Talent Drought or Leadership Blind Spot

In this edition we tackle the talent shortage and the burning question of whats holding us back from building talent within our business?

Talent Shortage?

I keep hearing boardroom whispers like, “With the economy slowing down, the power’s back with us employers. Staff will be lining up to join. About bloody time!”

Watching the news for signs of change I hear Aussie economists reporting a “softening in the jobs market”. Translation: It’s harder to find a job. But does that mean its easier to find talent?

From my chats with leaders, they have more resumes filling up their email than before, but most it looks like spam. And the delays in placing talent is causing them all sorts of havoc:

• Accelerated Burnout - teams are asked to pick up the slack, and with that comes stress, increase in sick days and fatigue.
• Productivity Graveyard - When key roles stay vacant, projects get delayed, teams miss targets, and the entire operations loses momentum.
• Folks running for the exits - Talent can move fast enough to escape pressure cookers. And as overworked employees leave, the vicious cycle continues.
• Innovations on hold - When your team is just trying to keep the ship afloat, there's no bandwidth left for creativity or innovation.
• Pissed off customers: . When your team is stretched thin, customer experience takes a hit, and response times lag. Look at most cafes where

But something doesn't add up. Employers say they can’t find talent, yet I see top candidates applying for jobs and not getting even a look in. Time to ask some tough questions.

Why can’t we find talent?

So I went hunting for answers and evidence to back it up:

1. Crappy Employer Reputations: One major hurdle for candidates is they have no clue what it’s actually like to work at your company. Linkedin found 75% of job seekers are scoping out your brand, and 52% are digging deeper into your rep. Yep, they’re checking your Google reviews, news stories, and all that juicy stuff you can’t spin.
2. Pay is $%#!: Despite it being a crappy economy, 1 in 4 of us is looking for work to fend off the increased cost of living. PWCs Global workforce report (2024) went onto say the two primary drivers for looking for work included overwork and struggling with bills.
3. Inflexible: Gartner (2023) calls out that 59% of seekers are moving for greater flexibility, yet Im not sure that message is making its way to the ivory towers.
4. Unrealistic employer expectations: AKA chasing mythical unicorns that don’t exist. You’ve seen the ads - “Design Junior wanted straight out of uni with 3 years work experience”. Mckinsey (2022) politely framed it as a ‘skills mismatch” stopping talent from landing or even applying for the gig.
5. Recruitment process sucks: PWC Recruitment study found 49% of staff would turn down job offers if the hiring experience was crap. Whats interesting is 56% would go onto actively discourage friends and family from applying because of this experience. Now this was a 2019 study so I’m curious if folks would ignore the red flags in a recession.
6. Generational shifts: They tell me younger candidates want purpose-led companies, fair pay, and clear growth opportunities. Funny thing is I thought this was what most of us wanted. But maybe its the ability of youth to hang out at their parents crib sticking it to the man, whilst their parents put in the grind at work? Or is that because the rents are insane?
7. Education gap: Universities churn out degrees, but not the skills businesses actually need. Gartner (2023) found 51% of recent grads feel unprepared for the workforce, especially missing key soft skills like negotiating, networking, and public speaking.

So, in summary: we’re expecting unicorns, offering below-market pay, and resisting flexibility. Seasoned execs might think a recession will “fix it all,” but that’s wishful thinking.

What are my options?

Wait for a recession” is not exactly a foolproof strategy, so what else can you do?

1. Redistribute the Work: I love watching these meetings as leaders tie themselves in tangles trying to justify the additional work with ‘Its just for a short while’ or my favourite ‘we need everyone to pitch in’. After hearing this staffs eyes are as big as WTF saucers and their resumes are getting a makeover. Tip: Look at what other work can be stopped or paused to free up headspace for the ‘new’ work
2. Fill with Contractors: This works for a while, but how long can you sustain this before someone upstairs starts screaming at your budget.
3. Tweak your Job Ads: HR gets creative on how to position job ads with “Amazing culture, and ping pong tables”. But if it’s fake then candidates are not going to stick around and you’ll be advertising again. Tip: Put your draft ad beside your latest employee survey results and then remove the BS.
4. Lower your expectations: Just like my wife did when looking for a suitable husband. But then chances are your single job ad is actually several roles mashed into one. So review the job description and get real. None of this Designer + Product Manager + Developer mashups with years of experience.
5. Look in Different places: I would have thought with so much white collar work now capable of being done remotely, more work would have gone offshore. Yet when I chat to leaders they still favour local. Will this shift? Maybe. But with companies dragging people back to the office, maybe we’re just control freaks after all.
6. Redefine Talent: Pause for a moment to think about what might be your own sh!tty biases holding you back from finding talent. They didn’t go to the right college, they are not from the boys club, they’re older then me will they make me look bad… and the list goes on.
7. Develop Existing Talent: Here’s where the magic happens. Invest in your current team. They already know your business, and with the right development, they could be the unicorns you’re hunting for.

Does investing in staffs learning pay?

It does if you’re serious about it.

• LinkedIn ’s workplace survey spills the beans. Companies that strongly invest in their people’s learning see a 56% higher retention rate than the ones that don’t bother.
• Not to be outdone, McKinsey (2023) shows that high performing organisations put 12x more development hours into their staff, which enables almost 50% if roles to be filled by internal talent.

Why do we avoid training existing staff?

Given developing our people has got a lot of upside what is it that stops us from making it happen:

1. We dont have time - Training takes time, and pulling employees away from their day jobs isn’t always easy.
2. We can’t afford it - Training programs can be expensive, and hiring externally seems like the quicker fix—until it’s not.
3. We need them now - When there’s an urgent skills gap, training takes too long. Leaders need solutions now.
4. I’m not sure if its worth it (ROI) - Leaders often doubt the return on investment for training, especially if results aren’t immediate.
5. They’ll get poached - when I think of poached, I imagine its external poachers. Yet when chatting with leaders, they are more worried about their colleagues nabbing their talent. This pisses me off. You are sabotaging not just the companies success, but a talents life for what, your own insecurities.
6. We dont do training here - This is code for ‘I have no idea how to coach my team’. Not always surprising as how many leaders actually get taught how to coach, mentor and train staff. Note GenZ folks are super hungry to learn, and this is a key ingredient they look for in organisations they sign up to.
7. I dont want to cover their work: This doesn't often get talked about. Yet I’ve seen Managers be selfish pricks because they care more about themself than seeing their talent grow. Yes training your team takes investment, and it has a wonderful side effect. You can actually rely on them to get more $%@! done.

7 things leaders can do to spot and develop unstoppables

If you want to beat the talent shortage, it’s not just about finding unicorns, it’s about creating them.

Here’s how:

1. Know your gaps - Map out the capabilities you actually need to nail your strategy. Throw it up on a Miro board and let the team weigh in on where they see the gaps. Spoiler: they’ll have blind spots—so will you.
2. Spot potential, Not perfection: Hunt for curiosity, adaptability, and a willingness to learn. Perfect skills are teachable; potential is priceless.
3. Set crisp development goals: Support your talent to link their learning goals to the team’s ambitions. Bonus: you’ll see just how self-aware they are, and can give a little nudge where needed.
4. Make learning personal: Ditch the cookie-cutter courses. Give people a learning journey that’s all about them - stretch projects, coaching, and a chance to play. Remember play eases the nerves when learning new stuff.
5. Bring back mentorship: Real growth happens when someone has your back. Stand up a mentorship program and focus less on hierarchy and more on who has the specific know how to mentor folks.
6. Leaders as Talent Champions: Leaders gotta walk the walk. Train them to be coaches and mentors, so developing talent becomes everyone’s job, not just an HR checklist.
7. Talent finds talent: When they are loving it at work, they spread the word. That’s your best recruitment strategy

Thats a Wrap

I was thinking to end with “learning isn’t a luxury, it’s survival. That talent shortage is real, and the companies that invest in their people will come out ahead.” But you've heard that all before and still not got off your arse.

So instead I’ll leave you with. You have a shot to help another human being get ahead in life. You may never know the profound impact you could have on their career and life. So pause and ask yourself, who helped you get to where you are today?

Thanks for the love.

If this hit the mark a repost, comment or shout out would help me keep my motivation firing.