Filling the skills gap and managing the diverse talent particularly with having the Baby Boomers and Echo Boomers in the workplace not to mention the Veterans and retaining them is one major challenge for HR leaders and directors.
Mergers and acquisitions happening at the higher levels recognise that more skills the talent brings on job, there are higher chances of movement and attrition as well.
Regardless if you call them an Echo Boomer, a Millennial, Generation Y or, the spoilt generation (for those born between early 1980s and early 2000s, by 2020 the Echo Boomers will make up for 50% of the workforce.
According to a report by Forbes , 91% of Echo Boomers are likely to move jobs every three years even if they are happy with the organisation, a “job for life” is rare, they will have experienced no or irregular pay uplifts and for the Echo Boomers, internal promotion has been scarce. Whereas, when the Baby Boomers entered the marketplace in the 20th Century they worked hard, were loyal and gave their all and in return could have had a life-long career, regular salary increases and internal promotions.
The second most important challenge for global organisations today is retention and engagement. The level of employee engagement directly impacts the company’s bottom line and hence retention has been a key concern for many HR managers and directors.
It is very easy to focus on the costs of recruitment for replacements but someone quitting an organisation can leave its impact on the customer, the team and the performance of the organisation.
Here are top six tips to attract talent across all generations of the workforce:
People do not leave their job they leave their managers. Watch your back if Echo Boomers want your job. They have been brought up to dream the dream and empowered to take decisions.
Developing excellent leadership skills across the whole organisation should be a key feature of any people strategy. With less retiring professionals, horizontal development will be most sought after by echo boomers and therefore, promoting opportunity for leadership training is a great selling point.
See: Employer Branding Strategies to Attract Talent
According to the Harvard Business Review, “flexible work arrangements and the opportunity to give back to the society trump the sheer size of the pay package”.
Despite all the electronic gizmos to streamline processes, employees describe being “time poor” due to the speed of technology and faster response rates expected. “Sabbaticals”, “Benidorm Breaks”, “Duvet Days”, “Team Volunteer Days” and other such initiatives should work well for the benefit of the employees and the organisation.
When there is skills shortage, HR managers should actively plan resources and support growth of a talent pool of skilled professionals.
Talent pooling could involve keeping in touch with non-returners from the maternity/paternity leave; encouraging retirees to become volunteers; introducing an apprenticeship scheme; developing a close relationship with the local colleges; attending community events and presenting at careers events are all different ways to be attract potential talent to the company.
When organisations have younger people managing older people and a potential four or five decade gap, managing multi-generational workforce is a challenge here. Strong leadership skills, appropriate performance management system and support within company through initiatives such as coaching, buddying and upward mentoring should help ensure promotion and growth of the organisation.
An excellent pension and life insurance scheme can be a magnet to lure some candidates, while a cycle to work scheme and ‘pizza Fridays’ may help attract employees. Refreshing of reward and recognition strategy would involve – asking employees what reward package they value the most, and secondly to consider salary sacrifice schemes wherein employees have a choice.
Many organisations carry out exit interviews but few carry out “entry interviews”. Some companies provide “Welcome Lunches” which can be quite attractive for younger generation, as the millennials like to understand organisations’ values and seek evidence for high level community involvement.
These tips should help HR managers to lure potential talent to the company, irrespective of the generation of workforce they come from.
Also read: Talent Ecosystem: A New & Fresh Approach to Talent Supply Chain Management
Image credit: flickr.com
