Not Enough Talent to Go Around

As far as real talent is concerned, demand will always exceed supply. Our global Talent Shortage Survey reports thousands of employers have difficulty filling jobs due to lack of available talent.

Employers looking to solve current talent shortage problems or mitigate future ones need to develop a sustainable workforce.

PREMIUM RESEARCH: Integrating Contingent Workforce Management With Strategic Workforce Planning

Usually, we buy needed talent. But, just as in professional sports, the imbalance between supply and demand leads to a premium price for purchased talent. Further, it requires the talent to be available and inserted at a fixed point in time. Single incumbent jobs are often filled this way.  Companies go to the “market” with an open job and pay the competitive price for the talent desired.  Buying talent will always be part of a company’s workforce strategy.

Another option is to build a competitive workforce. Companies embrace a build strategy when the volume of employees needed makes a “buy” strategy either too expensive or impossible due to workforce demographics. Building a continuous flow of talent is not as difficult as employers think. With real hiring volume, there are opportunities for “public-private” partnerships. For example, in a three-way partnership between local government, schools and employers — everyone can win.  Often, local governments will provide incentives to employers that offer training that leads to employment opportunity. Career progression can also be linked to skill development.  For example, many employers that sponsor technical “certification” programs find that employee retention improves dramatically.

Forward-thinking employers are taking a new look at the ROI associated with employee potential – that is, candidates who might not satisfy a checklist of skills today, but have the potential to be leaders tomorrow.

One way to determine whether candidates have longer term promise is through an analytical framework called “Teachable Fit.” Developed by ManpowerGroup, the framework helps predicts how successfully a candidate’s skills gaps can be filled. Teachable fit looks at a range of individual assets including knowledge, skills, values and mindset, and personality and intelligence.

By emphasizing soft skills and cultural fit in cases where the hard skills can be reasonably taught, teachable fit unleashes talent that may have previously been overlooked.

While the talent shortage is here to stay, it can be managed successfully. The trick is to plan for a sustainable workforce, and that work can begin today.

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