Build new pipelines to keep talent pool filled

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This article was published 18/06/2011 (5401 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It can be a shock when a top performer leaves the organization. However, it is the decisions made in the wake of this temporary setback that have the most lasting effect.

Weeks, sometimes months, can be spent scrambling to fill the vacancy, whether recruiting for a suitable candidate internally or through traditional networks. This delay can have a serious impact on productivity and profitability. Having a talent pool management strategy can alleviate some of the pressures associated with staffing issues. Such a strategy not only streamlines the recruitment process by ensuring that when a position opens, there is already a short list of potential candidates available, it helps identify the right people for the right job at the right time.

Although unemployment numbers have increased worldwide, the higher volume of people seeking work has not made it easier for organizations to find qualified employees. The truth is, with more people in the job market, it actually gets harder to find qualified talent; the pool is diluted with more mediocre, passive, dissatisfied or ill-equipped workers.

To improve the size and the quality of the talent pool, the pipeline should be widened to attract a broader base of applicants. At the same time, it needs to be filtered. To do this, organizations must understand three key issues: finding the right people, creating a diverse workforce and dealing with the reality of changing demographics.

1) Finding the right people. Despite an abundance of job seekers, a wider pipeline of candidates means an increased volume of incompatible applicants that must be screened to find talent possessing the skills and experience suiting the requirements of the job.

The talent pool can be better navigated once the organization’s overall objectives are recognized. This includes short- and long-term goals, where there are talent gaps to be filled and the kind of skill sets that will benefit the organization and fuel its future growth and keep it competitive. Once these are determined, the organization can align its goals and requirements with the transferable skills, knowledge and capabilities of desirable applicants.

2) Creating a diverse workplace. As organizations adopt a more diverse workforce, it is necessary to realize how an inclusive culture can positively affect the talent pool. This has been proven time and again by the hiring of previously untapped but highly qualified sources such as new Canadians and workers from foreign countries, as well as women making their mark in untraditional industries.

Expanding the available pool of top candidates often requires making strategic external hires and developing specific training initiatives to help facilitate and support workplace diversity goals. Simply put, there are more global opportunities for those able to effectively recruit from new talent sources.

3) Dealing with changing demographics. By 2020, 18 per cent of Canada’s population will be baby boomers aged 60 to 75 years old. It is a certainty that the decline in active workers will be felt across all industries. Although there will continue to be an influx of keen new graduates entering the workforce, they will require training to gain the necessary skills and knowledge to fill positions being vacated by retirees.

As demographics shift, organizations must immediately invest in training and development. Processes and programs need to be put into place to manage succession planning and build the required competencies of their workforce so that emerging leaders can be identified, selected and nurtured immediately.

Employers must be actively involved in their organization’s talent management strategy. By doing so, they can better prepare their company to withstand the shock that comes when a key performer leaves, or for any number of potential upsets in the business environment.

According to Juan Pablo Gonzalez, author of Shockproof: How to Hardwire Your Business for Lasting Success, when leaders share the accountability for developing talent, the impact is much like hiring a personal trainer to improve performance: clear objectives are set, processes are tailored to strengthen skills and, finally, more focused, deliberate exercise can be done to achieve goals.

Flexing leadership in this vital area ensures that existing talent can be leveraged and new talent sources can be mined — allowing the organization to tap into a readily accessible pool of talent and position itself for future success.

— With reporting by Barbara Chabai

Colleen Coates, CHRP, CCP, is a Practice Leader with People First HR Services Ltd. She can be contacted at ccoates@peoplefirsthr.com.

RESEARCH:

http://management.about.com/cs/people/a/MngTalent092397.htm

Optimizing the Talent Pool by S. Peiker (Workspan magazine, April 2011)

Fit: The Importance of Talent in Creating Alignment and Driving Results by Juan Pablo Gonzalez (Workspan magazine, April 2011)