The Chase for Talent is on.

An interesting article in the Irish Examiner caught my eye recently. Apparently HR directors in US-Irish companies see developing talent as a major factor in attracting and retaining people moving forward.?When you think about it, this makes sense. I know for a fact that talent development is a major priority for many companies based in Ireland, with many seeing their investments in this area as a critical driver for growth. Irish-based employers are not alone in seeing the strategic importance of investing in their people, the companies here with strong global operations are keenly aware of the benefits of staying ahead in the skills development area.

It is great to see many companies here have taken different strategic approaches to talent development too, targeting different skills areas and with a range of partnerships with third level colleges and other external experts, along with in-house programmes.??It is fairly well known around the world that Ireland has one of the most highly educated, intelligent??workforces globally. If companies continue to develop the skillsets of their staff there will be huge benefits for the individual, the company and indeed, Ireland.??Over 60% of people in the age group 25 to 34 here, had attained a third level education, according to the Central Statistics Office (CSO).??The average in the EU is 41%.??That proves Ireland is ahead of the curve. The article went on to mention that employment levels hit a record high last year, with 2.55 million people employed across the country so there is a global battle for talent. There are other factors worth considering too.?

50% of all employees will need reskilling by 2025, as the advancement of technology grows – this is according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report. Critical thinking and problem-solving top the list of skills employers believe will grow in prominence in the next five years. Newly emerging this year are skills in self-management such as active learning, problem-solving, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility.

The Future of Jobs Report indicated that the top 10 skills required by the year 2025 and beyond will be:

·??????Analytical thinking

·??????Active learning and learning strategies

·??????Complex problem-solving

·??????Critical thinking and analysis

·??????Creativity, originality and initiative?

·??????Leadership and social influence

·??????Technology use, monitoring and control

·??????Technology design and programming

·??????Resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility

·??????Reasoning, problem-solving and ideation

I find it very interesting that many of these “future skills” require the need for emotional intelligence (EI).??I’ve being pushing the need to develop this skill for some time now in our industry.??Technology can’t replace people when it comes to issues like creativity, problem-solving, selling difference, trust-building, motivation and dealing with difficult people or situations.??It requires emotional intelligence to navigate through these complex challenges.?Emotional Intelligence includes the ability to read and understand your own emotions as well as others in the context of a particular situation to maximise any potential that exists. EI requires people to manage the constant human interactions they have with fellow workmates, consultants, vendors, investors, customers and others.?A lack of emotional intelligence can seriously hamper career progression. Not recognising or controlling emotions and acting out of anger can be detrimental in any workplace, increasing the likelihood of stress, poor work performance, dysfunctional teams and poor team morale. All heavy prices to pay for not being emotionally intelligent. One interesting point from another survey was the confirmation that emotionally intelligent people are easier to train.??Emotionally intelligent people take responsibility for their mistakes, learn quickly from them and apply new approaches to future, similar situations.??That is a hugely attractive factor for any company seeking to hire the best candidates.

“When awareness is brought to an emotion, power is brought to your life.”?– Tara Meyer Robson

I ran a survey with some of my clients a few years back, asking them what skills they felt staff would be need in the future to thrive and be successful.??They came up with the following:

Staff would need to be:

·??????Confident

·??????Honest

·??????Ambitious

·??????A great communicator

·??????A problem-solver

·??????A great time manager

·??????Willing to learn

·??????Be adaptable

·??????Be a team player

·??????A hard worker?

Not a bad list and note….most would involve the need for emotional intelligence.?

Other major points about emotionally intelligent people is their willingness to admit when they need help and their willingness to??support others. Emotionally intelligent people are strong mentally. They possess the remarkable gift of considering another person’s point of view and are able to admit when another idea might be better than their own. They have a rare ability to listen carefully to others, pick up on subtle indicators as to how another person is feeling and recognise and respond to that. Are we describing you at present???If not, I encourage you to study and learn as much as you can about emotional intelligence. It will be time well spent and investment in your future success. It will help you build trusting relationships, persuade and influence in an engaging way and reduce stress levels for both yourself and those you interact with. What job would not find skills like that helpful??Emotional Intelligence is the difference that makes the difference.?