Survey: Demographic Changes Require HR Professionals To Focus on Talent Management

A study by the Adecco Institute, based on interviews with 5,000 HR professionals, says that a key differentiator for companies competing in the global marketplace in the future will be having HR managers who focus on finding talent, developing talent and keeping talent--what Adecco calls "talent management"--rather than on its traditional filling of vacancies. Globalization in developed countries has increased the demand for skilled and highly qualified labor at the same time as demand for a qualified workforce is compounded by the demographic effects of older workers becoming the fastest growing workforce segment in most developed countries.

The study--"The new role of HR in the future: Talent, talent, talent. Finding it. Developing it. Keeping it."--reports that the average planning horizon of HR professionals today is only 1.1 years. Talent management will require preparation for a much longer time frame. Adecco says HR practitioners can start on this road today by conducting a detailed analysis of their existing workforce and categorizing jobs into functions, families, and groups based on skills.

Once these groupings have been completed, analyze the age structure of the workforce within each function, family and group. Identify areas that are at risk due to impending retirements or intense competition for talent. Create ‘early warning systems’ that will raise awareness of impending gaps in a timely manner. In a world that demands increasingly complex qualifications, "timely" can mean years in advance--a dramatic change from the "just in time" mantra that businesses have been marching to for decades.

Only then can HR develop a strategy to ensure that the ongoing workforce demands of the business will be met.

Source: Adecco Institute Press Release (April 22, 2008)