Not finding the right talent for your organisation can be very frustrating. Take a look at our top tips for tackling a scarcity of talent and how you can turn it around to get the most out of your existing workforce through a better talent management strategy.
By Cintia Ortiz, HR Consultant at Cubiks’ Spanish partner Facthum-aRH
We know from a range of studies that there’s often a clear link between optimising internal talent and achieving better company results. Employers who do well in key areas such as; leadership development, employee engagement, workforce planning and learning agility show increased profit and reduced accident rates (McBassi, from Wellins et al, 2009).
At the same time, organisations are encountering more difficulties than ever when it comes to finding and engaging the right talent. It’s hard to figure out how this is even possible, when the world population has been unstoppably growing in recent decades. There are now over 7 billion citizens in the world, with unemployment rates in countries such as Spain sitting at more than 20%. How then, is finding the talent they need such a major challenge for employers?
Talent scarcity can have a negative impact on organisations. Some consequences outlined in Manpower’s Talent Shortage Survey are; reduced capacity to offer a good service to clients, decreased competitiveness and productivity, minimised innovation capacity, increased turnover rate, and a negative impact on the morale of current employees.
Due to prevailing economic, social, and political factors, problems around talent scarcity are expected to continue to be a challenge for employers. However, HR departments have the knowledge and capacity to tackle some aspects of the problem. Here are 5 key activities that will strengthen your organisation’s internal capability and help with the search for new talent.
The latest research informs us that to enhance overall performance, we need to enable individuals to combine their aspirations and strengths in their roles (Mazor et al., 2015). It’s still important to recognise and build on development areas, but leveraging strengths can be equally important.
Apart from the legal and ethical implications, without having a diverse and inclusive selection process, we miss out on a range of attributes that boost creativity and innovation. A diverse workforce brings diversity of thought, and with it a host of business benefits. One of the best ways to avoid conscious or unconscious biases is to include standardised assessment tools during the selection process. By doing so, we improve objectivity and reduce the chances of making biased decisions.
According to HR Grapevine’s Guide to Assessment and Testing, 80% of the companies listed in the Fortune 500 in the USA, and 75% of the companies listed in the Times Top 100 in the UK use psychometric tests in their selection processes.
Manpower’s Talent Shortage Survey highlighted that more than half of employers report difficulties in retaining their high performers. The information we have about recent worker profiles can offer some clues about what needs to be offered to them. One of the most commonly used actions is to equip employees with tailored development plans. The resulting sense of progress is a major driver that can nurture employees’ commitment.
Having a structured onboarding plan can improve the chances that an employee stays at your company during the following 3 years by up to 69% (Laurano, M., 2013). In fact, 70% of workers make the decision to stay or leave within the first six months of work (Filipkowski, J., 2016) and 22% of turnover often happens within the first 45 days of employment (Julian, E., 2009).
This is valuable knowledge, as it enables us to focus our efforts on the talent we need most. Keeping in mind that developing a management career can take around 10 years, it is well worth investing time and resources in identifying high potentials; those who are capable, motivated and committed. This will feed into a very healthy succession pipeline.
A few more ways you can boost your talent management processes are:
On balance, every organisation looks for motivated employees, with the appropriate knowledge and skills, committed to the business and aligned with its corporate values. Yet, the economic, social, and political context makes the search for the ‘ideal’ employee complex. Luckily, HR departments have more tools and knowledge at their disposal than ever. This means they’re well positioned as a business ally within organisations, enabling HR teams to turn excellent talent management into a great competitive advantage for the future.
If you’d like to know more about how Cubiks and Facthum can assist you with enhancing talent management, email info@cubiks.com or fill in the form below and we’ll get back to you.
About Cintia
Holding a degree in Psychology and a specialised postgraduate course in Human Resources, Cintia is currently working as an HR Consultant at Facthum-aRH, focused on the area of Assessment and Measurement.
Sources
Wellins, R. et al. (2009). Nine best practices for effective talent management.
Prising, J. (2015) Manpower Talent Shortage Survey.
Mazor, A. et al. (2015). Tendencias Globales de Capital Humano. Available at Deloitte.com.
Di Lieto, C. et al. (2014) HR Grapevine's Guide to Assessment & Testing.
Laurano, M. (2013) Onboarding 2013. A new look at new hires.
Filipkowski, J. (2016). Onboarding outcomes: fulfil new hire expectations.
Julian, E. (2009). How to wow new hires with social onboarding: keys to ensuring retention, productivity, and success.