Regardless of the industry or size, it seems companies are primarily concerned about
Nearly 90% of U.S. business leaders said that the competitive talent market is forcing employers to compromise on who they hire, according to talent lifecycle solutions company Beamery, in its
“We are in a bull-growth market and companies have big hiring targets,” says Abakar Saidov, CEO of Beamery. “Employers feel like they’ve been pushed out of their comfort zone because they’re hiring people for roles that they’re not necessarily qualified for.”
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This isn’t always a negative, Saidov says. Expanding parameters means that employers can create opportunities for those outside of the company’s typical candidate, allowing for diverse talent to enter the space. However, employers are worried this race for talent will harm their company’s long and short-term goals.
Beamery found that while 81% of business leaders named talent as their top priority for business transformation, 77% feel talent planning is disconnected from their business objectives. Still, Saidov says that these things are very much tied together, as long as employers are willing to do some rethinking.
“Being talent first is not the ‘what’ of your business strategy but the ‘how,’” he says. “If somebody says that our company needs to compete with Tesla and build a car in three years, the answer isn’t to build new factories, but find the people who know how to do that.”
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Saidov compares the focus on talent employers are experiencing right now to the focus on technology employers have witnessed in the last 20 years. Technology was used to accomplish business objectives, so it became integrated into every company’s day-to-day ability to function, explains Saidov. COVID has only accelerated this process, as work-from-home increased the need for technology that connects and engages global workforces.
“Digital transformation has been the concept we have been talking about for a while now,” he says. “But if the purpose of technology is to increase human productivity, we have to focus on people now and what they want to do in their skill set.”
"Skills" should be the keyword for many employers, both when hiring and then developing their teams — a third of business leaders surveyed by Beamery feel that 25 to 49% of their current talent are holding their company back, due to a lack of skills or appropriate mindset. Yet, the report also found that 81% of leaders are placing heavy emphasis on recruitment rather than skills development and retention.
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“Acquiring talent isn’t the only thing that’s important. People need career progression and upskilling opportunities or you will not retain them,” Saidov says. “When you’re working from home, it’s no longer about what your employer provides for you in the workplace. It’s about if they are invested in your career and growth.”
Saidov notes that technology often renders certain skill sets obsolete within 3-4 years, so skill development will be crucial for successful employees and a successful business. It will also save companies money to invest in their current talent rather than seek new hires — a new employee could cost twice as much as a current employee’s salary.
Yet, many business leaders acknowledge that centering their company on talent will take time. According to Beamery, a third of those surveyed estimated they would need one to two years to transition to a talent-first organization, while 29% believe it will take two to three years. Saidov views this transition as inevitable, even if historically unique.
“The greatest organizations always start with considering the experience it wants its customers to have,” says Saidov. “It’s the same thing when we think about being employee and candidate-centric.”
