The election will change the way organizations recruit

Employees and employers alike are anxious to know how their lives — both professionally and personally — will change after the upcoming presidential election. And while both parties share very little in common policy-wise, there are some outcomes that may look similar. 

Fifty-nine percent of U.S. executives say the results of the election from the Nov. 5 election will have the potential to dramatically change the course of their business strategy, according to a recent report from G-P, a global employment platform and compliance technology provide, with nine in 10 anticipating that the election will have an unprecedented influence on global business, in particular.   

"The increase in inflation over the last three years was already putting a lot of down pressure on the labor market." says Jae Gardner, director of operations for recruitment platform Redrob. "With the election looming, companies are still marketing job positions nationally, but focusing a lot more internationally just in case things here get tight." 

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The reality is that the labor market will potentially tighten, according to Gardner, no matter which candidate wins — it's only a matter of how and why. 

If the Republican party wins, the campaign for former President Donald Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China and a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports. Recently, the Republican nominee even threatened to tax John Deere 200% on imports after the manufacturing company announced plans to move some of its production to Mexico. Higher tariffs will mean that organizations will have to make budget cuts elsewhere in an effort to keep up with costs — including potentially reducing headcounts. 

"You would see a tightening of the belt across the board as a lot of companies replace middle management with automation or [offshore talent]," Gardner says. "They're going to want to make sure shareholders are still good and that they're making their dividends and they just won't be able to incur any additional labor costs." 

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Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic contender, has proposed raising the federal corporate income tax rate to 28%, which would increase the combined average top tax rate on corporate income to 32.2% — the second highest in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. As a result, many companies may decide to also rely more heavily on AI and automation, or in some cases even move their headquarters to countries with lower corporate tax rates. 

"Companies may not want to back new ventures," Gardner says. "They'll be forced to find different ways to shed off the [figurative] fat at their company just to make sure that they're producing the same sort of profit they did last year." 

And while the circumstances may not be ideal, a more globalized workforce isn't necessarily a negative outcome, Gardner says. In fact, there are many business advantages to it for both employees and employers, just as long as they are adequately prepared for the incoming change. 

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"With a global talent pool, companies are able to replenish ranks constantly — yearly, monthly, weekly and even daily," he says. "When you're able to find the best talent across the globe, hyper-local companies that didn't have previously have access to the same resources as larger companies getting seen and heard and they're pumping those resources back into those areas. We're seeing the overall democratization of capitalism succeed in a way that enriches us all universally." 

Still, employees across the U.S. face uncertainty around job security due to the state of the economy and the increased investment in AI. In the face of the election, employers will have to do what they can to mitigate some of the additional stress and employees will have to insulate themselves from the outcomes as best as they can by adding to their hard and soft skills and making themselves indispensable for the moment. 

"It will balance out in the end," Gardner says. "That's not something that happens overnight, of course, but it's something positive to look forward to for the future as we continue to wade through some of the more negative news."