You’re planning to accelerate growth and double revenue. You’re confident in your strategy and tactics. But if you can’t find, align, and retain the right people to achieve your vision, you’ll be stopped in your tracks. Game over. Talent shortages are a massive concern across industries and organizations. And while you can’t change this fact, you can plan for it. So, time for a quick check. How are you accounting for these trends impacting your workforce?
1. The growing amount of time and expense to hire top talent
The talent crunch is a global trend, not just for information workers but for workers of all stripes. Nearly every job has become less routine and more complex, requiring interdisciplinary skills along with creativity, critical thinking, and on-the-spot problem-solving. With a tight labor market and every company competing for employees with specialized skills, the time and expense of finding top talent has skyrocketed. Still, you can’t afford to skimp on this investment—and once the right people are in place, getting them to stick around is imperative.
2. The increasingly widespread nature of the workforce
Hiring remote employees opens up a new world of possibilities for recruiting, but it serves up some complications too. Aligning, engaging, and motivating teams, employees, and contractors across states (and time zones) to achieve company goals requires extra effort and planning. Without in-person social cues, things like clear expectations, honesty, and two-way feedback become more crucial. To support these workforces, forward-thinking leaders are introducing tools that simplify collaboration and communication and that help them reinforce the behaviors that drive performance and align with their company strategy and values.
3. The factors motivating modern employees
If you want employees to stay for the long haul, they need to feel connected to your culture and clear in how they can contribute to your mission. But that’s just the beginning of what it takes to motivate employees. Employees also want opportunities to learn, experiment, and explore new ideas. These desires can be a great boon to companies, but if leaders don’t encourage their employees’ creativity and desire to grow, employees will jump ship—finding someone else to give them what they want.
4. The new traits leaders need in employees
Unprecedented change and innovation is occurring across industries To keep pace, you need employees who challenge convention and authority rather than rely on established routines. In today’s interconnected, fast-moving businesses, the best employees step outside their traditional roles and tear down silos to solve problems. But even if you’re already aware of these facts, your tools and business processes might be lagging behind. What you need are systems that identify these traits in potential candidates and celebrate them in your existing workforce.
The Takeaway
Work is changing, and progressive people leaders are acknowledging these trends and adapting, recognizing the new ways of managing teams and reinforcing the behaviors that drive performance. Following suit can solidify your place as an industry leader in the years to come.
