The ‘war for talent’ is on and raging! The expression may have been coined way back in 1997, originally referring to the competition to attract and retain talent in the wake of baby boomers exiting the workforce, but it stays relevant forever when it comes to global talent management. McKinsey suggests that nearly a third of senior leaders believe finding the right talent is their most significant challenge, and the predicted shortage of talent by 2020 ranges from 13 million people in India to 16-18 million in Europe and the US. And, a huge 82% of Fortune 500 executives do not believe that their companies recruit highly talented people.
The problem faced by the talent management system, though, is not just the shortage of the right talent. There is significant concern around forecasting the availability of talent – for instance, while a large proportion of CEOs are confident of growing their businesses, they almost equally believe it is difficult to forecast talent availability. This issue is likely to be exacerbated in the future, with businesses increasingly attempting further growth abroad, and emerging markets being a target for many.
CEOs identify three key challenges to tackle in the near future:
- The supply of candidate with the right skill set is limited
- Top people are regularly lost to competitors
- Employees need to be provided with attractive career paths
A common tactic to meet those challenges is to deploy more staff on international assignments. This can prove to be an expensive talent management strategy, as the cost of deploying expatriates is significantly higher than that of employing local talent. As if that was not challenging enough, managing their long-term talent capabilities is a whole new task to tackle.
In this scenario, the talent management system has a few important things to take care of. One of the most important is to ensure that the values of the organization are clear in the minds of its CEO and its personnel. A distinct culture and values characterize each organization – just like they do each country – and talent management teams must consider and respect both when seeking to develop talent abroad. The right talent can emerge only when there is a cultural marriage between the organization and the country where it seeks to expand its operations. A local HR director will be able to keep track of individual market requirements, political differences, trading restrictions, and ethical sensitivities, and manage talent accordingly.
Particularly in the case of very senior positions, it is advisable to recruit a leader from within the country. Such a person will be well-placed to understand the culture of the local workforce, and is likely to be able to properly instill the values that the company swears by. The right leader can thus be trusted to make the right decisions.
An important global talent management strategy is for employers to develop global emotional intelligence. This can happen only if they spend time with their employees in their foreign locations. The talent management system must bring about a culture of collaboration to achieve common goals, rather than a parent-child relationship of sorts. Global mentoring plays a key role in achieving this goal.
Establishing the management function is an essential step. To this end, it might be a good idea to send in a senior manager from the operations base to the emerging market in order to set the talent pipeline in place. Expatriates could be asked to work in the new market for a few years – say, three to five – to instill the company culture in the minds of locally-appointed managers and staff.
Local infrastructure – suppliers, for instance – could be an important source of new talent. Their knowledge of the market and references for talented personnel can be incredibly useful. And, never discount the use of social networking, which can make the organization highly visible to global talent in a highly competitive talent market.