Prepare For The New War for Talent

In 1997, McKinsey exposed the "war for talent" in a groundbreaking study as a strategic business challenge and a critical driver of corporate performance. The Internet bang was becoming a boom, one corporate America was not prepared for when sourcing, hiring and retaining talent. Articles were written, consultants consulted, visionaries created new recruitment strategies, methodologies and technologies to successfully wage the war for talent in order to meet corporate revenue expectations. The times were exciting because the challenges were brand new.

Are we in a new war for talent?

Because of Covid regulations and the advent of the technologies invented during the last war for talent large segments of the workforce can work from anywhere at any time. The stories of singles, couples or groups traveling from one place to another, working from wherever they are, relying on Internet apps to locate short term residencies are increasing. New homes are being built at a rapid rate to accommodate a working couple with 2 offices for Zoom privacy reliance instead of one.

People are moving to wherever for whatever reason because they can.

Companies of all sizes are moving to either a complete or hybrid remote workforce because they need to, it is less costly, ensures preparedness for another Covid type occurrence and most importantly allows them to hire talent for anywhere no longer requiring relocation.

Think of this war as the chaotic battlefield of hand to hand combat seen in so many movies.

Yesterday, companies no matter their size, began a recruiting cycle to fill a position or positions in their own locale, widening the net as and if required. This is no longer the case. The field has grown tenfold, one hundredfold, one thousandfold and must be approached with this in mind.

Talent is available everywhere to work anywhere. Companies allow talent to work from anywhere. The game has dramatically changed. Last week you competed for talent with the company on the other side of town, today it’s the other side of the country and next week it could be on the other side of the world. What do we as companies do to successfully recruit the talent we desperately need to accomplish our goals?

Take the necessary steps to prepare

Historically recruitment has been primarily tactical. We started the recruiting process when the need arose. Yes, many talent professionals learned from the last talent war and have done all they can to institute strategic talent recruitment processes and methodologies and many have worked.

However, there is more to do.

Ensuring a department, organization and company is completely prepared with strategic recruitment branding, messaging, competitive role descriptions, stakeholder hiring process alignment, complete company alignment of a truthful and well practiced culture are not just nice to haves. No, they have become priority requirements that take time and money investment to do all that is required to be fully prepared to compete for talent.

As a company you do not want to be on the back end of this war wishing you had done more. That realization is too late. CEOs and executives worry about the need for talent. They cringe when the board asks how they will successfully compete for and hire the talent desperately needed.

For the new war for talent, as the CEO, Talent Leader or Hiring Manager it is time to tell all you’ve taken proactive steps to ensure your company is strategically prepared.

Prepare today. Tomorrow is too late.

Hank Stringer co-founded Hire.com in 1996, one the early global enterprise recruitment technologies designed to help global enterprise companies successfully compete for talent. Today he co-founded and advises Alioth (alioth.co), an executive search services and recruitment technology company that has developed the Exploration platform designed to fully prepare companies to successfully recruit and retain talent