THE WAR ON TALENT - PART 1

Do you face the challenge of recruiting and retaining highly-skilled resources? Then you may want to pay attention. 

 

PART 1; MANAGING HIGHLY-SKILLED EMPLOYEES

Do you face the challenge of recruiting and retaining highly-skilled resources? Then you may want to pay attention.

WorldLink recently participated on a panel focused on the disparity between the supply of skilled labor and the vast demand of high-level jobs. Barjis Ghadially, our Chief Customer Officer who oversees the management of WorldLink's own workforce across the country and internationally, represented WorldLink as the Talent Management expert. Talks weaved through topics like opportunities, management pitfalls, and the rise of the Millennial. Let's take a dive into what the panel had to say…

The host for the occasion, E Smith Realty Group, invited its clients to attend "The War for Talent" symposium to learn how they can greater access this pool of skilled labor and to glean insights into how to cultivate their talents. The panel featured prominent business leaders tasked with recruiting and retaining highly-skilled resources in today's competitive marketplace. Aside from Barjis, the panel consisted of: 

      •   The CEO from a Dallas-Based Software Provider for Hospitality and Events

      • A Partner from an Executive Recruiting firm headquartered in Chicago

      • A GM for Talent Acquisition from one of the world's largest automobile makers

 


THE E SMITH GROUP SHOWED UP PREPARED, PRESENTING LABOR-FORCE MARKET TRENDS SUCH AS:

      • 50% of occupations today will no longer exist in 2025

      • In 7 years, 75 million baby boomers will be older than 55

      • Wages are increasing and labor markets are shrinking across the country, forcing employers to offer higher pay to recruits

      • Delegates from the University of Iowa attended this year's Rose Bowl game to recruit Southern California and Stanford prospects

FOLLOWING THE SYMPOSIUM, THE RESEARCH TEAM AT WORLDLINK PUT TOGETHER MORE LABOR MARKET STATISTICS AND WHAT THOSE MEAN FOR YOU:

      • Millennials (defined as those born between the early 1980s and mid-1990s) are coming – Within 10 years, millennials will account for 75% of the workforce

      • The younger generation is more apt to "job hop" – 60% of Millennials will switch jobs in under 3 years

      • The mobile workforce continues to grow – 60% of employers plan to increase investment in workplace        mobility in the next year

Following the formal presentation, the panel opened the floor to questions. The emcee and audience asked the panel for examples of creative recruiting approaches and wanted to know how to adjust to the dynamic job market. The experts, including Barjis, shared  innovative ways for recruiting and retaining Talent in the midst of the changing labor environment:

Millennials

      • They are the digital generation, born into the technology created by Generation X

      • This group prefers flexibility and a work-life balance over traditional perks like benefits and a higher salary

      • At the same time, many Millennials expect rapid advancement immediately after performing quality work

Recruiting

      • Candidates will do more research on the employer than the employer will do on the prospective employee

      • The community surrounding a workplace is instrumental to attracting employees, as prospects will take into account schools for families, transportation infrastructure, and local amenities

      • Your website must be innovative and highly functional to attract a design-focused generation

      • This also applies to companies that are not considered high-tech

      • To win the recruiting battle, you must compete on purpose, authenticity, and even organizational structure

Culture and the changing Workplace

      • Advances in technology have enhanced connectivity, but they have caused society to take a step back in regards to meaningful communication

      • Prospective employees will examine a company’s culture more frequently when making a job decision

      • One expert asserted that culture should be kept simple, their only pillars are to respect the company and other people

      • With increasing diversity in the workforce, the business environment is becoming a culture of new thought

      • Teams with strong communication and culture can outperform competitors with better tools and resources

      • Most disengagement stems from misunderstanding rather than incompatibility


During the Q&A session, the audience also posed questions ranging from how companies will backfill positions left from a retiring generation to strategies for increasing opportunities for underprivileged youth. The insights shared at the forum were well-received by hiring managers throughout the audience. For more information on the characteristics of the Millennial, check out this interesting study by Rice University. Our hope is that companies are able to take unique Recruiting ideas and apply them to impactful areas of their businesses. For our friends reading this message, we invite you to do the same.

WorldLink would like to thank its friends at E Smith Realty Group for taking the initiative to address the needs of its clients and including WorldLink in the solution. For more information on how companies are responding to the evolving labor market, check out &&&  our second installment in the series, The War for Talent Blog, Part II

 


ABOUT WORLDLINK

WorldLink is a global technology firm providing solutions across Cloud, Data & Analytics, and Talent Services. Through strategic thinking, WorldLink brings innovative approaches to solve complex business problems for its valued partners. To learn more, visit http://worldlink-us.com/.

BY Rice University, Common Characteristics of the Millennial Generation

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