When talent shortages are on the rise, organisations need to decide how they will manage talent acquisition. Traditionally, there have been three options: Buy talent from elsewhere in the market, build talent internally or borrow talent from other organisations. But is this still possible?
CNBC in the US have reported there are now more jobs than people out of work in the US. In Australia, the Department of Jobs and Small Business has a growing list of professions with skill shortages.
Since the GFC, investment in developing entry-level Talent has slowly grown but not at the pace the market requires. Coupled with a large part of the workforce (Baby Boomers) moving towards retirement, it creates pressures such as skills shortages where there are not enough skilled people to go around.
What are the advantages of building your own talent?
The inherent advantage of building your own talent is that you can plan and have control over what attributes and capabilities your workforce should have. This gives you the opportunity to future proof your workforce in the following ways:
Primary Advantages:
- Developing relevant skills and capabilities for new and emerging roles
- Introducing new and emerging technology
- Creating a workforce that is agile and adaptable to change
Other Advantages:
- Higher levels of staff engagement and improved tenure
- High ROI and low attrition
- A strong succession plan for technical operational or leadership roles
- Improved workforce diversity
Where do you start when building your own talent?
Five key focus areas need to be followed when implementing a Talent program. These key areas are outlined below.
1. Identifying Talent Needs – Starting with being absolutely clear on what your needs are is the most important step. Most organisations tend to dive in and say we need University Graduates or an Apprentice without fully looking at the need or the design of the intended role. As systems and processes for work continue to evolve the skill in the workforce does not necessarily have to be degree qualified. It may involve a grouping of competencies that don’t relate to a mainstream qualification. As a result of this Paraprofessionals or a Vocational Cadet may be a viable option.
2. Attracting Talent – Having clarity on your needs makes the process much easier as it will identify the available pathways where you can attract this Talent. Typical paths available are unskilled workers, school leavers, existing staff, diversity groups, vocational cadets, apprentices, trainees, university undergraduates and university graduates.
3. Assessing and Recruiting Talent – depending on the audience you are targeting, you can run a number of recruitment and assessment activities to identify the best candidates. These include recruitment campaigns, recruitment screening, competency assessments, assessment centres, behavioural interviews, testing, interviews, etc.
4. Developing Talent – Depending on the capabilities and experiences you want to develop for this group, you would include the following appropriate development interventions; residential programs, assessments & profiling, postgraduate programs, rotational placements, projects, shadowing, secondments, interpersonal skills training, coaching and mentoring just to name a few of the possible activities.
5. Engagement and Retention – Many organisations stop focusing on the development of these people once they complete the program. This heightens the risk of losing key people you have invested in. There is an opportunity to continue the relationship by implementing a range of activities that will tie the people together and reduce the risk of attrition post-program. A number of these options can be included; Balanced Career Planning, Continuing Professional Development, Intercompany placements, Workplace Flexibility, Health and Wellness, Study tours, Masters programs, GAP Years, Mentoring, Coaching, Alumni Programs, the list goes on.
Following this approach will enable you to put an effective program together, generate a pool of valuable Talent and provide an environment that, encourages people to stay in the organisation post-program.
ChandlerWoods has a proven track record in developing Talent Programs backed up by national and international awards. We are currently developing an industry-specific program to develop capability in an area that has no formal structure or qualifications.
We have partnered with the client to develop a blended program, using industry experts to deliver the program with our expertise in structured learning and assessment that will address the issue of resourcing a critical industry role in high demand.
At ChandlerWoods we have extensive experience partnering with organisations seeking to improve their business effectiveness by improving their culture through developing effective people strategies. We bring an outside perspective and over 40 years of expertise on how to get the best out of your people and help your organisation succeed using our proven people strategies.
Our specialist services include:
People and Process Audit and Review – We partner with global experts with the most up-to-date research to help our clients understand the root cause of issues impacting culture and build sustainable people solutions aligned to business strategy.
Talent Development Programs – We have award-winning experience in developing and delivering tailored Talent programs for businesses and industry supporting entry-level roles, industry-specific roles, diversity groups and future leaders.
Coaching – Our approach towards coaching and our experience in dealing with people with a diverse range of roles and responsibilities ensures our clients are well supported. Our business coaching delivers results through accountability.
Talent Acquisition – We partner with our clients to understand their people needs. Our expertise ensures candidates with the required capabilities, behavioural attributes and fit to the business are only considered by our clients. Our track record speaks for itself. We have successfully recruited CEOs and Entry Level employees with our proven approach.
Onboarding Services – We ensure new employees to an organisation are setup for success by putting in place an effective onboarding support program for our clients. This program reduces an employee’s time to become fully engaged and effective in the business.
Our services and expertise are recognised by Governments through our preferred supplier and pre-qualification status.
Get in touch with us today for more information about how we can help you.