As talent leaders, you know — and perhaps take solace from — the fact that thriving amid the current disruption in the workplace will happen because of your people.

The newest edition of LinkedIn Global Talent Trends, which launched yesterday, highlights the critical importance of talent and illuminates it with data and executive insights. 

The data comes from LinkedIn’s Economic Graph, the LinkedIn Executive Confidence Index survey, and the global community of more than 1 billion members on the LinkedIn platform. The insights? They come from senior LinkedIn executives who are immersed in talent every day.

As the report notes, managing talent these days can leave leaders feeling pulled in multiple directions at the same time. “Remote work and return to office,” the report says. “Hiring surges and headcount reductions. Developing AI-specific skills and prioritizing innately human skills.”

To make sense of it all, let’s look at four of the key data insights from the new report:

1. Hiring is down, but internal mobility is on the rise

Though hiring across the globe was sluggish at best, internal mobility has increased 6% year over year. 

This is big: Not the number so much as the focus. For decades, companies have looked to external talent to fill most of their openings. But internal mobility, when done well, reduces recruiting costs and time to fill, increases retention and employee engagement, and retains critical institutional knowledge. 

Internal mobility can also provide flexibility and agility when companies need to shift direction quickly — and what company isn’t faced with fast-moving change these days? 

That 6% increase likely indicates that companies, faced with talent shortages and mounting skills gaps, are deciding that upskilling and reskilling their current workforce will allow them to shift gears more quickly.

2. Most organizations have not fully embraced GAI, creating an opportunity for those that move quickly

LinkedIn’s Executive Confidence Index survey found that only 1 in 10 global executives said their organization has broad leadership alignment, comprehensive tools, and strong processes in place for GAI adoption. Some 2.5 out of 10 global executives said their companies haven’t even started on the process.

Clearly, there is an opportunity for early adapters to get a significant bump in productivity, innovation, and even talent attraction by getting GAI right early. 

“Most organizations are curious and excited about AI’s potential,” says Aneesh Raman, the chief economic opportunity officer at LinkedIn, “but are stuck on how to make that potential a reality in the day-to-day of work.”

3. Companies are prioritizing soft skills in their search for new talent

The current upheaval in the workplace is being defined by a revolutionary technology: generative artificial intelligence. So, surprisingly perhaps, 69% of U.S. executives say they plan to prioritize candidates with much-needed soft skills.

Counterintuitive? Only a bit. With technology quickly evolving to take on more and more tasks that rely on hard skills, companies will focus on candidates who have critical soft skills such as problem-solving, adaptability, collaboration, and relationship-building.

Moving forward, of course, candidates more and more will need to demonstrate some AI fluency. Perhaps that will just be table stakes as companies increasingly look for transferable soft skills that allow employees to move nimbly across roles.

4. AI adoption correlates with broader skill development

Companies and their leaders will expect GAI to deliver a bump in productivity and a boost to creativity and strategic thinking. They may, however, be surprised to learn that it often comes with broader skill development.

Employees skilled at using GAI are five times more likely to develop creative ideation, design thinking, and emotional intelligence.

What does that mean for you? “It is more important than ever,” says Stephanie Conway, senior director of talent development at LinkedIn, “to foster a culture of continuous learning for everyone in the organization, from new hires to senior executives, and to invest in learning that is aligned to key business goals.”

Final thoughts: Read the full report for additional data and insights

The brand-new report makes clear that this unsettled moment in the workplace is about more than turbulent change and transformation: It’s about opportunity.