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Strategic People Management - Article by Michael A Potter

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Michael A. Potter

- The human resources function has changed dramatically due to globalization and technology, opening up global talent pools and requiring organizations to employ diverse workforces. - Demographic shifts will profoundly impact organizations, bringing both risks and opportunities related to changing population sizes, ages, and locations. Talent shortages are a major challenge requiring new recruitment, development, and retention strategies. - Successful organizations address talent management holistically through recruitment of appropriately skilled individuals, development of talents, and retention strategies to maximize return on investment in human capital.

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Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges Michael A Potter September 2015 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 The Human Resources function has changed dramatically over the past few decades, mainly due to the emergence of internet-enabled technologies and the explosion of the global economy. The internet has opened up the job market, extending the talent pool to almost every part of the globe. More than ever in history, organisations today face both the opportunity and the challenge of employing global workforces that diverge in age, gender, education and culture. People Professionals must get ahead of the game by understanding these major future demographic, technological and societal shifts, and preparing their organisations accordingly. The established position of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) is changing to the advantage of the E7 emerging economies: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey, whose purchasing power is predicted to overtake that of G7 countries by 2030.1 In a decade time, some emerging markets will move up the value chain and challenge high-end consumer durable production by todays developed markets and by doing so, will increasingly become the core markets for global businesses. This will in turn allow for todays frontier markets F7 (Bangladesh, Colombia, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam) to take the position of new emerging markets eventually becoming the growth markets of global businesses. In order to deal with this changing environment successfully, business leaders will have to identify which markets will hold the greatest growth potential and establish themselves there. Extensive demographic changes across both developed and developing world will place greater pressure on organisations from both private and public sectors. The worlds population is predicted to reach 8 billion by 2025, but with sharp regional variations.2 For example, Africas population is projected to double by 2050, while Europes is expected to shrink. These demographic changes will bring certain risks for businesses that fail to adapt; but they will also bring large opportunities for forward-thinking organisations. According to the PWC study, these forward thinking organisations are already targeting two core sources of growth: the consumption power of growing population segments; and the innovative potential of a diverse workforce. Another opportunity presented by demographic changes is global mobility. Mobility opportunities are now recognised as a key element in attracting, retaining, developing and engaging talent. Already, the number of people being assigned by their employers to roles outside their home country has increased by 25% over the past decade, and is expected to increase by a further 50% by 2050. Millennials are particularly attracted to organisations which provide opportunities to travel, with 71% saying that they want and expect overseas 1 PWC (2015) Five Global Megatrends 2 Ibid.
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 2 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 assignments during their career.3 This presents a great opportunity for companies to make their employment offers attractive. However, alongside the opportunities, demographic changes also bring certain challenges. The aging workforce and impending retirement of the baby-boomer generation, as well as the increasing mobility of young, talented and ambitious potential employees, are already forcing companies to rethink the ways they run their businesses. In order to gain the right talent, organisations have to carefully prepare and analyse their talent sourcing strategies. PWC predicts that over the next 30 years Asia and Africa will become the key suppliers of broadly educated specialists, while the previously dominant position of Europe will gradually stagnate. As organisations move forward, mobility strategies will need to be more sophisticated to deal with growing deployment demands, whilst simultaneously managing the very different needs and expectations of different working generations. As the demographic composition of the workforce changes, their motivations and expectations evolve too. It is essential for People Professionals to understand what is most valued by these workers. In many cases, organisations will have to adapt their incentives, benefit policies, and retention strategies for workers that are not just driven by financial compensation. Companies will have to go a step further than simply recruiting able staff; they will have to ensure that their people are committed, productive, and do not leave after a short period, incurring substantial turnover cost and wasting all previous training investment. Generation Y (also known as Millennials) are considered to be strongly ambitious and goal- oriented with high job expectations. At the same time, they are reputed to have low organisational loyalty and are eager to make a wider impact. More than 50% of Millennials expect that the number of their employers will oscillate between 2 and 5 over their working careers.4 Therefore, retaining Generation Y is a major challenge for organisations, and People Professionals will have to explore varied retention techniques, adapted to the preferences of the relevant individuals. Globalisation, technological advancement, and new generations of talent joining the workforce are transforming the modern workplace. Skilled knowledge workers are becoming more and more mobile, condensing the available talent pools individual countries have to choose from, while rapid technology innovation is changing the way business performance, market brands, communication with consumers, and product and service delivery are analysed. This changing nature of work from more labour intensive, low skilled work to more knowledge intensive and technology enabled skilled work is contributing to significant shortages of professional and technical talent. According to Manpowers 2015 Talent Shortage Survey, the top 10 jobs employers are having difficulty filling across the globe are as follows: 3 PWC Talent Mobility: 2020 and Beyond 4 Ibid.
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 3 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Fig.1. Global perspective: Top 10 Jobs Needed 5 In order to deal with talent shortages, managers start to implement new people practices. Apart from investing in their staff training, business leaders are also becoming more open to the idea of searching for employees outside their region. Fig. 2. Employers strategies (Manpower, Talent Shortage Survey, 2015) The most popular solution to talent shortages is to adopt new people practices. It very frequently takes the form of training to develop new skills or to enhance the existing ones. The search for talent sources as well as the implementation of leading-edge work models is similarly equal in use, which means that those employers mainly focus on the acceleration of their talented workforce. They decide to seek for new employees outside their region, try to attract younger staff or redesign work procedures. To an extent, these strategies appear to be effective; however they do not solve the problems of talent shortages at once. 5 Manpowers 2015 Talent Shortage Survey
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 4 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Globally, 38% of hiring managers are struggling to find the right talent in 2015. This is an increase of 2% from 2014. The most severe talent shortages are reported in Japan (83%) and Hong Kong (65%), while talent shortages are an issue for 61% in Brazil and Romania. In Americas, central and south parts of the USA and Canada suffer the most from the difficulties in filling jobs. In order to overcome these hiring obstacles, more than 42% of employers decide to implement certain strategies, such as people practices, talent sources or new work models. Those who initiate people practices focus on guaranteeing their staff training and development possibilities. About 6% of the employers are offering enhanced benefits. In terms of exploring new talent sources, recruitment outside the regions and concentration on young personnel are prevailing. As for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the percentage of employers who report a considerable difficulty in filling jobs is increasing. Romania and Greece are countries which suffer most from insufficient talented personnel, whereas Irish employers report the least difficulty filling jobs, amounting at 11%. The roles of skilled trades workers still continue to be the most problematic to fill, followed by engineers and sales representatives. Although the adoption of new people practices continues to be the most common strategy for EMEA employers, this proportion is gradually decreasing. There is a considerable growth in the interest of looking to non-traditional recruitment routes which can help overcome talent shortages. Over 13% have decided to focus on unqualified, young personnel who have potential rather than invest in the hired staff. With the emergence of the ASEAN 6 group (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand), Asia is now perceived as a boosting continent which will gain the dominant economic market power in the near future, due to the population size as well as the speed at which the cities are emerging and developing. It can offer large numbers of potential employees, but suffer from the lack of competencies among the workforce. The ASEAN group has to be aware of the economic trends worldwide and make an attempt to initiate beneficial changes. The main task will be to develop a new generation of executives who will be able to lead demanding and successful businesses. Todays most successful organisations realise that talent pools are shrinking and that talented personnel are highly in demand and can positively influence the success of their business. To remain ahead, organisations should deploy 3 key strategies in managing their talent: Recruitment, Development and Retention (Figure 3). First, organisations need to ensure that they are hiring talented personnel with the underlying attributes, qualities and competencies to add value to their business. Second, organisations need to ensure that talented personnel are developed and trained in skills that are essential to meet with the market demands, which must be ongoing as market demands change. Third, organisations need to also ensure that adequate measures are taken so that talented personnel are retained within the company, and that the time and money invested in them is not lost. This can be a difficult task to manage.
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 5 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Fig. 3 Michael A Potter International The 3 Key Strategies in Talent Management Employing talented personnel begins at the recruitment stage and there are several issues to consider. It is important to recruit individuals with the right competencies that fall in line with future objectives. Many organisations have found that selling a job in an advert resulted in mismatched applicants. Therefore, competency modelling has become a tool increasingly used in recruitment process. To identify the right competencies at interviews, People Professionals can ask behavioural questions rather than hypothetical questions. For example, how did you deal with x? rather than how would you deal with x? Assessment centres are also increasingly being used as they allow employers to assess and review exactly how an individual would behave in given tasks that measure competencies associated with the job. Talent is something that can remain hidden in the wrong role, but it can also be transferable into the right role. With talent pools decreasing, organisations need to start thinking laterally about their sources of talent. They also need to be open to a more diverse workforce. Today, a high-performing, inclusive workforce is about having the right people in the right jobs at the right time regardless of age, gender, race, physical disability, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Various studies have shown that a higher representation of women, especially at the top level, improves organisational and financial performance. 6 To encourage wider recruitment of talented personnel, organisations need to broaden their talent pools further on a global scale. However, broadening talent pools on a global scale may require immigration of employees or virtual working flexibility. As a result, companies globally will need to look more towards redeployment and mobility of its workforce to 6 Randstad Sourceright 2015 Talent Trends Report. Talent Management 1. Recruitment 2. Development 3. Retention
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 6 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 achieve higher productivity. According to a survey conducted by Weichert Relocation Resources, 90% of companies expect their relocation volumes to either increase or hold steady. A separate study by PWC estimates a 50% growth in mobile employees by 2020. This is an addition to the 25% growth seen in the past decade. To give the organisations the agility that they need, many People Professionals are increasingly leveraging contingent and contracted labour. To recruit the right talent, organisations have to consider every type of labour (permanent, temporary, contractor and statement of work consultants) when undertaking workforce planning. According to several industry reports, to maintain a competitive workforce over the next 5 to 10 years, organisations will need a higher percentage of contingent workers than whats utilised today. The number of hours worked by agency workers and temporary workers has been increasing and many companies are now implementing a more comprehensive contingent workforce strategy, which allows for greater flexibility to scale up or down with business demands and economic changes. Organisations should not underestimate the power of mobile technology during their recruitment processes, especially when attracting younger generations. Mobile technology provides jobseekers and recruiters convenient, on-the-go access to opportunities and candidates. Mobile friendly sites often simplify the process by allowing users to select like buttons that instantly alert hiring managers, who can keep candidates engaged by responding to them quickly. This convenience also enhances the applicant experience and their perception of the employer brand. Studies by Jobvite show that 37% of Millennial jobseekers expect career websites to be optimised for mobile. In line with optimising their career portals, employers also need to drive their presence on social media, not only to get more profiles and information about potential candidates, but also to raise engagement with prospective talent and existing employees. A study by MedReps.com shows that 56% of jobseekers research companies on social networks. LinkedIn is the most popular, reaching 92% of jobseekers, followed by Facebook used by nearly 70%. More candidates are uploading video resumes, which are also becoming a more popular approach for recruiters. Once an organisation has recruited its personnel, it is important that development activities link strategically with the selection and promotion decisions. Mobility is increasingly used as a talent engagement idea, especially in developing countries. Assignments in different geographies can be a motivator for employees to develop their skills profile and improve their career trajectories. Their employees also win because it enables them to use resources more effectively, while also benefitting from employees gaining new skills and experiences across different cultures and operations. With decreasing talent pools it may mean that an organisation has to take on someone less capable (who lacks skills and experience) but is a good learner, meaning that they will respond to development opportunities and have the potential to become talented personnel.
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 7 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 However, organisations should be careful not to make false assumptions about individual potential. By offering opportunities to everyone, it may be those that they least expect who embrace the opportunity and flourish. When managing succession, organisations need to ensure that all or most personnel are developed in order to have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed managers when they leave. Organisations can go so far as to prepare all staff to be leaders. This allows organisations to be more strategic in choosing who they want to succeed as managers in particular departments. People often welcome support in making their career choices. It can be helpful to encourage younger employees to broaden their perspective of possible career choices and future roles, for example, opening career paths, moving upwards and sideways. It cannot be assumed that senior roles will always remain the same and organisations need to be prepared for these changes. Ideally, personnel should be allowed to grow and develop into a role that suits them and that capitalises on their competencies. Organisations can go further to develop the skills of their personnel by enlarging and enriching the job roles. They can increase the number of roles, responsibilities and level of autonomy to make them a more well-rounded and competent employee. When an organisation has managed to acquire and develop talented personnel, the next most important thing required is to retain them within the organisation. The last thing an organisation wants is to invest time and money on forming and developing their own talent base, only for those individuals to leave to join competing organisations. Culture fit is an important issue to consider. Many organisations have found that simply by filling their vacancies with the best and brightest performers leads to corruption, malpractice and illegal attitudes when the individuals do not fit in with the culture and values of the organisations. Individuals who fit into the culture are more likely to be dedicated to the organisation and work hard to perform. This creates a sense of organisational citizenship where personnel feel committed and will go the extra mile for the greater good of the organisation. The way in which organisations are structured and designed can have an impact on retention. Individuals need to be able to develop and move ahead in the organisation. If talented personnel are unable to see a development pathway, they are more likely to move on and progress with their career in another organisation. Organisations also need to be designed to allow talented personnel a level of autonomy and empowerment over their work. This may mean moving away from hierarchical structure towards a flatter organisational structure. Financial rewards such as salary promotion and bonuses can be beneficial to the satisfaction of talented personnel. However, rewards can be more than just monetary. Making an individual feel valued for their contributions, allowing them more responsibility, praising their efforts and providing social support, can all give messages that the organisation truly values that individual as a member of the organisation. These psychological rewards can also add to satisfaction and prevent talented personnel from leaving.
Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 8 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Organisations need to create a working environment and culture where the positive aspects of working for the organisation outweigh the puling factors that tempt personnel to move to alternative organisations. The more satisfied talented personnel are with the organisation and their job, the less motivated they will be to leave. As was presented, strategic people management is a continuously changing process which reflects dynamic, socio-economical alternations. The companies which want to achieve the success and shape global markets need to follow the current trends and keep up with the newest strategies. When it comes to managing talent, there is no one size fits all approach. To be successful, each organisation needs to consider how they can use recruitment, development and retention strategies to effectively manage their talent whilst ensuring that these strategies fall in line with their overall business strategy and organisational objectives.

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Strategic People Management - Article by Michael A Potter

  • 1. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges Michael A Potter September 2015 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 The Human Resources function has changed dramatically over the past few decades, mainly due to the emergence of internet-enabled technologies and the explosion of the global economy. The internet has opened up the job market, extending the talent pool to almost every part of the globe. More than ever in history, organisations today face both the opportunity and the challenge of employing global workforces that diverge in age, gender, education and culture. People Professionals must get ahead of the game by understanding these major future demographic, technological and societal shifts, and preparing their organisations accordingly. The established position of the G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States) is changing to the advantage of the E7 emerging economies: Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia and Turkey, whose purchasing power is predicted to overtake that of G7 countries by 2030.1 In a decade time, some emerging markets will move up the value chain and challenge high-end consumer durable production by todays developed markets and by doing so, will increasingly become the core markets for global businesses. This will in turn allow for todays frontier markets F7 (Bangladesh, Colombia, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam) to take the position of new emerging markets eventually becoming the growth markets of global businesses. In order to deal with this changing environment successfully, business leaders will have to identify which markets will hold the greatest growth potential and establish themselves there. Extensive demographic changes across both developed and developing world will place greater pressure on organisations from both private and public sectors. The worlds population is predicted to reach 8 billion by 2025, but with sharp regional variations.2 For example, Africas population is projected to double by 2050, while Europes is expected to shrink. These demographic changes will bring certain risks for businesses that fail to adapt; but they will also bring large opportunities for forward-thinking organisations. According to the PWC study, these forward thinking organisations are already targeting two core sources of growth: the consumption power of growing population segments; and the innovative potential of a diverse workforce. Another opportunity presented by demographic changes is global mobility. Mobility opportunities are now recognised as a key element in attracting, retaining, developing and engaging talent. Already, the number of people being assigned by their employers to roles outside their home country has increased by 25% over the past decade, and is expected to increase by a further 50% by 2050. Millennials are particularly attracted to organisations which provide opportunities to travel, with 71% saying that they want and expect overseas 1 PWC (2015) Five Global Megatrends 2 Ibid.
  • 2. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 2 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 assignments during their career.3 This presents a great opportunity for companies to make their employment offers attractive. However, alongside the opportunities, demographic changes also bring certain challenges. The aging workforce and impending retirement of the baby-boomer generation, as well as the increasing mobility of young, talented and ambitious potential employees, are already forcing companies to rethink the ways they run their businesses. In order to gain the right talent, organisations have to carefully prepare and analyse their talent sourcing strategies. PWC predicts that over the next 30 years Asia and Africa will become the key suppliers of broadly educated specialists, while the previously dominant position of Europe will gradually stagnate. As organisations move forward, mobility strategies will need to be more sophisticated to deal with growing deployment demands, whilst simultaneously managing the very different needs and expectations of different working generations. As the demographic composition of the workforce changes, their motivations and expectations evolve too. It is essential for People Professionals to understand what is most valued by these workers. In many cases, organisations will have to adapt their incentives, benefit policies, and retention strategies for workers that are not just driven by financial compensation. Companies will have to go a step further than simply recruiting able staff; they will have to ensure that their people are committed, productive, and do not leave after a short period, incurring substantial turnover cost and wasting all previous training investment. Generation Y (also known as Millennials) are considered to be strongly ambitious and goal- oriented with high job expectations. At the same time, they are reputed to have low organisational loyalty and are eager to make a wider impact. More than 50% of Millennials expect that the number of their employers will oscillate between 2 and 5 over their working careers.4 Therefore, retaining Generation Y is a major challenge for organisations, and People Professionals will have to explore varied retention techniques, adapted to the preferences of the relevant individuals. Globalisation, technological advancement, and new generations of talent joining the workforce are transforming the modern workplace. Skilled knowledge workers are becoming more and more mobile, condensing the available talent pools individual countries have to choose from, while rapid technology innovation is changing the way business performance, market brands, communication with consumers, and product and service delivery are analysed. This changing nature of work from more labour intensive, low skilled work to more knowledge intensive and technology enabled skilled work is contributing to significant shortages of professional and technical talent. According to Manpowers 2015 Talent Shortage Survey, the top 10 jobs employers are having difficulty filling across the globe are as follows: 3 PWC Talent Mobility: 2020 and Beyond 4 Ibid.
  • 3. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 3 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Fig.1. Global perspective: Top 10 Jobs Needed 5 In order to deal with talent shortages, managers start to implement new people practices. Apart from investing in their staff training, business leaders are also becoming more open to the idea of searching for employees outside their region. Fig. 2. Employers strategies (Manpower, Talent Shortage Survey, 2015) The most popular solution to talent shortages is to adopt new people practices. It very frequently takes the form of training to develop new skills or to enhance the existing ones. The search for talent sources as well as the implementation of leading-edge work models is similarly equal in use, which means that those employers mainly focus on the acceleration of their talented workforce. They decide to seek for new employees outside their region, try to attract younger staff or redesign work procedures. To an extent, these strategies appear to be effective; however they do not solve the problems of talent shortages at once. 5 Manpowers 2015 Talent Shortage Survey
  • 4. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 4 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Globally, 38% of hiring managers are struggling to find the right talent in 2015. This is an increase of 2% from 2014. The most severe talent shortages are reported in Japan (83%) and Hong Kong (65%), while talent shortages are an issue for 61% in Brazil and Romania. In Americas, central and south parts of the USA and Canada suffer the most from the difficulties in filling jobs. In order to overcome these hiring obstacles, more than 42% of employers decide to implement certain strategies, such as people practices, talent sources or new work models. Those who initiate people practices focus on guaranteeing their staff training and development possibilities. About 6% of the employers are offering enhanced benefits. In terms of exploring new talent sources, recruitment outside the regions and concentration on young personnel are prevailing. As for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), the percentage of employers who report a considerable difficulty in filling jobs is increasing. Romania and Greece are countries which suffer most from insufficient talented personnel, whereas Irish employers report the least difficulty filling jobs, amounting at 11%. The roles of skilled trades workers still continue to be the most problematic to fill, followed by engineers and sales representatives. Although the adoption of new people practices continues to be the most common strategy for EMEA employers, this proportion is gradually decreasing. There is a considerable growth in the interest of looking to non-traditional recruitment routes which can help overcome talent shortages. Over 13% have decided to focus on unqualified, young personnel who have potential rather than invest in the hired staff. With the emergence of the ASEAN 6 group (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand), Asia is now perceived as a boosting continent which will gain the dominant economic market power in the near future, due to the population size as well as the speed at which the cities are emerging and developing. It can offer large numbers of potential employees, but suffer from the lack of competencies among the workforce. The ASEAN group has to be aware of the economic trends worldwide and make an attempt to initiate beneficial changes. The main task will be to develop a new generation of executives who will be able to lead demanding and successful businesses. Todays most successful organisations realise that talent pools are shrinking and that talented personnel are highly in demand and can positively influence the success of their business. To remain ahead, organisations should deploy 3 key strategies in managing their talent: Recruitment, Development and Retention (Figure 3). First, organisations need to ensure that they are hiring talented personnel with the underlying attributes, qualities and competencies to add value to their business. Second, organisations need to ensure that talented personnel are developed and trained in skills that are essential to meet with the market demands, which must be ongoing as market demands change. Third, organisations need to also ensure that adequate measures are taken so that talented personnel are retained within the company, and that the time and money invested in them is not lost. This can be a difficult task to manage.
  • 5. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 5 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Fig. 3 Michael A Potter International The 3 Key Strategies in Talent Management Employing talented personnel begins at the recruitment stage and there are several issues to consider. It is important to recruit individuals with the right competencies that fall in line with future objectives. Many organisations have found that selling a job in an advert resulted in mismatched applicants. Therefore, competency modelling has become a tool increasingly used in recruitment process. To identify the right competencies at interviews, People Professionals can ask behavioural questions rather than hypothetical questions. For example, how did you deal with x? rather than how would you deal with x? Assessment centres are also increasingly being used as they allow employers to assess and review exactly how an individual would behave in given tasks that measure competencies associated with the job. Talent is something that can remain hidden in the wrong role, but it can also be transferable into the right role. With talent pools decreasing, organisations need to start thinking laterally about their sources of talent. They also need to be open to a more diverse workforce. Today, a high-performing, inclusive workforce is about having the right people in the right jobs at the right time regardless of age, gender, race, physical disability, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Various studies have shown that a higher representation of women, especially at the top level, improves organisational and financial performance. 6 To encourage wider recruitment of talented personnel, organisations need to broaden their talent pools further on a global scale. However, broadening talent pools on a global scale may require immigration of employees or virtual working flexibility. As a result, companies globally will need to look more towards redeployment and mobility of its workforce to 6 Randstad Sourceright 2015 Talent Trends Report. Talent Management 1. Recruitment 2. Development 3. Retention
  • 6. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 6 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 achieve higher productivity. According to a survey conducted by Weichert Relocation Resources, 90% of companies expect their relocation volumes to either increase or hold steady. A separate study by PWC estimates a 50% growth in mobile employees by 2020. This is an addition to the 25% growth seen in the past decade. To give the organisations the agility that they need, many People Professionals are increasingly leveraging contingent and contracted labour. To recruit the right talent, organisations have to consider every type of labour (permanent, temporary, contractor and statement of work consultants) when undertaking workforce planning. According to several industry reports, to maintain a competitive workforce over the next 5 to 10 years, organisations will need a higher percentage of contingent workers than whats utilised today. The number of hours worked by agency workers and temporary workers has been increasing and many companies are now implementing a more comprehensive contingent workforce strategy, which allows for greater flexibility to scale up or down with business demands and economic changes. Organisations should not underestimate the power of mobile technology during their recruitment processes, especially when attracting younger generations. Mobile technology provides jobseekers and recruiters convenient, on-the-go access to opportunities and candidates. Mobile friendly sites often simplify the process by allowing users to select like buttons that instantly alert hiring managers, who can keep candidates engaged by responding to them quickly. This convenience also enhances the applicant experience and their perception of the employer brand. Studies by Jobvite show that 37% of Millennial jobseekers expect career websites to be optimised for mobile. In line with optimising their career portals, employers also need to drive their presence on social media, not only to get more profiles and information about potential candidates, but also to raise engagement with prospective talent and existing employees. A study by MedReps.com shows that 56% of jobseekers research companies on social networks. LinkedIn is the most popular, reaching 92% of jobseekers, followed by Facebook used by nearly 70%. More candidates are uploading video resumes, which are also becoming a more popular approach for recruiters. Once an organisation has recruited its personnel, it is important that development activities link strategically with the selection and promotion decisions. Mobility is increasingly used as a talent engagement idea, especially in developing countries. Assignments in different geographies can be a motivator for employees to develop their skills profile and improve their career trajectories. Their employees also win because it enables them to use resources more effectively, while also benefitting from employees gaining new skills and experiences across different cultures and operations. With decreasing talent pools it may mean that an organisation has to take on someone less capable (who lacks skills and experience) but is a good learner, meaning that they will respond to development opportunities and have the potential to become talented personnel.
  • 7. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 7 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 However, organisations should be careful not to make false assumptions about individual potential. By offering opportunities to everyone, it may be those that they least expect who embrace the opportunity and flourish. When managing succession, organisations need to ensure that all or most personnel are developed in order to have the necessary skills and competencies to succeed managers when they leave. Organisations can go so far as to prepare all staff to be leaders. This allows organisations to be more strategic in choosing who they want to succeed as managers in particular departments. People often welcome support in making their career choices. It can be helpful to encourage younger employees to broaden their perspective of possible career choices and future roles, for example, opening career paths, moving upwards and sideways. It cannot be assumed that senior roles will always remain the same and organisations need to be prepared for these changes. Ideally, personnel should be allowed to grow and develop into a role that suits them and that capitalises on their competencies. Organisations can go further to develop the skills of their personnel by enlarging and enriching the job roles. They can increase the number of roles, responsibilities and level of autonomy to make them a more well-rounded and competent employee. When an organisation has managed to acquire and develop talented personnel, the next most important thing required is to retain them within the organisation. The last thing an organisation wants is to invest time and money on forming and developing their own talent base, only for those individuals to leave to join competing organisations. Culture fit is an important issue to consider. Many organisations have found that simply by filling their vacancies with the best and brightest performers leads to corruption, malpractice and illegal attitudes when the individuals do not fit in with the culture and values of the organisations. Individuals who fit into the culture are more likely to be dedicated to the organisation and work hard to perform. This creates a sense of organisational citizenship where personnel feel committed and will go the extra mile for the greater good of the organisation. The way in which organisations are structured and designed can have an impact on retention. Individuals need to be able to develop and move ahead in the organisation. If talented personnel are unable to see a development pathway, they are more likely to move on and progress with their career in another organisation. Organisations also need to be designed to allow talented personnel a level of autonomy and empowerment over their work. This may mean moving away from hierarchical structure towards a flatter organisational structure. Financial rewards such as salary promotion and bonuses can be beneficial to the satisfaction of talented personnel. However, rewards can be more than just monetary. Making an individual feel valued for their contributions, allowing them more responsibility, praising their efforts and providing social support, can all give messages that the organisation truly values that individual as a member of the organisation. These psychological rewards can also add to satisfaction and prevent talented personnel from leaving.
  • 8. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 8 息 Michael A Potter International September 2015 Organisations need to create a working environment and culture where the positive aspects of working for the organisation outweigh the puling factors that tempt personnel to move to alternative organisations. The more satisfied talented personnel are with the organisation and their job, the less motivated they will be to leave. As was presented, strategic people management is a continuously changing process which reflects dynamic, socio-economical alternations. The companies which want to achieve the success and shape global markets need to follow the current trends and keep up with the newest strategies. When it comes to managing talent, there is no one size fits all approach. To be successful, each organisation needs to consider how they can use recruitment, development and retention strategies to effectively manage their talent whilst ensuring that these strategies fall in line with their overall business strategy and organisational objectives.