EVIDENCE The Talent Landscape is NOW your Biggest Threat, or is it?
Nicole Martin: So you all know the #talentemergency is real now. The irony lies in the fact that many feel our challenges are due solely to the pandemic. The reality is the making of the current challenges we are facing has been a long time in the making. I was asked to write an opening chapter for a book addressing professional women. Mind you this topic is universal. The Talent Landscape is NOW your Biggest Threat, or is it? My glass is always half full, is yours?
In 2010, I founded HRBOOST® and I had a big vision. I aimed to bring JOY and PURPOSE to people through their work. Today, I have over twenty (20) Boosters that are more than employees, they are people I respect and admire. I pray each day they see me as more than a “boss” and rather someone they can respect and admire. When HRBOOST® was founded, it was the only HR Shared Services firm of its kind. A firm that blends virtual service with embedded presence, providing a dedicated team and at the clients’ pace and budget delivering strategic HR. We like to say, strategic HR, day one, employee one!
…
Amidst the Pandemic, something fascinating has taken place. The world is acknowledging the challenge of working families and the fact that they represent a third of the workforce. Recently, I discovered Maven, the largest virtual clinic for women’s and family health. They partnered with a Great Place to Work® to conduct the largest-ever study of working parents. The data says it all. Parents are diverse and families can be made up from any subset of humans. What once was standard benefits plan design (e.g., Compensation, Fair Management, Participation/Involvement, Opportunity for Advancement/Career Path as well as the benefits themselves) is no longer going to be enough to retain your skilled talent. Nearly every company has changed and/or adapted their policies amidst Covid-19. Some were legally required while other, newer programs and benefits emerged to become the new, must haves to achieve talent retention. The need for businesses to invest in the challenges their talent has been facing has been critical to not only keeping the business alive but also keeping the people that serve the business working.
…
The new must-haves for sustainable productivity in business, let alone retention of talent, include real advocacy for mental health and safety at the forefront. The impacts on the next generation are hard to measure right now but we all know it will surely be impactful on the future. Childcare and back up care as well as long term care resources like EAPs have been seen in some larger businesses for years. Nonetheless, the creativity of some of the best leading companies include exploratory new programs and solutions to meet the talent where they are, at home. Pivoting to provide virtual and/or onsite learning resources at a discount or even for free. This was necessary as children came home and for many the end is far from sight.
…
None of us can foretell the future. I am confident however that the talent won years ago. Despite the current unemployment rates you hear about, the skilled talent is at work and resources are skim in several industry verticals. Get ready to witness people making life changing decisions. People who are purpose driven to claim their joy through flexible work that fuels their intellectual passions is now at the forefront. The new evolution will be seeing this take place from the former bread winners in families who no longer fear the risk in the face of uncertainty, knowing nothing is more important than their well-being and the well-being of their families. The hospitality industry is already painting the future with staycation retreats because working from home can be great especially when it is not mandated. The talent of the future will seek to work from anywhere and on their terms. I feel this is all evidence enough to put every business owner on notice. If you did not know it when I wrote, The Talent Emergency in 2015, then heed my notice to you now. The talent still has the upper hand and women remain an opportunity! Now, I would like to pose to you… is the talent landscape a threat or an opportunity?
Read the entire article here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/evidence-talent-landscape-now-your-biggest-threat-nicole-martin/
