I talk to many businesses and one of the themes that continues to come up is talent shortage
The Manpower Group 2015 Talent Shortage Survey indicates that 42% of employers report difficulty filling jobs and 59% of employers experiencing talent shortage say this has a medium or high impact on their ability to meet client needs.
More than a third rate lack of candidates and limited technical competencies as reasons for experiencing difficulty in filling roles.
However, possibly the most concerning finding is that 25% aren’t pursuing any strategies at present. This has a real impact on the future competitiveness of a business as sustainable competitive advantage is built over time and is a continuous process.
What can businesses do to attract talent?
There are many things an organisation can do to attract talent. Lets look at three that you can concentrate on right now.
Make the role more attractive
If you want to attract the best talent you need to make your role more attractive. Often the easiest and quickest way to do this is make the role more flexible. The best talent often have quite rich lives and have interests outside of their role.
Simply stating what the role is means you will attract someone who is just looking for a role. However, if you take the time to build a really attractive role you are much better placed to attract someone who is going to give you so much more than just the role in front of them.
Don’t over rely on screening software
Change the way you build your job brief. Often, organisations want someone who has proven experience in the same role, in the same industry. This is perceived as a ‘safe option’ as it is perceived to lower the risk of a bad hire.
What you are doing in reality is dramatically reducing the field from which to choose from. You are also potentially missing out on genuine talent from complementary industries.
Build a talent pool
We have talked before about how Talent pools can help you with recruitment When we talk about building talent pools we are talking about going well beyond a database that may or may not be current and rich with data.
A talent pool starts with a real understanding of the job brief and your business, where it is right now and where it is heading. Then actually going out into the market and finding potential candidates and building relationships with them over the long terms. This approach means there will be the shortest possible distance between you and the best talent.
If you have any questions or would like to know more about talent shortgage and what you can do please contact me paul@paulgreening.com
