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Emerging talent landscape: how can you keep up?

It’s labour market focus week on Bdaily. Here, Andrew Manning of Ochre House, looks at the changing talent landscape, and how businesses can keep up.

Business leaders are increasingly looking for ways to stand out against the competition, whether this involves a review of products or services, an international move or even an expansion into new markets. One of the consistent themes, though, is that a company’s people will define its competitive value and having the best talent in the right role will provide the foundation for future business success. In recognition of this, many employers are now starting to acknowledge the important role the emerging talent market will play in future growth.

This umbrella of new applicants now includes anyone with the right skills, attitudes and potential to fill critical roles in an organisation – both in the short and long term. However, businesses are often placing too much focus on graduates and could be at risk of failing to consider the value of other talent – apprentices for example. Perhaps this has much to do with a lack of understanding around how the education system has changed. There are now a variety of paths to take in order to kick start a career – a degree isn’t the only option – and it’s important that business leaders recognise this when looking to attract new staff.

It’s fair to say that understanding emerging talent has become a prominent issue for many businesses due to the constantly changing economic landscape. For example, there has been a rise in individuals choosing not to go to university due to the increase in tuition fees and the difficulty of getting a job after graduation. Organisations in certain sectors - such as engineering - are also facing a possible retirement cliff due to emerging skills gaps. There’s the danger that, when current employees reach retirement age, there will be a shortage of younger people with the right skills to take over their roles. In order to address this, businesses must act now.

When it comes to actually implementing an integrated emerging talent programme, the key thing to recognise is that approaches must be tailored to respond to individual needs. For example, graduates are likely to be more self-sufficient than apprentices, and the programmes should reflect this.

Capgemini UK is one organisation that has successfully used the basics of its graduate programme and tailored it towards the wider emerging talent market. To do this, it ensured that all of its channels and collateral were targeted at the right individuals. For instance, when it came to designing brochures, it was recognised that those targeted at the apprenticeship programme would be going to schools rather than universities, and so parents and teachers would be reading them as well as the students. As such, it was important to go into the detail that parents expect while also including the catchy headlines and images students prefer.

As well as having the key resources in place, it’s equally as important – if not more so – to include senior figures in the decision making process. Yes, it might be cheaper to encourage younger employees into an organisation, but it’s likely that they may require more time to manage and develop, and this should be recognised from the start. As such, there needs to be clear buy-in from board and line managers in order to maximise the investment made in this talent attraction programme.

On top of this, the candidate experience has to be considered in order to avoid any damage to the company brand. Regardless of the applicants’ background, qualifications and skills, all individuals should come away from the recruitment process with a positive view of your business. Remember that even if they aren’t successful at this stage they may be perfect for a future role, and a bad experience will only prevent them from applying again.

Businesses are still making common mistakes when it comes to emerging talent programmes, and much of this is due to a lack of understanding of the various driving factors. However, when it comes to attracting talent, and ultimately increasing the productivity and competitiveness of your organisation, having a process in place can be hugely beneficial. It’s difficult to predict how a company will need to develop in the coming years, but to react to unknown demands, it’s vital that there’s a talent pipeline in place that can adapt. And this requires staying ahead of the curve when it comes to emerging talent.

For more from Labour Market Week, check out; Focus on STEM subjects will drive innovation; overcoming the UK skills gap; why recruiters need to search for the x-factor; recruitment among growing companies; Bdaily meets the labour market advisor; and Adzuna’s market perceptions; the growing number of unemployed over 50s; and the ripple affect: the need to invest in skills.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ochre House .