Talent mobility can answer your hiring problems. Drive better results in 2022

Help! We’re struggling to hire replacements

What can companies do in the age of the “Great Resignation”? Look inward. Talent mobility can help future-proof your business. All industries are constantly undergoing rapid development. Job roles are changing, some have ceased to exist, and new ones are emerging, all within a space of a few years, or, sometimes, months. Companies are having to adapt quickly to stay in business and contend with their competitors. In the age of a candidate driven marketplace, the war for talent is taking its toll and companies are not able to hire quickly enough to fill the gaps left by employees moving on.

What is talent mobility?

Whilst it is estimated that half of all employees globally need to upskill or reskill by 2025, according to a report from the World Economic Forum, talent mobility focussed on more immediate demands on the business. With the rising challenges in employees leaving businesses and challenges employers are facing recruiting those gaps, there are other options that employers can consider to help fill those roles. This is where talent mobility comes in, following on from an identification of what skills and potential exist across the business. More than succession planning, talent mobility is designed to react to immediate demand and often on a short term project basis. Talent mobility means adapting your workforce to keep up with the changes within the company. New product launches, change in strategy and entering new markets as well as choppy waters and challenging conditions will require your business to stay adaptable. But you are only as adaptable as your employees. Are your current talents ready to take on new roles and responsibilities? Have you identified what skills you have in the business already and also who your employees are with the most potential? Would they be willing to take on additional training, or pick up new project with skills across the business to deliver what is needed? Ask yourself these questions to assess how quickly current skill sets can be mobilised to achieve the overall objective.

Increase career visibility

Many companies have set roles with specific requirements, and they leave their talent to simply get on with their work. That means, your employees are only trained for their job, leaving them vulnerable during drastic changes. Instead, future-proof businesses focus on employee engagement, retention, and creating collaborative spaces. Job rotations, assigning talent to work with different teams will create variety and encourage skill sharing and development in the workplace. Consistent feedback, customising employee experience and catering to their individuality will also cement your employees’ commitment to the company and desire to learn and develop within it. Build your employee value proposition, or EVP and communicate it well and you become a hotbed for recruitment. These strategies take time though, particularly when you are focussed on graduate recruitment cycles so being able to consider short-term solutions will help the business adapt and deliver to market demands.

Stay in touch with your industry

Develop a workplace practice to look ahead and predict industry trends and future-proof your staff to weather the potential storms. Keep an eye on where your industry is headed, your competition and what skills will be required for you to compete not just right now, but a year or ten years from now. Provide frequent training where you can share your insights with your workplace, gauge their response and close any gaps in their skillset. You have talent within the business; give them the ability to lead without title. By giving more responsibility to your employees throughout the business, you are building a sound foundation for the future of the business as well as growing future executive leaders.

Strategic sourcing and closing the skill gap

To increase talent mobility in your company, you need to look beyond someone who can simply complete the tasks they’re required to do at this moment. Look for people who are adaptable, who have multiple skills and will be able to take on new roles and responsibilities should they be required to. Don’t exclude the possibility of hiring freelancers and contractors – you may find that someone with a fresh perspective can help you navigate a new direction much easier, while introducing current staff to different ways of working.

In order to identify talent and potential, you need a system that can help you to evaluate the potential of your employees. With your commitment to diversity and inclusion, your system should also enable you to strip out any potential bias to ensure that you can identify the best potential talent within your business. Once you have your potential talent, you should be starting to upskill them now, to close any identified skills gap, while offering development opportunities across the business, so that they gain a wider experience of different functions.

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