Coined in the late 90s, the war for talent is synonymous with struggles most companies go through to source skilled workers. Unfortunately, the increasingly competitive landscape of the job market and the volume of choices available to those employees is deepening the problem.
As this happens, the labor force grows relatively smaller and the talent pool shrinks, so companies must create new opportunities to attract the best talent. This is not an easy challenge for companies to solve, so, they must use a sharp strategic mind and invest more time and capital to win the race.
Expert Nate Guggia responds to Simon McSorley’s questions in an engaging interview explaining the current situation of the war for talent.
How Is the Increasingly Competitive Landscape For Hiring Tech Experts in Australia and the USA?
The tech market in Australia is the most challenging for employers in living memory. Compounding the problem are supply and demands challenges. This includes the ever-high demand for those new recruits to deliver results.
However, hiring problems are so well pronounced that you can see a consistent trend on the job boards. McSorley comments on this fact by stating that you can see weekly changes on jobs ad volumes but the problems stay consistent. A challenging market for employers, he concludes.
The USA also faces similar predicaments. Nate elaborates this by giving an example of how the tech industry is greatly understaffed such that it hires Stamford University students even before they graduate. He continues to state that in one way or another, a modern company has a slot for an IT expert. And to fill out that space, business executives must look for workers even before they qualify. That is highlights the fact that demand for tech roles is at an all time high.
He also quickly noted that the scramble to source and retain talent for tech roles has a ripple effect. More and more students are opting for tech-related studies leaving other fields like arts empty.
But the bottom line is HR leaders must be good at talent management. This includes taking note of talent referrals and the ability to use their communications skills to the top talent.
Is the Labour Force For Tech Workers Becoming Numb to the “We’re Hiring!” Messages?
Not only are baby boomers with good leadership ability and other talented people becoming numb to hiring messages, prospective new hires are also starting to turn off from them. Nate clarifies this new norm by hinting that the workforce is more thoughtful about employment choices of late. They want to work for their favourite employers or a company whose objectives align with what they want.
Other than that, McSorley concludes by saying that just like consumers, research suggests prospective employees do research on different organizations to understand more on how they operate before considering them.
Is Work-Related Content Really Worth the investment?
From employees dodging future employers who need their functional skills to the changing mix of job adverts, there is no doubt that a lot has changed in the recruitment arena.
Nate thinks that the only thing that can bring these opposing forces together is the distribution of information. Therefore, work-related content should be distributed as social media content to attract potential employees with the needed skills that will translate to a new hire.
However, he was keen to point out that because acquiring and managing talent is difficult according to most labor statistics, don’t forgo your long-term goals for short-term ones.
Lastly, Nate didn’t shy away from the fact that talent acquisition is of strategic importance to the overall financial performance of an organization, something that the C-suite doesn’t always seem to recognise. Ensuring you have a recruitment team by your side will give you an understanding of success and a sense of how to promote a career in your business. This will give you a competitive edge over others.
In general, for an organization to reduce employee job-hopping scenarios and achieve the best result, it must;
Tune its hiring process to focus on employee experience and retaining talent.
Know that past hiring protocols for an employee may not be applicable today. But, if managers focus on employees’ FAQs, they might succeed in the hiring competition.
Besides, Nate mentioned that smaller organizations are better equipped to find the best talents than large ones. This may also mean that despite lacking money and resources, small businesses could be expected to face off in the war for talent better than multinational tech corporations such as those located in San Francisco.
Ensure that prospective employees know how your business operates. This benefits their career by giving them a chance to analyze their capabilities and if they can fit in your company.
