Businesses around the world are bolstering efforts to improve the workplace experience, driven in part by record low unemployment and a rise in business confidence, according to a report from Randstad Sourceright.

The report, which is based on a global survey of more than 800 C-suite and human capital leaders, found that 51% of employers plan to increase their investments in on-site benefits and innovative technologies this year to improve productivity and retain top talent. This comes as 70% of companies report an optimistic business outlook for 2018, while concerns for talent scarcity continue to remain top of mind, according to the report.

“Beating the competition for talent in 2018 begins in the workplace,” Rebecca Henderson, CEO of Randstad Sourceright, said. “Record low unemployment levels and a growing skills gap are driving employers to focus on improving their overall workplace experience so they can retain top employees and attract potential talent.”

Over the next 12 months, three-quarters of respondents said they also plan to enhance their company’s comprehensive hiring processes by investing in innovative HR technologies and data analytics platforms. Further to that, 76% of respondents say they expect talent analytics platforms to play a critical role in sourcing, attracting, engaging and retaining talent this year.

Meanwhile, 11% of the human capital leaders surveyed said they plan to provide training or reskilling to existing employees within the next twelve months. With talent acquisition challenges becoming increasingly complex, the report emphasizes that reskilling current workers can be part of a comprehensive strategy for companies to acquire critical resources while boosting employee retention.

Randstad Sourceright’s report also showed that 1 out of 4 companies plan to shift more permanent positions to temporary or freelance talent to address the rising talent shortage, with 76% reporting that the right person for any role may be an employee, contractor or contingent worker and could come from anywhere in the world.

“At the end of the day, companies faced with a tight labour market must pursue a multi-pronged hiring strategy that incentivizes top performing employees, while attracting hard-to-find talent,” Henderson said. “By implementing an integrated talent approach, companies can improve their workforce agility, retain top employees and increase their employer value proposition to better manage talent and drive overall business growth.”