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Global Strategic People Management
Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges
Michael A Potter
September 2015
© 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 today’s developed markets and by doing so, will increasingly become
the core markets for global businesses. This will in turn allow for today’s 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 world’s population
is predicted to reach 8 billion by 2025, but with sharp regional variations.2
For example,
Africa’s population is projected to double by 2050, while Europe’s 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
© 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 Manpower’s 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
© 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. Employer’s 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
Manpower’s 2015 Talent Shortage Survey
Global Strategic People Management
Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges
4
© 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.
Today’s 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
© 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
© 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 what’s 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
© 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
© 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 © 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 today’s developed markets and by doing so, will increasingly become the core markets for global businesses. This will in turn allow for today’s 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 world’s population is predicted to reach 8 billion by 2025, but with sharp regional variations.2 For example, Africa’s population is projected to double by 2050, while Europe’s 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 © 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 Manpower’s 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 © 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. Employer’s 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 Manpower’s 2015 Talent Shortage Survey
  • 4. Global Strategic People Management Unstoppable Changes, Predictable Challenges 4 © 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. Today’s 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 © 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 © 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 what’s 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 © 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 © 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.