Changing paradigm

With changing dynamics of the economic situation globally, there is a surge in the demand for people in the technology space. Yes, it is the same marketplace where many organizations, to a great extent, had no forecast in the foreseeable future for people in different technology areas. Now with an acceptance of the new normal where almost any technical work has become location agnostic, every organization is trying to revive its talent deficit in all possible ways. There are new complex problems on the table that would need equally complex skills to solve. Does this mean that over the past 18 months pandemic has created a technically far more superior talent pool? No. This talent always did exist. Like we have learned to trust individuals with the work irrespective of their physical location, we have also learned to understand what skills are truly necessary, and which ones are trainable. The world as we see, that struggled to collaborate even when teams sat together on the same floor, is now collaborating virtually in unimaginable ways!

So, this should mean that the talent needs of any organization are most attainable today than ever before, right? But that is not the case for most organizations. Individuals looking for opportunities have an um-teen number of options to choose from as every organization is trying to outdo the other’s offer. Organizations that could not offer great hikes last year, for the obvious reason, are now losing good talent to their competition for better pay. Any amount of effort to bring in new talent is turning futile as every individual’s decision to join an organization is based on these questions: 

• How did the organization treat its employees during the pandemic? 
• Can this organization deal with such turbulent situations effectively? 

And 

• Why is good talent moving out of the organization? What actually happened to them? And what are the chances of this happening to me?

It’s a kind of catch 20:20 situation, right?

In my view, this situation raises a few questions that both organizations, who are on a hiring spree, and individuals who are spoilt for choice, need to find answers to. 

Organizations:

Do you really think that people are leaving you just because they are getting paid better elsewhere? or is it because of the burnouts that you failed to acknowledge and cater to?

 Have you ever paid attention to who is actually doing the heavy lifting to compensate for someone else’s inability to do their job? And if you have, what are you doing to elevate the situation?

 Who is your long-standing soldier and why is s/he still with you? And what does it tell you about whom you should hire?

 Why is your best resource always overloaded? In other words, how do you define your best resource? Is it the one who does a lot of work or the one who does the most of what s/he does to the best?

 What is the kind of support that you are extending to your employees in these difficult times?

Job seekers:

Do you think that the speculated salary at the new organization is your actual worth and you will be able to justify that cost in the long run?

 Do you think that just more money is enough to sustain in your new role? Do you think it would compensate for the ecosystem that would have helped you scale up in the long run?

 Is this role different from the one that you performed earlier? If it is not, why are you still choosing this one over the other?

I am sure you all can add to this list. And I also know some of you might disagree with some of my views on this. Do feel free to comment and share your perspective.