As the global workforce struggles to keep pace with hiring needs, demands for talented employees exceeds the supply, leaving many organizations wondering what strategies to adopt to ensure that they can retain and even expand their workforces to maintain competitive advantage. Challenges of this talent shortage and proven solutions are discussed.
Employers throughout the world are increasingly struggling to keep pace with expanding hiring needs. A recent workforce planning study conducted by Aon Consulting for one of its clients showed that nearly 60 percent of its key knowledge workers and leaders would need to be replaced in the next five years.
But, demand for talented employees exceeds the supply, leaving many organizations wondering what strategies to adopt to retain and expand the workforce to maintain competitive advantage. Systematic workforce planning linked to key strategies and business challenges is a foundation for informed talent strategies and processes that will impact the bottom line favorably.
A summary of specific and proven tactics used by organizations to attract, develop and retain employees is outlined in this article and is excerpted from The Growing Talent Crisis: Challenges and Solutions. Click here to download the complete text.
Implementing new strategies and tactics to attract, develop and retain talented employees will help organizations manage the talent shortage and mitigate the risks associated with a workforce growing at a much slower rate than in the past.
These strategies will ensure organizations fill current and future pipelines with talented employees whose development can be accelerated. It is essential that organizational leaders commit to a planned talent management approach and then hold the organization accountable for implementation. This means, in part, working to identify where gaps exist and creating talent pools of outstanding employees who can move into new roles. Effective branding and recruiting will enable successful external recruiting where internal gaps persist.
Few would argue that attracting talented, hard-working, productive individuals is important to any business or institution. Addressing this issue with leading-edge thinking will become increasingly critical as organizations attempt to draw talent from the more limited pool of potential employees.
In this environment, you must sell the organization to job candidates. Some proven methods for recruiting high-potential employees include:
To prepare for the workforce of the future, organizations must identify the skills required for all key positions in the organization. It is vital to carefully manage the pipeline of talent to ensure that the supply meets the demand forecasted, based on organization's business strategy.
High-performing individuals want to be assured of an ambitious and rewarding career path, making targeting and timely training and development programs essential. The talent management process must be fact-based, beginning with the talent implications of the business strategy and delivering the right mix of key talent in the right place at the right times. Effective approaches to developing top talent include:
While employee retention generally is an important issue for CEOs, retaining talented, ambitious employees is a particularly complex task. These high-performing individuals recognize that opportunities for advancement exist outside their organizations. The pressure to replace experienced employees, managers and executives will escalate as retirements for the nearly 80 million members of the baby boomer generation accelerate dramatically in the next decade. To support retention programs for your high potential employees, consider implementing the following action plans:
Effective performance management initiatives should balance measurement and feedback on the results desired and the behaviors required to deliver optimal results. This is critical to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage in an increasingly service-oriented, knowledge-based economy.
Effective employee onboarding has a positive domino effect: it ensures that new hires feel welcome and prepared, giving them confidence and resources to make an impact within the organization, and also allowing the company to move forward.
Retail employers will be doing some shopping themselves - for talent. Many employers surveyed have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates. Read the major recruitment and retention strategies for the retail industry in 2008.
For businesses that need extra help during the season, the holidays start with their first "Help Wanted" ad for seasonal work. Make sure you are ready to find the best holiday help for your company.
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