At the start of each and every year, most of us plan on making radical changes, whether we're talking about ourselves or the conditions around us, usually in order to reach an extraordinary result - most sales so far, the best software, most motivated employees, largest profit etc. We know that and, therefore, in order to support the momentuum, we will greet you with the new challenges that might slow you down in reaching your extraordinary result in business. We're keeping our fingers crossed they won't!
The talent crisis first became worrisome for the HR staff and then ultimately spread to the entire business world since no matter how innovative, open or capable a company is, in the end it will need new talents to keep its performance rising or at least stable. A global average published in 2015 shows that 38% of the employers find it very difficult to find the right people for their company, the highest percentage since 2008.
What about Romania? According to the same study, Romania is facing the worse talent crisis on the old continent, with an average of 61% managers worrying that they may not be able to fill in the positions that their business needs. Romania is closely followed by Greece (59%) and Turkey, Bulgary, Hungary. On the other end there's lucky Ireland ( 11%) but also the Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain with 14%.
The employers also told us what the causes for employees shortage are, in their experience. First of all, there aren't enough applicants for the jobs. It's as simple as that. If, by any chance, there are enough candidates, they either lack in experience or in hard or soft skills. Ultimately, employers are also dissatisfied with the unrealistic income expectations the candidates have.
Do we really need to worry? Well, we can't really decide unless we take a look at the consequences of this crisis. The EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) statistics show us raising percentages in comparison to last years. This basically means that the employers find the consequences all the more threatening. So:
55% of the employers find that the main negative impact is reduced ability to serve clients
51% say that productivity and competitivness are lowering
Reduced innovation and creativity (37%)
The more fortunate news is that there's still time till 2020 to do something about the looming crisis. The forecasts show that by 2020 the crisis will reach its peak, with more employees leaving the work market than those entering it. This will make the active workers even more valuable and their retention combined with the recruitment of fresh talent will become top priorities in the business world. We absolutely must not be caught off guard by this phenomenon.
Now that we're aware of the crisis that's creeping in on us, what can we do about it?
Obviously enough, the majority of the large companies and corporations have already started addressing this crisis since their existence and market position are at stake.
Here are some human resources strategies put in place around the world :
flexible timetable, focused on the balance between the professional and personal life of employees ( based on objectives rather then working hours)
-autonomy on more varied/complex tasks
-training on both hard and soft skills necessary at work
-training potential leaders
-satisfying their need for independence ( the quicker they enter the production phase, the quicker they can specialize on a domain and gain autonomy on their work)
-initiatic learning programmes, customized on the needs of the new comers ( they may lack the skills, but make up for it in learning and growth potential)
micro-management focused on the generations present on the market (e.g. most of the employees are Millennials, with a different work ethic and expectations than the baby-boomers or Generation X)
So that's what the work market has prepared for us - a talent crisis that turns recruitment new talent and keeping our current colleagues safely in their seats into each company's priority. In Romania this crisis has already hit the business environment and hit it hard, with 61% of the employers facing the challenge of finding and then hiring the right people.
Now that you know all this, what's your talent management strategy?
( we're not even taking into account that you don't/won't have one!)
by Radu Murzea
by Delia Mircea
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by Ovidiu Mățan
