Talent shortage

There will be a talent shortage, not a people shortage but a talent shortage (people with the right skills at the right time at the right location). There are many consequences of this shortage but I would like to address two of them. As a leader, it will be your main responsibility to ensure that retention is at the highest rate possible as you cannot afford to lose the talent you have. We are in a knowledge economy and you cannot let your intellectual capital walk out the door. Here are three ways to help retention (remember one of the most critical factors in people leaving is their relationship with their supervisor).

1. Inspire your team with a clear vision and mission for the business

2. Innovate around talent issues, think outside of the box, be different. Keeping the knowledge workers who might be retiring will be key (so think how you can provide some interesting avenues that these retiring workers can "ease" into retirement, so often, retirement is immediate and ends)

3. Develop staff by ensuring that you put into place trainings, seminars, mentoring programs (and don't cut these at the first sign of financial distress).

Now, on another note, for those that are in the HR field, talent shortage is positive news. When I meet with organizational heads, their most critical business issue is understanding their talent issues and future workforce planning needs. They are information rich, but intelligence poor, i.e., they have a tremendous amount of information on their staff but it is not aggregated which cannot provide insight. As an HR professional, you can be the true business partner that can have an impact on the business results. A firm that can help the organizational heads and HR professionals identify talent issues proactively and provide impactful insights will be very successful one.

Here is a quick blurb on the talent shortage.

Talent Shortage Looming
With baby boomers poised to retire, employers need to start planning for the future, experts say.

By: Ana Patricia
http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2008/08/retirement.html?partner=rss

Employers need to start planning for a looming workplace talent shortage as legions of baby boomers approach retirement, according to the Life Options Institute, a New York-based retirement planning group.

"The coming talent shortage may force employers to overcome their age bias and introduce new opportunities with which to utilize this powerful asset," Joan Strewler-Carter, the group's co-founder said in a statement.

That includes encouraging retirement-age workers to remain on staff on a part-time basis to help train new employees, Strewler-Carter said. She cited a Merrill Lynch Retirement Study released in 2006 that found a growing number of baby boomers were willing to work past retirement.

Baby boomers are currently the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. labor force, according to the Labor Department. By 2014, about 20 percent of the workforce will be made up of workers over 65, estimates show.

Among other challenges, Strewler-Carter said employers will have to learn to adapt to the different needs of working retirees in the years ahead.

...and you thought we had an Energy Shortage

Every day we hear about the energy shortage (i.e., oil) and the impact on business and our lives. However, I have been spending a significant amount of time researching the talent management space . . . and if you think there is an energy shortage and prices are ever-increasing, you have not seen anything yet. There will be a major shortfall in skilled talent soon. One of the key shortages is leadership skills. If you are in leadership or on a track for leadership, you will have tremendous amount of opportunity if you have a successful background. However, if you are a business leader and need a strong leadership team, it is important that you retain and engage your existing leadership group. Otherwise, there are competitors and other organizations who are on the prowl looking for key leadership skills in their organization. Consequently, you need to be proactive and reach out to those high potentials as they will be your leaders in the future. Some further thoughts:

1. This is a business problem not an HR problem, so business managers need to own the talent management issue. Where appropriate, expand your leadership team so that the future leaders can experience how a leadership team works and feel engaged so that they are a part of the future strategy of the business.
2. Start Today, not at the next meeting. Talent management issues always seems to be at the end of the meeting agenda and an item that gets push to the next meeting. Start now before it is too late and you are in reactive mode.
3. A successful talent development program (attracting, developing, assessing, rewarding and retaining) need to be connected and integrated so that they are dependent upon each other and each are reinforced by each other. The program needs to be directly linked to the business requirements.
4. HR is no longer a place. The HR function is a facilitator and enabler, but not the owner of the issue. HR, i.e, "talent managers" need to be incorporated in each business manager. Remember, it is now, reading, writing, arithmetic, and HR . . .
5. If you are experiencing turnover in leadership levels, you just might be on the wrong path.

With this shortage looming, there is opportunity. As a leader, it is important that you proactively face this shortage and put in place initiatives that will retain your key future leaders (and more important, don't do something that dis-engages them).