Boom businesses growth plans hit by skills shortage

One of the UK's most wealthy and successful business owners Sir Richard Branson once said: "Building a successful business is about using your own skill strengths and employing people who possess the skills you do not have." A business really cannot survive if essential skills needs are not met.

The recession, mortgage crisis, inflation and everything else is actually helping some businesses to make more money than ever before.  The problems they are facing is of a different magnitude.  As IT skills shortages in the UK reached their highest level in 10 years in February of this year (2008), these growth industries are finding the skills shortages are threatening their growth plans and competitive position. And the situation is worsening. Over the next 10 years, the demand for talented people will far exceed the availability of skilled workers – at all levels, and in all industries.

It is estimated that at least a third of businesses fail due to poor hiring decisions and the inability to attract and retain the right talent.  What are the causes?  A high percentage of these companies have not developed a reputation as ‘employer-of-choice', and have not developed the capabilities and infrastructure to compete effectively to acquire and retain scarce talent resources.

The core concept of talent acquisition is to get away from the 'fill in the box' thinking to one that is more pro-active and much closer to building the skill sets required to achieve business success. It is a strategic activity that should be led by specialists who:

• Understand workforce demographics (current and future)
• Identify economic issues impacting organisational sustainability
• Identify organisational and cultural issues impacting talent acquisition
• Have the knowledge of industry trends and emerging issues
• Can translate the organisational strategy into a HR strategy
• Implement best practices
• Analyse performance metrics (business impacts, financial considerations, etc.)

By outsourcing the talent management and acquisition process to People Management Specialists Recrion, you can offload the non-core activities in your business and focus on more important functions giving you that vital competitive edge. 

For more information on our Virtual Recruitment Management services contact us today!