By Dan Ross, Managing Director, qpeople.co.uk
When the supply of talent is plentiful and good jobs are at a premium, companies often feel they can afford to take a relaxed approach to recruitment and retention. If new hires don’t work out, there are always plenty more fish in the sea, right?
This just-in-time approach to talent management has never made much sense for ambitious businesses at any time. In the current climate, where human capital is our most precious commodity, it’s a strategy that feels positively reckless.
Maintaining a dynamic pipeline of candidates is the cornerstone of successful workforce planning. Having ready access to a rich pool of talent – within and outside the business – not only cuts recruitment costs and timescales but feeds more organically into an organisation’s HR ecosystem, providing a steady stream of skilled candidates ready to step up to key roles as departments flex and grow.
None of this happens by accident. But it’s not enough to capture market trends, or to monitor and predict workforce patterns – although these activities are part and parcel of every well-oiled corporate machine. You must first establish an employer brand that appeals to your target candidate persona, to more closely align your talent pipeline with your broader business strategy.
The war on talent is raging. At qpeople we already know that Millennials and GenZ are increasingly keen to work for purpose-driven companies that aren’t afraid to tackle some of the most significant and urgent challenges of our time. For some candidates, this so-called ‘Purpose Premium’ is even more compelling than how much they earn.
If they are to succeed in the long term, organisations will need to focus on creating and curating an agile and dynamic talent pipeline that doesn’t just help maintain the status quo but will act as a springboard to growth in the toughest times.
