Counting the cost of talent scarcity
Business surveys show as many as two thirds of CEOs are concerned about the availability of key skills for their business. One in three report business opportunities lost, postponed or delayed because of talent scarcity.
But why is this happening?
Demographic trends such as boomers approaching retiring, falling birth rates and younger generations with a different approach to work than their parents and grandparents; are all contributing to a falling supply of prime labour.
Labour is much less footloose than capital and while global migration trends are widely reported, a myriad of restrictions apply in pretty much every destination to limit the movement of people.
But assuming it’s not practical to move work to the people, how should companies overcome talent scarcity issues in order to capitalise on opportunities?
The challenge for business leaders is to break down workforce requirements into skill sets so that it becomes easier to determine how key activities should be delivered.
Hiring managers and their HR departments also need to be pragmatic about the degree to which idealised requirements are likely to be found at their preferred location and price point.
Melius works with our clients to forecast skills demand, plan workforce requirements and put in place the sourcing, development and succession activities that will enable future business opportunities to be realised.
At the heart of this is developing organisational agility so that teams and individuals have the mindset to adapt to changing circumstances and make the right decisions regarding deployment of core workforce, flexible options, outsourcing and globalisation of required tasks.