Where Has All the Talent Gone?

According to The Global Talent Index Report published by the Economic Intelligence Unit there is a global talent shortage.

Although the US fares somewhat better than other regions due to strong universities and a comparatively deregulated work environment, even in the US there are more open positions than can be filled due to scarce talent.

Quite a few, in fact.  Despite the high unemployment rate, there are still 2.5 million jobs in the U.S. for which employers are actively recruiting but have been unable to fill due to lack of ‘hard’ skills or industry experience, according to Deloitte’s 2010 Talent Pulse Survey. 

Kinda makes you go, 'Geez, just hire someone!'

And in fact, that may start happening, along with some other interesting developments.  In a recent post Employment Paradox: Unemployment, Skills Gaps, Difficulty in Hiring, Josh Bersin explains how larger companies are considering multiple strategies to bridge the global talent gap:

1. Integrating recruiting and talent management – Increased talent mobility will allow companies to optimize how people are deployed and improve engagement by providing new opportunities.
2. Formal employee development – This will enable companies to hire younger, less experienced workers without having to wait - and pay a premium - for the perfect candidate.
3. Informal learning and mentoring – Mentoring and peer learning programs will help companies ‘bottle’ internal expertise so that new employees can ramp up more quickly.
4. Technology investment – Modern, on-demand learning platforms can help build deep skills faster.
5. Re-thinking recruiting – To find the right people and recruit passive candidates, companies are considering how to better leverage social networks.
6. Improved contingent worker management – If 20% of the workforce is made up of contingent labor - a number that is expected to double over the next decade - it's essential to understand the costs and capabilities of this significant workforce segment. 

These strategies will help bridge the skills gap while improving engagement and retention.  However, there are two additional items worth considering:  

1) Soft Skills

The Global Talent Index Report also identified a critical shortage of soft skills such as creativity, agility and versatility. The large number of open positions in the US makes me wonder if companies are letting people with strong soft skills walk because they don’t have the exact industry experience sought.  Since it’s somewhat easier to acquire a new skill than it is to acquire a new personality, it may be time for an assumption check. 

2) Incentives

A manager’s most important job is arguably developing people but that’s rarely what they are incented to do.  Getting managers on board with the talent development strategies companies are considering may require additional training or re-thinking how managers are compensated. 

Companies should also give serious consideration to how mentors will be recognized or rewarded for sharing their expertise, as I wrote in What's In It for Bob?   Mentoring programs and peer training work best if the program is well thought out and your mentors want it to succeed.

You could also do this, but I wouldn't unless you want your top talent gone to competitors, every one:

 

Picture courtesy of workforce-vision.com.

Laura Schroeder is a global talent specialist at Workday, headquartered in Pleasanton, CA.  She has nearly fifteen years of experience envisioning, designing, developing, implementing and evangelizing global Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions and holds a certificate in Strategic Human Resources Practices from Cornell University.  Her articles and interviews on HCM topics have been published in the US, Europe and Asia.  She lives in Munich, Germany and enjoys cooking, reading, writing, kick boxing (well, kicking things) and spending time with friends and family. If you want to read more from Laura, check out her talent management blog Working Girl or follow her on Twitter @WorkGal.

Comments

[Dan Walter]

Perhaps people are just hiring for the wrong positions. I sometimes refer to these as "unicorn" jobs. Companies have a hard to filling a position and continue to add new requirements and expectations to the unfilled role. After a while they would need a mythical creature to meet even their lowest expectations.

Maybe there aren't 2.5 million unfilled, incredibly skilled positions. Maybe there are really 5-7 million not so hard to fill positions that have been combined into a smaller group of unicorn jobs.

[Laura Schroeder]

In Germany they say, 'The pig that lays eggs and gives milk.' In German you can say that in only two words.

There are positions that require a certain level of training, like physical therapist or dental technician, but I think you're onto something here!