Addressing The Challenges of Today's Talent Marketplace (Part 4 of 12)
There have been major changes happening lately that have altered our society, for better and for worse. The unprecedented emergence of the pandemic affected the people’s way of living,both personally and professionally. Putting this into the context of businesses and organizations, the sudden COVID-19 pandemic became an eye-opener. COVID-19 was a wake up call for leaders that there is a need for redesigning their strategies and workplace culture in order to retain their talents. On top of that, the Great Resignation of the last year has employees quitting their jobs at rapid rates, causing labor shortages. Companies have a lot to be alarmed with right now.
There are many underlying reasons why employees tend to shift jobs. Since the pandemic began taking control of a huge portion of our normal lives, workers realized that life is too short not being able to live comfortably. This caused many employees to seek jobs that are more aligned with their happiness and personal growth.?
They want to work in a much more flexible environment with a competitive salary range. They want to be in a workplace that will allow them to upscale, with opportunities to grow. In today’s times, employees are keenly aware of their worth. Companies must be able to come up with new strategies and approaches in order to retain their old talents and attract new ones.?
That being said, the next panel will be focusing on the challenges of today’s talent marketplace. It is an undeniable fact that the workforce has been struggling for the past two years, due to the “new normal” caused by the pandemic. With that, it is also important that we take into consideration the circumstances encountered by HR in terms of dealing with talents.?
In order to further expound on this matter, we have invited notable and amazing speakers from different backgrounds and companies to share their insights and ideas about the topic. The following speakers are as of follows: JuanMa Alvarez Zabala, Chief People’s Officer of Zurich Santander Insurance America; Manisha Gupta, Global Head, Products, HCM Analytics of the Oracle; Erin Ogburn, CPO / Partner of the Kearney & Company; and lastly, Jennifer Gardner, CPO of the June Homes.
To start off the conversation, we asked the speakers to introduce themselves, and express their sentiments regarding the talent marketplace today.?
JuanMa Zabala began. The reason why the talent marketplace is now challenging is owing to the fact that companies are facing problems with both attraction and retention of talents and opportunities.?
Furthermore, Erin Ogburn added that employees are now much more meticulous when it comes to looking for a company they want to work for. After witnessing worst-case scenarios during the pandemic, workers have realized the importance of finding their self-worth, especially at work. Right now, people want to find an employer who can meet their specific needs and who can touch them personally. Each person wants to be recognized for who they are and who their family is and what their specific needs are.
Jenn Gardner also expressed her sentiments that the hunt for talents is indeed a daily challenge. One of the underlying reasons that leads to this challenge is that the mission and values of the employee and company are not fully aligned. Moreso, it has been revealed that today's generation, particularly the Gen Z and younger millennials, are looking to work in a place that will contribute to making the world a better place.?
Following this, Manisha Gupta stated that the talent marketplace today is similar to a two-sided marketplace 一 wherein the employer is the buyer whilst the employee is the seller. People are clear on what their mission is and right now, it is easier for them to join a company and say that “this is not it”. This is why constant reshuffling occurs. With that, as business leaders, it is important that you increase your self-awareness and understand the study of the marketplace.
领英推荐
Delving into another area of discussion, the speakers were asked to give advice on designing a talent strategy that includes talent attraction and talent retention, while also providing other competitive advantages that are not just about money.?
Erin Ogburn that the story of the company is important. For them, they have been consistently implementing the values in which their company instilled back in the 80s. In fact, the original values are considered as driving forces that guide their decisions even up until this day.? With that, it is also important that you are able to effectively communicate the story of the organization. There are almost always people that will feel that sense of connection to that story.?
Quite similar to what has been said by Erin, Jenn identified the significance of? maintaining strong core values. Indeed, we have a distributed environment but despite that, we are seeing talent that can actually make an impact at every level across the organization.
Manisha emphasized on the massive role of managers in this setting. The whole concept of boss and employee 一 like the hierarchy for organizational structure 一? is flattening from how decisions need to be made. This leads to HR managers and leaders being held responsible for keeping in touch with people, so they feel in place, despite the hierarchy in positions present between them.?
JuanMa mentioned that companies must reinforce flexibility and leadership styles for them to provide different approaches to different employees.?
As we are nearing the end of this panel discussion, we ask the speakers how they are going to actualize the ideas they have mentioned previously to the practice of HR. To generalize, it is important that leaders be aware of the background of both their leadership and the structure of the team.?
It is also important to flourish each and everyone’s ideas within HR. Have a small group of people to share some of their ideas because we will never know that some of these would be a great initiative to the company. Working in a diverse and inclusive environment, companies must develop the real sense of belonging within their team by letting them be heard, seen, and valued by the higher ups.?
HR Project Manager | Employee Relations Expert | Proactive Team Leader | Strategic Planner | Creative Problem Solver | Hablo Espa?ol
2 年Thanks for the insights Hacking HR this article reminds of Maslow’s pirámide of needs—the third one being love and belonging. One of the points addressed in this article. Therefore, candidates are now in the position to sell their skills.