The Battle Plan
Whether you like it or not, you are in the middle of an all-out battle, a race to hire an ever-shrinking number of motivated and qualified workers and develop Next Gen Leaders. A War for Talent. How do you win?
PLANNING AND STRATEGY
Take the time to perform a simple five-step analysis to make sure your organization is still relevant in the years to come – prepare to win.
Since 2008, I have traveled over a million miles and talked to more than 300,000 people. One of my primary messages during this time period has been about the coming demographic shift and its impact on the U.S. and Canadian workplaces.
Ten years ago, this topic was met with a yawn. Five years ago, leaders said, “Yeah, well, I’m good.” Today? Completely different story. Everyone’s pants are on fire, to put it bluntly. The real question is, “How on fire are they, really?” In other words, how do you figure out the extent to which the demographic shift will impact your organization? I would like to provide you with a method of determining the answer to this question and discovering where YOU stand in the War for Talent.
I give all of my major clients – utilities, contractors, labor organizations and other groups – an upfront homework assignment that I suggest you complete as well. The assignment is deceptively simple, but it is the absolute best place to start if you want your organization to remain even marginally relevant in the coming years.
5 ACTION STEPS FOR YOUR ORGANIZATION
Here’s What To Do:
1. Perform a demographic analysis of your entire workforce.
2. Determine how many Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) you currently employ.
3. Perform a projection of their overall retirement attrition.
4. Perform a detailed analysis of field leader and manager attrition numbers.
5. Project how many new skilled leaders and lead employees you will need between 2018-2022.
This critical numerical analysis will predict the future story of your organization. After you’ve finished, you will likely find that you are somewhat short of skilled talent. Now think about the news reports you see on an almost daily basis about industries that can’t find enough skilled leaders and employees. One thing should become painfully clear: whether you like it or not, you are in the middle of an all-out battle, a race to hire an ever-shrinking number of motivated and qualified workers…a War for Talent.
It gets worse. You can’t win this war by throwing money at it. No. The only way to win is through planning and strategy – through recruitment, retention and rewards. But it all begins with performing the simple five-step formula above. Do it today. Do it NOW.
Next time, in Chapter 2 of The War for Talent, we will look at two contractors are facing this issue. One is succeeding. The other? Not so much.
Remember: Success is about people. Focus on your human capital first.
For more information on developing Next Gen Leaders, click here.