Why Great Talent Could Very Well Be the Next Endangered Species

Despite the pandemic and the record-high unemployment that the United States experienced, experts believe that we are facing an inevitable long-term talent shortage. Maybe the term “endangered” is going a bit too far, but, according to a 2018 report by Korn Ferry, we could see a talent deficit of 85.2 million workers by 2030 worldwide.

That means fewer professionals for more jobs, and some industries are feeling the pinch now. Experts are reporting talent shortages across the board as companies emerge from post-pandemic lockdowns in full recovery mode, filling positions that were vacated during 2020’s downsizing.

As employees rally to come back into the workforce and shift to better opportunities, organizations would do well to make sure they are positioned to move quickly on perfect-fit people.

 

The Situation

Around one-third of employers believe that the lack of talent shortage is due to a lack of applicants. Employers claim that approximately 20% of the candidates who apply for an opening don’t have the required experience for the job. There’s also a growing need for hard skills or soft skills alongside the necessary technical skills, yet many applicants lack the former two.

These soft skills, also known as human skills, are what makes good employees great. No matter the position or industry, the most productive and most successful employees are able to collaborate with others, possess verbal and written communication skills, are problem-solvers, and are aggressive until the very end of a mission.

Here are a few moves that top organizations are making:

How Employers Are Saving the Species

Employers are taking initiatives to help overcome talent shortages by leveraging various methods. The most common technique is providing additional training and development on their end. The goal is to continue the learning experience, which helps experienced workers nurture their skills while new employees can cover the existing gap.

Another effective approach has been adjusting the experience and education requirements for a job, which allows more people to apply for it. Flexible and remote offerings have also been fruitful in recent years—especially during the pandemic.

In extreme cases, many tech companies, like Google, Amazon, and Apple are forgoing the college degree requirement and hiring top candidates right out of high school, opting to train them internally.

Other Measures

Employers are pushing their workers to maintain their employability by continuing their education, ensuring they are staying up to date with the relevant developments and technology in their field of work. If they can’t find talent in-house, they strive for external acquisition. This includes onboarding part-timers and working with relevant communities to develop skills and projects.

Depending on their talents and efforts, businesses also make hierarchical changes and move employees to different roles to fit their set of talents and responsibilities.

Taking these steps may not prevent the inevitable talent shortage that the market will  face over the next ten years, but it can help you buffer the impact and, perhaps, save you from extinction.

When the time comes to add your next professional, contact Brookwoods Group for both contract and direct-hire positions. As an executive staffing agency in Austin and one of the top executive recruiting firms in Houston, we can help find you find the perfect-fit professionals who have the right experience and the right attitude that push your company forward. We leverage our proven process to bring you the best people for your business.

Get in touch with our executive search consultants to learn more.