D
Catalyst | Digital
Acquiring the workforce of the future
V
inod Subramanian,
chief operating
officer
at
FlexAbility, reports on a
recent roundtable event held
in Delhi, India.
Over the past year, we’ve held various
roundtable events across India – in
Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore – with
key clients in the talent-acquisition
space, to discuss the latest trends and
exchange ideas and best practice. Our
latest roundtable, held in Delhi in
December 2019, looked to explore the
workforce of the future.
Around 25 senior talent-acquisition
professionals attended to discuss the
factors shaping the total talent strategy
for the future and what this might
mean for companies in India.
Participants agreed that one of the
main factors shaping the total talent
strategy for the future will continue to
be shortage of, and access to, a skilled
talent pool, coupled with engagement
of these highly sought-after individuals.
This will result in companies
investing in upskilling their existing
employees and implementing tech-
enabled recruitment solutions
(encompassing artificial intelligence
(AI) and social media, for example)
with an overlay of consultative
recruiters with strong relationship and
domain skills.
Partner comment
Organisations across India are already
thinking about addressing this
challenge in three ways:
1
Boosting employer brand.
Companies are reviewing their
marketing and communications
channels to bolster their employer
brand, to make themselves more
attractive to scarce talent.
Strengthening technology
capability. We are seeing many
firms – especially banks – changing
their tech capability and embracing
tools such as AI when it comes to
recruitment. They recognise that they
have to be ahead of the game to attract
top talent. Hackathons, for example,
are really popular; they give candidates
an opportunity to tackle practical
problems as part of the recruitment
process. They are really engaging as
they give candidates the opportunity
to see the company in action.
Upskilling talent. Rather than
relying on external talent, many
companies are looking at ways to
develop talent from within, upskilling
or reskilling existing employees.
2
3
Role of technology
All our participants were keen to
discuss digital transformation.
The group agreed that there is a
real need for a talent-acquisition
ecosystem driven by technology,
and that it’s inevitable. At present,
there is a plethora of applications
that offer great solutions to specific
recruitment problems; however, they
lack compatibility and don’t ‘talk to
each other’. The life cycle of a tech
product is relatively short, leading
to continuous implementation of
newer systems, change management
and training.
The critical components of a talent-
acquisition technology ecosystem,
as identified by our roundtable
participants, are ease of integration,
the ability (and willingness of tech
partner) to customise the product,
and compliance with General Data
Protection Regulation (GDPR). For
any global vendor, adapting to the
needs of local areas is critical too.
Formulating a total talent strategy,
aligned to your business goals and the
requirements of the future workforce,
is unique to each company.
However, the need for an
agile solution, rapid and mass
customisation, promoting a self-
learning mindset for employees,
shorter lifespan of products
due to dynamic markets and
continuous reskilling will be a few
essential elements in the strategy
for everyone.
FlexAbility is a 100% subsidiary
of ABC Consultants and has an
exclusive strategic partnership
with Alexander Mann Solutions.
“Many companies are looking
at ways to develop talent
from within”
Vinod Subramanian
Issue 4 - 2020
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