How to win the race for talent

A recent McKinsey report on the growing talent shortageMangelshortage found that about 90 per cent of organizations expect to have meaningful skills gapLücke; hier: Defizitgaps in the near future. In the UK, for example, about 1.3 million jobs are currently unfilledhier: nicht besetztunfilled, even though unemployment is at historically low levels in both Europe and the US.

Economists predict sth.etw. prognostizierenpredict that finding talent will remain difficult for the next decade and even beyond. And if nothing is done to change this trend, the situation will continue to get worse and the cost to the world economy from unrealized revenueUmsatz(erlös)revenues will be in the trillionBillion(en)trillions.

In short, finding, recruit sb.jmdn. anwerbenrecruiting and then retain sb.jmdn. haltenretaining talented people has become criticalentscheidend, wesentlichcritical to business success.

Finding talent

The race (for)hier: Wettbewerb (um)race for talent is won by organizations that attract people rather than search for them. Such businesses have a strong brand and business culture, competent leadership and ambitious standards. high-flyerÜberflieger(in); hier: vielversprechende(r) Mitarbeiter( in)High-flyers, who can usually change employers relatively easily, do not tolerate mediocrityMittelmäßigkeitmediocrity or incompetence.

By building and nurture sth.etw. pflegennurturing relationships and by promoting the company, recruiterPersonalreferent(in)recruiters can start the process of identifying and attracting top talent for you. This involves marketing your organization like a product. For example, attending university campus events leads to contact with potential recruitneue(r) Mitarbeiter(in)recruits, which can make it easier to get sb. on boardhier: jmdn. ins Unternehmen holenget them on board when the time is right.

Other ways to be noticed include participating in job fairJobmessejob fairs, sponsoring events and offering internshipPraktikuminternships. Make use of social media by sharing information about your organization (such as recruiting films, photos from company events, employee testimonialReferenz, Berichttestimonials) that shows it’s a great place to work. Pay a bonus to current employees for referralWeiterempfehlungreferrals. If your employees have had a positive experience of working with candidates before, this lowers the risk of referralungeeignete Mitarbeiter(innen) einstellenmis-hiring.

The aim is to be an employer of choice. By cultivating a progressive company culture, you can make it easier for potential employees to approach sb.jmdn. kontaktierenapproach you. Manish Chandra, CEO (chief executive officer)Geschäftsführer(in)CEO of Poshmark, says: “An organization that focuses on its coreKerncore values will find people who ... really connect to your missionLeitsatz/-sätzemission.”

Recruiting talent

Keep things as simple as possible. A time-consuming recruitment process will put sb. offjmdn. abschreckenput people off. Your recruitment materials and interfaceSchnittstelleinterfaces must be suitable for mobile deviceGerätdevices, and job postings should be short and to the point.

Recruit for potential rather than for rolehier: Positionroles. You want forward-looking people who enjoy a challenge and are prepared to growhier: sich weiterentwickelngrow. Give them a clear potential career pathberufliche Laufbahncareer path. Talented people are motivated by opportunities — including promotions, skills development, etc.

A powerful employee value propositionAuflistung der Vorteile eines Unternehmens als Arbeitgeberemployee value proposition (EVP) helps you to stand outherausragenstand out for quality candidates. An EVP is the set of benefitZusatzleistungbenefits you offer employees in return for their skills and experience. Your EVP outline sth.etw. umreißenoutlines the benefits, financial rewards and career development opportunities employees have. It should also include your organization’s vision and values, which will help find the right talent — people who understand your culture and believe in your vision.

Retaining talent

A reputation for people development helps to attract and retain talented staff. In surveyUmfragesurveys by McKinsey, the top reason given for quit a job (ifml.)eine Stelle kündigenquitting a job was the lack of career development and advancement. The most successful organizations have learned from this, setting up talent management programmes that encourage and develop their people — especially their high-flyers.

You need competency management processes for developing, monitoring and managing the development of skills, abilities, knowledge and behaviour within the workforcePersonalbestandworkforce. This also gives you benchmarkVergleichsgrößebenchmarks, so you know top talent when you see it.

Training is the most common way to develop employees’ skills, but another way is mentoring. This is a particularly good way to help new people understand the company culture and develop professional skills. It’s a highly effective retentionZurückbehaltung; hier: Bindungretention tool, as people see that their potential is recognized and that the company is be committed to doing sth.sich engagieren, etw. zu tuncommitted to helping them grow.

Talent management is also an important part of successionNachfolgesuccession planning. By identifying successors to key positions in the organization, you can actively develop those people’s skill setKompetenzenskill sets. This works well with mentoring, especially when the menteeMentee, von einem Mentor / einer Mentorin betreute Personmentee is the probable successor of the mentor.

If you are able to get the right person into the right job and nurture them properly, within an excellent company culture, you are well on the way to building a very talented and successful organization.