As a recruiter, hiring manager, or HR professional, are you interested in helping your company grow its business but unsure of how to do so? The key to growth may come from your company’s talent strategy. However, for some companies, investing in a talent strategy may not be an option, that’s where a total talent approach comes into play.
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“If your organization is not able to attract, develop and retain new skills, it will almost certainly fall behind,” says Rebecca Henderson, CEO of Randstad Sourceright. “Whether through data insights, research or customer engagement, human capital leaders are in the driver’s seat to deliver these skills and accelerate growth and market share.”
According to the 2019 Talent Trends report released by Randstad Sourceright, HR leaders say their role in building nimble workforces and constructing holistic talent models is more critical than ever before. As 83% of respondents feel their goal is to have a measurable impact on their business’ performance, up from 57% in 2016. Furthermore, 80% of talent leaders say their recruitment strategy is more about value creation than cost savings.
Total Talent Approach
By adopting a so-called ‘total talent’ approach, employers aren’t just filling jobs, but thinking about how to best get the work done through traditional and nontraditional means. Talent scarcity, the widening skills gap, and better access to technology and data are driving the shift towards a more integrated approach to workforce planning.
Among the C-suite and HR leaders who have already adopted this total talent model, almost all (98%) report being extremely or very satisfied. And among organizations that have yet to implement this approach, three-quarters (76%) plan to do so in the next 12 months. How can your company implement a total talent approach?
“Be bold,” says Cindy Keaveney, Chief People Officer at Randstad Sourceright. Keaveney adds that it’s time to shake things up and stop worrying about upsetting the status quo. Keaveney suggests adopting a more holistic, total talent approach by doing the following:
- Create learning and development initiatives that continuously upskill your current workforce, which will ultimately inspire curiosity and help keep employees engaged.
- Nurture relationships with all talent groups, not just full-time, permanent employees. Keaveney suggests adding all workers to your talent communities so you have access to more resources when need be.
- Empower your employees with the tools they desire and need. Keaveney says to use innovative tools that don’t take away from the employee’s job but helps them to create greater value for the company.
- Increase workforce diversity to improve revenue and profits. Recent research shows that highly inclusive organizations generate 2.3 times more cash flow per employee, 1.4 times more revenue, and are 120% more capable of meeting financial targets.
2019 Talent Trends Report Key Findings
Based on a survey of more than 800 C-suite and HR leaders, and 1,700 professionals across 17 countries, the annual Talent Trends survey provides a global snapshot of how talent leaders are uniquely positioned to make a significant impact on their business’ performance. Additional findings from the report are listed below:
- Business strategy: 80% of talent leaders say their recruitment strategy is more about value creation than cost savings.
- Talent scarcity: 76% of C-suite and human capital leaders say talent scarcity is a chronic concern and 73% say they are creating talent communities to nurture their future talent pipeline.
- Diversity and inclusion: More than a third (37%) of C-suite and human capital leaders are using artificial intelligence, big data, and machine learning to reduce bias, while almost as many (34%) are using these tools to source and attract diverse candidates.
- HR technology: 81% of talent leaders say that technology makes recruiting simpler and more efficient, compared with just 68% in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
The report offers a look at how different markets around the globe are eager to adopt total talent strategies. Countries that face the greatest talent shortages, such as Germany, Japan, and the U.K., rank highest on the indices for total talent readiness and adoption.
C-suite and human capital leaders in these countries understand the need to approach their talent holistically to get the skills their company needs. For more information on this report, or to view the full findings, click here.