Despite seeing improvement in the economy, industry is facing a recruitment shortage of skilled managers because potential candidates are still nervous about leaving steady jobs that have kept them secure during the uncertain economic climate and, businesses are not future proofing themselves against candidate shortages according to HR specialists SYLO Associates.
Creating talent pipelines is the solution to halting a recruitment shortage of skilled managers, according to leadership and management SYLO Associates. Managing Partner Sally White says: “Many companies are finding there is an absence of managerial applicants or, they have trouble finding technical specialists because potential talent are only just starting to put themselves forward again on LinkedIn and contacting recruitment companies. What is needed during a time of recession and forever onwards is a ‘talent bank’ to avoid a candidate shortage crisis.
“By harnessing and developing the skills of current ‘talent’ over time, we can help identify future employees and talent in the external market, against appropriately profiled roles, enabling businesses to meet future workforce plan requirements as soon as they are needed.”
SYLO Associates believe that the biggest current recruitment problem is businesses not having immediate access to and the knowledge of where key people are in the workforce. “Businesses have had to once again learn that future-proofing during a recession is key. Not only financially do we need to keep something to one side but we also need to identify talent pipelines and keep an eye on who is where and where their talents lie for when the time comes to start employing. You need the right people at the right time.”
SYLO Associates operates a Talent Solutions service which focuses on leadership and management talent tools and banking talent. Individuals who are considered talented to a business (internal or external) not only need to be managed and supported, they first need to be identified. Current employees' skills and competencies are mapped and benchmarked to see where any gaps or similarities exist. This allows future planning for the business and its operations in a more proactive and strategic way.
“We use a TIME - Talent Identification Mapping ExerciseTM which allows for identification, acquisition & engagement of external talent, including the process of opening a dialogue and gathering talent information. It also provides organisations with valuable, in-depth analysis of competitors and market conditions, insight into perception of their own brand image, competitor salaries, benefits, and future trends within their industry. Being a registered training provider with GrowthAccelerator means we can also support succession planning and leadership development helping the people in organisations achieve their full potential with eligible businesses being able to access matched funding to cover some of the cost of this training.
“Identified individuals may not wish to leave their current environment - yet - so that's where the nurturing and engagement of candidates is key. The simplest way to do this is to have talent pipelines in place which allow regular communication that's aligned to consistent and relevant brand messaging. This process ultimately leads to cost effective resourcing.”
Case Study – SYLO Associates - Talent Solutions
Challenge
A global organisation in the security industry approached SYLO Associates to help identify and engage individuals with specific skill-sets to support a Government tender. This senior role would be based in Australia.
Solution
- Utilised TIME - Talent Identification Mapping Exercise™
- Following a comprehensive project briefing a candidate profile was developed to enable a specific global talent search
- A project plan was developed with timelines for delivery
- When the plan and candidate profile were agreed a specifically targeted global talent search was launched
- The search returned details of 177 possible candidates across a number of countries
- These names were followed up with bespoke emails
- Following responses we then conducted a number of telephone based interviews over a period of 3-4 weeks
- By fully managing the project, including direct liaison with the Country Managing Director, we were able to reduce timescales and develop strong relationships with all the candidates
- 7 candidates were presented for Skype interview
- 3 were shortlisted by the client and asked to travel to Australia
Results:
Estimated cost saving for the organisation of utilising the TIME - Talent Identification Mapping Exercise™ - is circa £35,000.
One candidate was offered and accepted the role and one of the others was offered the opportunity to discuss an alternative role with the business.
As a consequence of this work, the organisation also now has a comprehensive talent pipeline, which could lead to further considerable savings, in time and cost when other opportunities arise. The names and contact details of at least 25 suitably qualified and appropriately skilled candidates were identified and confirmed an interest in future opportunities.