Talent Mismatch: Mega Trend
Finding the right talent is not going to get easier. In fact, in the near future it will become increasingly difficult to match the advanced needs of your organization with the talent available in the global marketplace. That is one of the workforce mega trends identified in Manpower Inc.’s new research study: Four Mega Trends That Are Transforming and Accelerating the Way the World Works.
“The Talent Mismatch is deepening as the working age population declines and the nature of work changes. These significant shifts in talent supply are transforming the global labor market.”
Plan for the future. Planning for the present or the past is by definition a waste of time. Today, unemployment in America is high. But are these unemployed workers necessary the highly skilled people you will need to be successful as the recovery gathers steam? Probably not.
“”As the economy rebounds, companies will need to prepare for a new normal, carefully adjusting their business strategy and evaluating their workforce,” said Joerres. “In the past, access to capital gave companies their edge; soon talent will become the competitive differentiator and companies will compete for talent as rigorously as individuals now compete for jobs.”
There were four mega trends identified in this study. I will only mention one more: Individual Choice. Those with the most desirable skills will have the most choice. This fact will require organizations to re-think how jobs should be structured in order to attract and retain hard-to-find talent.
A official summary of the study can be downloaded here.
Experience Works: Bordering on excellence
Your customers, your clients, your users are experienced and savvy. Does it make sense to hire inexperienced and unseasoned workers to interact with them? I think not. Nevertheless, it appears that many businesses such as Circuit City have attempted in the past to do just that. Why? The inexperienced can appear to be cheaper but in actuality most often are not. I believe that true excellence cannot be achieved without experience. Getting the job done right the first time is always going to be the least expensive alternative.
Borders Books is an organization that understands the power of matching customer characteristics to workforce demographics. The Borders people are currently hiring the applicants they think will do the best, most dependable job of servicing their customers. You can find the full article here.
“What we’ve found regardless of age or race or gender, is that if the employees in our stores match reflect the consumer demographics that are of customers shopping those stores in our stores, our sales results are better,” Smith states. “For example, if we have a store in Pico Rivera, California, and 90 percent of the customers coming into that store are is Latino customers, we will see better performance sales-wise if our employee base demographically matches that particular customer base.. If we have an employee base that matches up to that well, our results are better.”
Are you currently seeking a person or group to implement a new project? Do you believe the least expensive alternative is acquiring talent based primarily on hourly rate? If so, think twice. Think thrice. Your risk may be a lot larger than you think. Failure can come in many ways and take many forms. Of course, one of the failures may be your own. Your job or career could end up being placed in jeopardy.
Look honestly at your clients. Are they savvy? Are they experienced? If so, find and hire seasoned people. These veterans may require higher hourly rates but they will also be able to work best with your clients. Cheaper resources likely will not. Can you really afford that risk?
Experience Works: Something else is going on
It is becoming increasingly clear that a growing number of older, experienced adults will continue – for some time to come – to be productive participants in the world of work.
Recently, The Economist, a global current affairs and finance publication, decided to throw a little bit more light on the subject. Someone at the magazine has begun noticing that “Something else is going on” with older, experienced workers. Here is a short excerpt from an article labeled “Older Workers and the Recession” that appeared in the September 12, 2009 edition:
”Something else is going on. Older workers tend to do better in recessions. They have skills, experience and seniority, and are thus last to be sacked. But this does not explain much of the rise in employment; in fact the unemployment rate of those over 55 has actually risen too, though by less than the average.”
In a previous posting (Experience Works: The 93% solution) on this subject I asked the question: Is this longevity good for the nation’s economy? The answer then and now is a resounding Yes; a conclusion backed by Bureau of Labor Statistics showing an upward revision in its measure of non-farm business sector productivity to 6.6%. This figure represents the largest productivity increase since the third quarter of 2003.
Now The Economist seems to agree.
“Younger workers are having a harder time finding and keeping a job because older workers won’t clean out their desks. But in the long term later retirement counters the trend to slowing labour force growth caused by an ageing population, more years spent in college, and a levelling out of women’s participation. So it boosts the economy’s potential growth rate.”
“In the end, it’s not the years of your life that count. It’s the life in your years”
- Abraham Lincoln
Experience Works: The 93% Solution
The Pew Research Center just recently released a study on America’s aging workforce. The main conclusion is that an increasing number of older, experienced adults will continue – for some time to come – to be productive participants in the world of work.
“..93% of the growth in the U.S. labor force from 2006 to 2016 will be among workers ages 55 and older.”
Is this longevity good for the nation’s economy? There is another way of asking the question: Is the economy becoming more productive? The answer is a resounding yes. A few days ago the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised upward its measure of non-farm business sector productivity to 6.6%. This is the largest productivity increase since the third quarter of 2003.
There are two main reasons that the average age of America’s workforce is increasing. The first reason is that older adults are staying in the workforce longer and the second is that younger workers are staying out of it longer. Makes sense.
We all know that in some part this choice by older workers is driven by economic realities. The other part is less obvious. Mature and experienced adults have a strong desire to continue contributing. They just plain want to accomplish even more than they have already accomplished.
“When asked to identify specific reasons for working, older workers emphasize psychological and social factors: “to feel useful”; “to give myself something to do”; “to be with other people.” Younger and middle-aged workers are much more inclined to cite classic pocketbook considerations: “to support myself and my family”; “to live independently”; “to qualify for retirement benefits”; “to receive health care benefits.”
Younger workers, those 16 to 24, are having trouble finding jobs in this downturn. What are they doing instead? The study found that they are going back to school in droves, investing heavily in acquiring greater knowledge and better skills. I know many in this age group would rather be working but I also know that the best investment you can make is not in a new shiny car, a fancy shirt, or an expensive night on the town. The best investment you can make is in yourself.
“..a rising share of Americans ages 16 to 24 are in school and a declining share are in the labor force — 57% today versus 66% in 2000.”
“In the end, it’s not the years of your life that count. It’s the life in your years”
- Abraham Lincoln
The coming brain drain
Many researchers continue to predict a coming shortage of talent and knowledge. It is becoming increasingly clear that Corporate America faces a Brain Drain>> The PeopleSoft industry is certainly not immune and, in fact, may be more susceptible to this trend.
Many experts are predicting a shortage of 10 million workers by the year 2010. By 2014, nearly 20 percent of the workforce will be comprised of people age 65+. This increase will make mature workers the faster-growing workforce segment, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Where does your organization’s knowledge base reside? Is it largely in that portion of your workforce that is seriously considering retirement?
More significant than the talent shortage is the looming “brain drain.”
“Few companies have solved the knowledge-transfer problem,” says Mrs. l.
Retaining older workers, even part-time, gives them the opportunity to teach younger workers what they know. Mentoring and action-learning teams are techniques that have helped some organizations succeed in transferring knowledge.