I strongly believe in harvesting talent
I need some raw
elements
Passion
intelligence and ambition are things
I look for
If a candidate has those elements
we can
train for competency shortcomings
But
as it turns out
we can't teach people how to be passionate
intelligent
and
or ambitious – William Tincup
Identifying Skills
So, as Tincup, Baldino and Lauby made
clear, there are many possible reasons
for the current talent shortage. How can
companies work through it today and
prepare for a successful future in the
global marketplace? I specifically asked
them to identify skills that will be needed
in the future workforce. Although each
of the HR pros I talked to agrees with the
need for engineering, math and science,
they also each mentioned several other
key skills for tomorrow’s workforce.
Baldino, for example, sees a lack in
the United States of job candidates with
the skills needed for industry-specific
jobs, such as engineers, project managers,
developers/programmers and medical
personnel.
Tincup also mentioned programming,
but his focus on the future relates
specifically to human resources and the
changing needs for the profession.
He said, “For human resources, I
suggest to all young HR pros that they
take courses in statistics and in coding.
We need to learn how math really works,
how causation and correlation are both
similar and different, ... what a standard
deviation is and/or isn’t, etc. We need a
stronger base in all things math related,”
Tincup explained. “We also need to learn
to love the world of coding. Software runs
the planet. Period. To understand how, we
need to understand the zeros and ones.
Our worlds are changing right in front of
us. Big data, the cloud, SaaS [software as
a service] ... these are terms we need not
be afraid of.”
Lauby took a more holistic view of
the marketplace, saying, “The skills I
hear about the most are problem-solving
and self-management. Organizations are
looking for employees who can figure
out challenges on their own and hold
themselves accountable.”
Preparing Talent
for the Future
As HR consultants, both Lauby and
Baldino work with companies to help
them identify the competencies that
www.HRCI.org
the companies will need for their future
workforces. Although each company and
industry is different, all businesses are
starting to realize the investment they
must make in employees, Lauby said.
Investment dollars were scarce during
the Great Recession, but now that the
economy has begun to rebound, training
and development should be back in the
discussion.
As Baldino pointed out, new
employees don’t walk into a new job
knowing everything, so planning for
coaching and development is imperative.
“We have a duty to coach and teach,” he
said.
“Bear in mind, however, that some
of the talent that’s invested in may leave
and go elsewhere,” he explained. “That
is the risk, but it does not diminish the
responsibility we have as companies. We
have a duty to raise up talent within our
borders. We cannot expect talent to be
loyal to companies if those companies are
not really providing investments in their
current development and future growth.
“We have to provide our own training
in the skills gaps. We have to look at our
own companies and acknowledge what is
not in place,” Baldino continued. “From
there, we can work to find talent to fill
those gaps and then deliberately train
people in the skills needed. Add to that
some true coaching for expansion of
existing competencies, and we will have a
much better talent pool.”
The Shift to
Competitive Recruitment
Working on filling shortages now can be
a full-time focus, but all high-level HR
leaders realize that the candidate being
recruited today may become a leader
of the company in the future. Finding,
recruiting and securing the best available
job candidate is a vital step in the process
of creating success for a company’s future,
and human resources must take a