20.05.2026

Employers prioritise sales, customer experience and AI skills in a changing job landscape

Employers are reshaping their talent strategies around commercial performance, customer experience and advanced technology skills, according to leading global advisory, broking and solutions company, WTW’s (NASDAQ: WTW) 2026 Q1 General Industry Talent Intelligence Report. The findings point out that in a tougher economic environment, organisations are prioritising the capabilities that drive revenue, strengthen resilience and help manage risk.

European employers are doubling down on sales and relationship management to protect growth – making revenue generation, retention and commercial discipline the top capability as customer spending remains tight. Customer experience capabilities remain core. Leaders are investing in service quality while automation and AI redesign contact centres and global service delivery – raising the bar for digital fluency and change adoption.

The report also highlights growing demand for governance and control, especially compliance and documentation or records management as regulations shift and organisations tighten operating discipline.

This shift aligns with a broader move towards skills‑based workforce strategies and talent management, where capability frameworks cut across job families and enable more dynamic deployment of talent as priorities change.

At the same time, organisations are embedding technology‑enabled skills, for instance prompt engineering, digital visualisation and agentic design across functions rather than confining them to specialist roles. Skills such as data analysis, programming large language models, AI agent builds and scripting are increasingly expected as part of day‑to‑day roles, supporting data‑driven decision‑making and scalable digital operations.

AI, supply chain and workforce analytics roles are continually important as employers look at future work transformation. These roles are expected to help fill the skills gap, manage workforce costs and align talent to business strategy in an uncertain economic climate.

Ruchi Arora, Senior Managing Director, Work and Rewards at WTW, said: “As skill requirements evolve rapidly and jobs continue to transform, careers are becoming less linear. Employees are seeking growth and development in new ways, rather than following a traditional career path. The report highlights the increasing importance of career mobility, reskilling, recognising transferable skills and mapping adjacent skills, particularly in technology-enabled and analytical roles, where external supply continues to lag demand.

“For employers, this puts renewed emphasis on internal talent marketplaces, transparent skills frameworks and reward structures that recognise contribution and capability, not just job titles. For individuals, it underscores the value of building an adaptable skills portfolio and gaining varied career experiences.”

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