Talent Supply Chain Broken or Just Fractured?

The words "the talent supply chain is broken" has been the phrase not only du jour, but du mois. These words however imply that the talent supply chain previously had some level of functionality. But is the talent supply chain completely non-functioning, or just derailed by a few hairline fractures. Precision would be helpful here. Air movement can be both a light breeze or a force 5 hurricane.

But there is no doubt there are a series of potentially big glitches both upstream and downstream, which could foreshadow more serious issues unless decisive steps are taken.

?? Location, location, location

The first disconnect is around location. As our worlds are cautiously, but optimistically opening up, the H.R. and business headlines are predictable and as subtle as a jackhammer. Misleading language about the return to work is rife. Many are not returning to work. Why? Because they never stopped working, they were just doing it in a different place.

A study from Best Practice Research Institute indicates that more than 83% of CEOs want employees in their workplace full time. To suggest that employees are aligned with this idea would be to imagine that Jennifer Arcuri and Carrie Johnson (née Symonds) are on the same page because they shared a similar experience. The numbers of employees who want to return to an "external" office vary, but as we have seen with Apple that number tends not to coincide with leadership expectations.

There was one line in research carried out in Italy around the impact of COVID on the income inequality, published in Springer which caught my eye. It suggests that working from home "would tend to benefit more male, older, graduated, and high-paid employees." Obviously tech companies have high levels of that demographic.

That could be an interesting stand off.

?? Talent shortage

This means that's something's gotta give, and there is definitely a talent tussle going on. Franklin Templeton's CEO, Jenny Johnson understands the market forces at play. With some organisations considering remote work as part of their longer term business models, (that unspoken 17% I imagine) competition for top talent will be tighter. Sourcing those numbers will also no longer necessarily be a local exercise, but potentially could now be a national or even international project. “They will pick off your talent if you haven’t built an organization that can thrive in this,” Johnson anticipates sagely.

The "this" is unspecified, but we all know what she means. Or at least we think we do.

The "build it and they will come" philosophy is now more about logging on, than turning up.

??Talent sourcing

Glitch number two is around skill shortage or simply put, bums on seats or baristas in bars. You can probably even drop the word skill. In the U.S. a record-high 44% of small business owners reported having job openings they could not fill in April, according to a monthly survey by the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).

Organisations in the E.U. are anticipating an even greater skill crunch and will struggle to match workers with jobs in key areas, despite unemployment levels at more than 7%. Cross border travel restrictions introduced to tackle the spread of COVID19 has limited the movement of Europeans who seek work cross border.

In the U.K.Tim Martin, Founder of pub chain Wetherspoons is calling for immigration laws to be relaxed to allow EU workers back into the hospitality sector. Specifically his piece of it. You are justified in asking why this is newsworthy. Martin was a leading and vigorous Brexiteer, funding campaigns against EU immigration. Go figure.

It is clear that organisations are going to need to be creative around sourcing talent to generate the flow of the necessary people which they will probably have to upskill.

?? Talent attraction

The pandemic saw a collective introspection causing many of us to reevaluate our priorities. Some workers in hard hit industries seized the opportunity to re-skill during a period of forced unemployment. Many don't want to return to those low paid, potentially risky customer facing roles, and are trying to create other options. One pandemic bonus was the increase in the availability of cheap and even free courses offered by many major institutions.

A pandemic key word was career pivot. I have seen high numbers of those. Others have been traumatized by the events of the past year and are not ready to go back into what they perceive as an insecure or even hostile environment. More on that anon.

This means we are in an unexpected supply driven market in some sectors. Doom and gloom has become boom! Businesses, especially those in customer facing roles are being forced to increase salary rates to make their openings more attractive. In multiple geographies organisations are offering significant signing on bonuses. Amazon has a shortfall of 75000 workers is advertising $1000 new hire bonuses, to those who have received their COVID-19 vaccinations.

McDonalds are using free iPhones as an enticement, paid after six months service. The picture is the same in the U.K. with bars and restaurants offering employee referral incentives of ￡2000.

?? Talent Retention

It would make sense then to work on talent retention. Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University, predicts high levels of churn post-pandemic. He coined the line "the great resignation" which has been embraced globally, as large numbers (25%) are now considering job or even career changes.

It also means that organisations have to be creative to stop this exodus. Fear not. Amazon have stepped up to lead the challenge. After the backlash from employees complaining that they didn't have time to go to the bathroom and were forced to pee in bottles, the company seems to have gone full-on Kumbaya on the employee engagement front. They announced an employee wellness initiative called AmaZen, (not guilty for that one) last month.

They have now introduced the "ZenBooth'' or "Mindful Practice Room."

Image by Amazon

This is a cabin vaguely reminiscent of a Portaloo, (Porta-Potty in American) where apparently employees can watch mindfulness videos and other spiritually uplifting materials around health and wellness. Despite thoughtful interior design touches including plants, motivational posters, a fan and a blue skylight, the booth has the aesthetic allure of an Alcatraz cell. In an op-ed paper on workplace wellness, international H.R. consultants Mercer suggest "it is is integral to the health of a business, so firms must step up and manage their people risks. This means building new strategies that protect the physical, social, mental and financial well-being of the workforce." There is no mention of kiosks, booths, sheds, huts or any other small confined spaces.

Now, I am not an employee engagement specialist, but I am doubtful if this kiosk/booth/shed/hut thing will take off unless they put a toilet in it. The one thing guaranteed to make employees totally mindless on the job, is when every driving thought in a working day is about not wetting yourself in front of your co-workers or damaging your kidneys. If this idea was a Eurovision song it would get "nil points."

H.R. Tip: Honestly people feel instantly better when they can go to the bathroom whenever they want. You are welcome.

?? Talent management

You would have thought that this would highlight the need to turn talent management processes on their heads. We have talked about competency based recruitment models and developing people in the past, but there is still seems to be a disconnect around getting it done. This week alone I have spoken to a 32 year old who was told she didn't have enough experience for a promotion and her progress blocked. Within minutes, older professionals were suggesting they are experiencing ageism at 40. There is something not right here.

What is clear is we need to step away from the old school thinking about linear career progression and shifting to a more collaborative approach. We should also be more creative around not only sourcing and attracting talent, but identifying transferable skills within those processes. Experience should not always be assessed by time, but by competence and "teachability." I have 20 years' experience with Excel, but I am still less competent than someone who learned it last week and probably have zero "teachability" in this field.

Are there situations when miles on the tires are needed to join the dots? For sure, but probably not as often was we think. You remember the lessons from Monster Rules, where the thoughts of a 4 year old, (expressed in more simple terms it is true,) were as relevant as those of some of our leaders. Perhaps more so, many would argue. I repeat my call for Talent Development to be more closely aligned with Talent Acquisition on creating new more forward-thinking talent strategies.

?? The V-word

And when we do get people in a workplace we still have to navigate the V-word. Feelings around this continue to be polarized and it is an issue that many are openly concerned about and find stressful. There are reports of individual employees under pressure from their supervisors or co-workers to avoid vaccination. Some organisations are enlisting the support of vaccine whisperers to tackle that. Others are compelling front line employees to vaccinate (remember the no jab no job post around re-entry syndrome?) and taking legal action taken against those who refuse. Career pivot idea - employment law will be a growth business.

The next H.R. challenge is already here. Navigating this divide to find workable solutions to suit all parties, has to be a top priority.

So is the talent supply chain broken or merely fractured?

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Footnote: If your organisation wants to strengthen its talent pipeline to create gender balanced, diverse and inclusive workplaces in a post COVID world, reach out for more information: [email protected]