Talent Management - November 2008 - (Page 16)

recruitment & retention assessment & evaluation compensation & beneﬁts performance management learning & development succession planning [recruitment & retention] by Kevin Klinvex Predictive Hiring: Know the Terrain Outside the T alent Pool To win in the war for talent, organizations must advance their recruiting and retention strategies. Predictive hiring has evolved from a method to ensure the right ﬁt for promotion or hire into an enterprise-wide, multi-departmental talent planning exercise. D espite economic uncertainty, the next several years will see the demand for qualiﬁed talent begin to exceed the supply. Across all industries and professions, recruiting is no longer a matter of simple workforce assessment and strategy execution. Organizations must adapt their predictive hiring strategies if they want to remain competitive in today’s marketplace. Something Old, Something New Workforce planning is the strategy behind predictive hiring. While they may vary by industry and organization, the primary components of a strategic workforce planning initiative usually include: forecasting and assessment, succession planning, leadership development, recruitment/retention/redeployment, retirement analysis, performance management, environment forecasting, job skills inventory, and metrics. When employed effectively, predictive hiring will yield signiﬁcant economic beneﬁts because it enhances the likelihood talent managers will have employees with the right skills in the right places at just the right time. Again, data is key. If traditional sources and processes to acquire necessary talent no longer exist, or if the blueprint to ﬁll those roles no longer works, a complete, data-fueled picture of the organizational, business and talent landscape — internally and externally — can highlight recruiting needs before they become urgent. Talent Shortage Complicates Predictive Hiring In 1998, management consulting ﬁrm McKinsey took a comprehensive look at demographic trends and predicted the turn of the century would usher in an era in which the number of available qualiﬁed workers would consistently fall short of demand. This study coined the widely used phrase “The War for Talent.” Three major factors are driving the talent shortage companies are experiencing today: changing workforce demographics, emerging global economies and the evolving 21st-century worker (See Figure 1.). Workforce demographics can shape history — hence the axiom, “Demographics is destiny.” The destiny facing the developed world is being shaped by the fact that as societies become wealthier, they reproduce at lower rates. “Predictive hiring” is a new term for a discipline that previously has been recognized as human capital planning, strategic talent planning and workforce planning. But terminology aside, the concept boils down to how the talent manager can best differentiate a good candidate from a great candidate, and assessing that critical but not always visible difference requires data. In its annual survey of executives, Aberdeen Group said talent planning now rates second on a list of the top 10 business issues confronting CEOs. Contrast this to the same survey just four years ago, when human capital concerns barely made the list. This development clearly indicates HR and talent management leadership now play a central role in guiding organizations’ strategic direction. No initiative can be more critical than strategic talent acquisition and understanding its role in human capital planning. And when done well, predictive hiring aligns closely with both the business plans and cycles inherent to enterprises in all industries. The beneﬁts are obvious. Talent managers can avoid production disruptions, accelerate time to market, eliminate talent shortages and surpluses, avoid the expense and pain of layoffs and more. But predictive hiring is a complex activity that needs to be fully integrated into organizational processes. 16 November 2008 talent management magazine www.talentmgt.com http://www.talentmgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Talent Management - November 2008

Talent Management - November 2008 Editor’s Letter Contents Human Performance Leading Edge Learning Connections Recruitment & Retention Assessment & Evaluation Compensation & Benefits Performance Management Learning & Development Succession Planning Insight Dashboard Application Advertisers’ Index Editorial Resources Full Potential

Talent Management - November 2008

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