Even before the pandemic, work was undergoing a transformation in which emerging technologies, such as automation and artificial intelligence, were beginning to change the way people work and the skills needed to complete tasks. Today, there is an even greater strain on all industries—from retail to healthcare to manufacturing— as organizations deal with an unprecedented shortage of skilled laborers. This, coupled with the declining U.S. birth rate, is forcing organizations to rethink long-term hiring strategies. These strategies will ensure corporations will not only fill immediate gaps but also prepare to maintain a strong, skilled workforce over the coming decade. As the data age booms and every company fights for the same pool of talent, organizations need to have clarity of purpose, a compelling employment brand, and a talent strategy that aligns with the business’ visions for the future.
Talent partners can help address issues such as changing job requirements, continuous learning, talent shortfalls, HR metrics, and accountability. They also can address the growing importance of soft skills and teamwork. To accelerate the alignment of the talent strategy with the needs of the business, here are five keys points to consider in talent management:
1. Double down on “reployment”
Just like reduce and reuse, recycle is good advice for environmental stewardship as organizations must continue to seek ways to conserve talent. Human capital is precious and can be repurposed when organizations have sufficient insight into what their employees can and want to do. Behavioral preferences can be measured, and such data can be stored, crunched, analyzed, and leveraged to ensure that employees are in the right part of the organization at the right time. Behavioral analytics and insights can reduce employee churn, get employees in the right roles, and maximize employee productivity. This can be done by identifying where employees can thrive and how they can best grow into new positions. This also prevents the company from wasting resources by seeking external candidates.
2. Promote self-learning and development
The world is too complex and changing too rapidly for people to maintain expertise in all areas. Organizations must facilitate a knowledge-sharing culture in order to promote just-in-time learning. A knowledge-sharing culture also will reduce the downtime and drain of in-depth training. Empowered, accountable employees must have access to knowledge resources and be encouraged to mentor, support, and help one another grow. Leaders can promote a culture focused on growth and quality without being overly prescriptive, controlling, or authoritarian. Leaders can attract, select, and work to retain team-oriented individuals. They can empower those individuals by providing clear goals and holding them accountable. Additionally, leaders can provide their team with a platform for knowledge transfer and continuous learning.
3. Utilize worker profiles
Talent needs must be continuously reimagined and mapped out. Human resources cannot be siloed from the evolution of the company. Workforce planning must incorporate the changing nature of job requirements. Organizations should identify key jobs and fundamental talent traits that can positively or negatively impact the success of the strategy. These jobs and traits must be tracked and accountability created to ensure that the evolving workforce aligns with the evolving needs of the business in a predictable, measurable way. All human capital being introduced into the organization should be vetted against the values and goals of the organization to reduce “contamination.” Contamination can be seen in poor teamwork, misaligned talent, or diminished effort. This means that contract workers, seasonal workers, temporary workers, and especially full-time job candidates all must be evaluated against a quantifiable talent standard to promote alignment of the talent strategy with the business strategy.
4. Leverage algorithms
The velocity, variety, volume, and veracity of data continue to accelerate and create space for big data gurus. Data can guide manufacturing into increased efficiency, operational excellence, and transformative profit opportunities. Such data exists for people just as it does for industrial processes.
Having a data strategy for talent analytics will empower talent professionals to deliver transformation alongside industrial engineers. Having a deeper understanding of the human capital in the business and how it operates can allow for insights and triggers that accelerate industrial transformation. It also can avoid talent meltdowns, such as productivity drops, compliance violations, accidents, and shutdowns. Talent professionals can use algorithms to improve people management while also conforming to local laws and realizing the capabilities and pitfalls of human-centered analytics. Although human measurement is not the same as engineering measurement, it is possible, predictive, and accurate when done right.
5. Emphasize soft skills
As specific skill requirements change, a growth mindset and soft skills such as teamwork and problem solving become increasingly important. Cultivating a workforce that has the fungible soft skills and capabilities that can be shaped and molded over time to align with the shifting needs of the organization pays dividends in terms of knowledge retention and cultural reinforcement. An agile workforce is one that can adapt. Adaptability can be cultivated and measured.
Organizations that want to promote innovation and flexibility must take steps to ensure that such behaviors are promoted throughout the talent lifecycle—from recruiting to hiring, onboarding, and promoting. Focusing less on specific hard skills and more on the core soft skills that drive the culture will promote culture change and strategy execution.
Robots, automation, and innovative technologies are essential to the future of work, but so are people. Getting the right talent in the right roles is imperative and is possible with the right talent leaders, partners, and technologies.
