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The ‘access to talent’ debate continues to be a hot topic across the globe. Despite the unprecedented times we face, the single fact remains clear: organisations still want quality hires. They still seek to find, hire, and engage top-tier talent across all categories—whether permanent, contingent, part-time, or freelance.
Yet, accessing highly skilled talent in today’s landscape can be quite tricky. Employers are facing with a range of issues within the talent marketplace, making the task even more overwhelming.
The Challenges of Finding Talent
The challenges of sourcing top talent have become increasingly complex. The rise of generative AI introduces uncertainties, leading employers to reassess the skills requirements for various job roles and get innovative in their talent acquisition strategies. This shift includes the need to invest in talent development, reskilling initiatives, and the realignment of new hires to meet the current skills demand.
On the other hand, the preferences of the younger generation in the workforce, such as valuing self-fulfilment and purpose, add an additional layer of complexity to talent acquisition and management. And organisations with old-school thinking may miss out on the untapped potential of contingent workers. Overcoming these challenges demands forward-thinking approaches, and employers must think outside the box to effectively access quality talent and stand out in the competitive landscape.
Amid the complex market dynamics, the advantages of having top-tier talent in your organisation far outweigh the challenges. By engaging highly skilled professionals, your business gains a significant competitive advantage. Increased productivity, enhanced efficiency, and superior work quality are just a few perks that come with having top-tier talent on board. These individuals bring a wealth of knowledge, capabilities, and experience that drive your organisation’s overall growth and success.
Remember, highly skilled professionals are still available, and the opportunity remains for you to recruit, secure, and effectively manage them.
However, without the right insights and agility to thrive in the changing work landscape—whether from a strategic and technological standpoint or understanding cross-generational perspectives— your organisation may continue to struggle to build a highly skilled workforce.
The Big Talent Issues Facing Business Leaders
Considering the significant challenges facing business leaders today, it becomes even clearer where the focus should lie. These challenges include:
- Attracting and retaining highly skilled talent: Business leaders are constantly searching for ways to attract and retain top-tier talent. This includes developing compelling employer branding, offering competitive compensation packages, and providing opportunities for professional growth and development.
- Developing and nurturing your current workforce: This means business leaders are assessing their training programs and mentorship opportunities to see if they still meet the needs of their workforce.
- Adapting to the new talent landscape with the increasing presence of contingent and non-employee talent: The rise of contingent and non-employee talent presents a new set of challenges for business leaders. Embracing this shift requires developing effective strategies for managing and engaging these workers. This may involve forming partnerships with staffing agencies, leveraging specialised skills on-demand, and implementing flexible workforce management practices.
- Implementing an effective performance management strategy across all categories of talent: Business leaders are also reevaluating their efforts on how they manage their workers, including setting clear performance, expectations, and providing feedback.
- Fostering a culture that gives your organisation a competitive edge for hiring: With the changing talent landscape, employers must examine their culture to see if it still fosters a positive environment where inclusion, open communication, and innovation are promoted.
- Achieving sustained long-term talent cost reduction. Effectively managing talent costs is crucial for long-term sustainability. Business leaders are exploring ways to reduce costs while maintaining the quality of their workforce.
Do you notice the common thread here? Quality hires. Business leaders are examining their current workforce management strategies and programs in order to attract and retain quality talent to support their operations and thrive.
Quality hiring—both finding, acquiring, managing, and retaining high-quality talent across all categories of workers—is the most substantial competitive advantage your business can establish now. It may sound straightforward (or perhaps not, depending on where you’re at in your strategic workforce planning journey).
Once you understand the impact of accessing top-tier talent in the market—be it permanent or contingent—your approach to accessing talent will undoubtedly shift for the better, reshaping your talent acquisition approach positively.
Why? Because high-quality talent can be up to eight times more productive.
However, having access to talent isn’t that simple. It’s a long, strategic road—one that promises incredible rewards if you approach it wisely and get all relevant stakeholders in your organisation involved.
3 Keys to Find Talented People
In today’s dynamic market, there are three main factors to consider in your access to talent approach:
- Establishing a quality strategic workforce plan.
This means identifying the skills and expertise your business needs both now and, in the future, and developing a roadmap to acquire and nurture that talent. Align your business goals with your workforce requirements to ensure that your talent strategy supports your organisational growth objectives and goals. By laying a solid foundation, you can position your business for sustainable growth and surpass your competitors. - Developing a solid talent acquisition strategy.
Today’s evolving talent landscape requires innovative and targeted approaches. Talent acquisition teams must step up to find the right talent for their organisations. Aside from the traditional way of sourcing talent, talent teams should look into other opportunities where they can find highly skilled professionals. For example, organisations can consider global hiring to expand their talent pool beyond geographical boundaries. This opens new avenues for strategic talent acquisition and allows you to tap into a diverse range of skills and perspectives. There are already innovative solutions out there to support global hiring, such as leveraging an employer of record (EoR) solution. EoR allows you to hire talent anywhere in the world without setting up a legal entity. They take care of the administrative and HR tasks associated with international hiring on your behalf. As you develop a solid acquisition strategy, you’re setting your business on a path to growth and success. - Adapting your business, hiring, and talent management approach to new generational influences.
Different generations bring unique perspectives and expectations to your organisation. Tailoring your business practices, hiring processes, and talent management strategies to accommodate the diverse needs of different generations can foster a more inclusive and engaging work environment. Embracing these generational dynamics paves the way for better collaboration and productivity within your organisation, and most of all, it sets your organisation apart as an employer of choice.
These measures not only keep you ahead of the curve but also enable your business to thrive on a global scale. Remember that the efforts you invest in strategic planning today will position your business far ahead of the competition.
Now is the perfect time to act and tap into the benefits of having a highly skilled workforce.
Quickly and Compliantly Access Talent with CXC
Building a competitive workforce may seem overwhelming, but with the right strategies and approaches, you can achieve remarkable results.
As a global leader in contingent worker management solutions, we understand the complexities of accessing top-tier talent and can guide you through this process with confidence. CXC is well positioned to optimise all elements of your contingent workforce strategy. With a presence in over 100 countries across five continents and decades of experience, we can assist with every aspect of your program. Our dedicated team of experts is here to provide tailored strategic hiring solutions to meet your unique needs.
Speak to our team and we’ll help you find, manage, and engage workers anywhere in the world.
