5,000 people every day. We’re thrilled to be a part of People + Work Connect to help us continue finding great talent to add to our team.”