Is there really a shortage of talent in this country?

Mel,
I am not so sure we have a shortage of "talent" per se as that employers in many cases don't do a particularly good job of building a good employment brand and attracting and retaining the talent they require.
I do think there are skill sets that we have done a poor job of developing as a society. Many of our technical degrees are being awarded to foreign nationals because they are willing to do the work. In many cases those graduates are returning "home" to start businesses rather than building businesses here.
The other is that I have been underwhelmed with our talent selection and retention processes. We have tried to "systemetize" recruitment to the point where we want to hire people like shopping online- minimal personal contact.
Companies with strong brands- Nike, Apple, Microsoft, Zappo's, etc don't have a problem attracting the talent they need. Thery have a well developed value proposition and both customers and employees seek them out.
If an organization is having a problem attracting the talent they need they should step back and look at their value proposition and their process....

Employers need to hire their own talent and stop trying to hire other employers' talent.

Your statement inplies that there are large reservoirs of unemployed talent sitting around un-utilized but willing to remain at home without income. I haven't noticed that. Instead, I suspect the vast majority of those without jobs cannot find places that can productively and affordably employ their given talents for mutual benefit. Everyone has a talent of some type; whether it carries value to an employer is a different question: the issue is the mismatch between the supply and the demand. If the best candidates demand more money, that is the basis of salary negotiation and the reason market prices tend to increase over time. It is statistically clear that some occupational categories are in high demand with very high increase rates, and others actually are moving backwards while the central bulk languish with minimal increases in market-clearing rates.

"Scarce talent" is relative, rare and expensive. Raw talent can be internally developed but some will always come from other enterprises where they are less valued. The problem does exist and is even worse overseas, where American firms can't find the right talent (expatriate or local nationals) in emerging nations.

Many of our clients would agree that there is a talent shortage, and the reasons are varied. Some are looking for much more specific skills than ever before and are not willing to invest in training. Some are looking for high talent at low prices and assuming that the economy means that skilled people are willing to work for low wages. Some have geographic issues and are not willing to move people but can't find what they need where they need them.

In addition, our clients use assessments to identify those who will be a good fit for a job. That additional criteria narrows the field, too. This is the case in more and more companies today as they strive to take the risk out of the hiring process.

The best candidates, i.e., the most sought after candidates, may or may not be a good hire.

Competence is the King of job performance.
Talent is the Queen of job performance.
Potential is the Prince of job performance.
Education is the Princess of job performance.
Experience is the Court Jester of job performance.

Competence and Talent rule job performance.

There are many factors to consider when hiring talent but first we need to define talent unless "hiring talent" means "hiring employees."

Everyone wants to hire for talent but if we can't answer the five questions below with specificity, we can't hire for talent.

1. How do you define talent?
2. How do you measure talent?
3. How do you know a candidate’s talent?
4. How do you know what talent is required for each job?
5. How do you match a candidate’s talent to the talent demanded by the job?

Employers need to assess for:
- Cultural Match
- Skills Match
- Job Match

Some employers assess for all three.

Potential is identified during the Job Match evaluation. Read the following web page for a description of how to hire high-potential employees.

http://www.corpu.com/weekly/article/hiring-high-potential-talent/

Bob
bob@gatelyconsulting.com

In my opinion, there are numerous factors contributing the appearance of a talent shortage. The top three require a discussion about company pensions, company loyalty, and company wages/benefits.

The downfall of company pensions - old school pensions - healthcare and retirement income benefits paid out to employees (disabled included) and their survivors has shaken the confidence of employees and/or potential employees. When large companies/industries collapse like GM, Enron, steel industry, etc., employees are hit hard with a decrease in healthcare and pension benefits. This has had a ripple effect on employee confidence and loyalty to companies. On average, employees stay in a position for 4 years. It is rare to come across a resume with 40+ yrs. of experience with one company. If you come across one, more often than not, that person didn't expect to be unemployed.

During an economic downturn, the employment process becomes an "employers market." There are huge pools of candidates available - not necessarily top talent or skilled employees. People do not have the confidence to relocate, even when a company is promising the world. Employers and employees do not trust one another. You can be hired one day and fired/terminated the next. Wages and benefits are also affected during an economic downturn. Again, this effects relocation decisions, advancement, and employee performance. The last two years has been difficult to influence top talent to jump companies. They don't have confidence in employers and employees know that employers can collapse and leave them with nothing.

Does it come down to a talent shortage or are there numerous factors that employers need to consider if they want to attract top talent?

Before employers spend so much time on meeting after meeting discussing what talent is and how to define the talent they are looking for, they need to look at their values and their loyalty to their employees. People take pride in their work and if employers are cultivating the right work environment, people refer their family and friends for positions and this is how the best talent is found. Without loyalty and trust, I'm not sure if we will ever return to the employee who wants to work at one company for 30-40 years. Companies struggle to retain employees for 4-6 years.

Amy, talent has nothing to do with "company pensions, company loyalty, and company wages/benefits." These three items may help persuade applicants to accept a job offer but it is talent that will allow the new hire to become a successful employee. Employers often persuade bad hires to accept their good job offers. Applicants are attracted but talent is hired.

It takes a very short time to identify the talent demanded by each position.

You are correct that retention is difficult but turnover of new hires is sure sign that the wrong people are getting hired. Turnover of long term employees is a sign that management is doing something wrong or something very well.

It is my view, and one that is shared amongst other experienced Workforce Planners that there is no 'War on Talent'. Look at the talent pool available at the moment in the US, more university (sorry College) graduates than every working for less than they ever have before (if you take infation into account) and a still very high (although declining) 8.3% official unemployment rate which does not include those not participating in or looking for employment.

What you do have is a 'Skirmish for Talent', fought over people with specific & 'bench-ready' skillsets who are more often than not globally advantaged. Recent 'mission-critical' examples from my work in the last couple of years include experienced mainframe specialists, anaesthetists, senior communications & railway engineers, senior islamic banking specialists, senior mining engineers & most recently heavy lift helicopter pilots!

Every time I see a story on the global 'talent shortage' I'm always struggling to find the quantitative evidence (it is almost always qualitative). A great example from Australia is shortage of mine workers required for the current & future needs for the industry. Numbers vary but the most recent reading stated tens of thousands in the next 2-3 years. But tens of thousands of what? What is the capability required? What positions need to be filled? It's my view that there are plenty of people already with the skills required or could be brought on-line to work within a reasonable timeframe (especially if we are talking only 30 or so thousand out of a working population of approximately 11-million).

The problem is that recruiters, recruitment firms and internat recruiters have sold themselves to all concerned as being able to find superstars for every job. A super star cleaner to a super star senior mining engineer. Its just not going to happen.

We make too much of 'talent' and not enough of 'first principals'. We need to ask ourselves is the person capable of doing the job now or with some work able to do the job in the near future (yes, we may need to invest in our people again). This is more important than ever given the atrophy in our skills-base in recent years, especially in the US.

There's really no shortage of talent.
For one, you made a good point, Mel,
about an employer's willingness to pay for talent.
But more so, it's on how one perceives talent...
for "traditionals", they "see" talents in stereotypes,
this is why they only get the regular thing;
for "forward-thinkers" which is unfortunately
very few, "real" talents are found everywhere,
and involved in different fields, however,
with the capability to make a difference
in any field they wish to enter.
Conventionals just do not notice "real" talent
because they stereotype, instead of giving them
an opportunity to speak and prove themselves.

Regular expected results await stereotyping,
however, "breakthroughs" are only for the brave.

Gold is not just found in your jewelry box
or in some safety deposit vault but "mines"
if only you are courageous and patient enough to dig.

This is @TheGreatLight.

When we say that we DON'T have a shortage of talent in this country, we are in denial of just how serious our situation is in this country. We have been in denial for a long time..which has made our lack of education, skills, and training worse. Yes, we do have a shortage of skills to fill these jobs.

I researched heavily on this subject for an article that I did for my company's global business magazine, including reading the 2011 McKinsey Report on American jobs and economy, and we have a serious deficiency in skills in this country to fill some of these jobs. If you don't believe me, look at how we rank in math, science, and tech skills...it is just plain sad. So, yes there is a shortage in this country...we need to do much better in math, science, and tech skills..and also..our universities need to do a much better job in training our students for the work place.

I do agree that employers will do what they can to save money..but let me ask you this. What makes you more special than a man or woman from another country who can do your job, but do it cheaper and maybe faster? That is a question you need to ask yourself before you even step foot in a job interview. We Americans have become too passive in how we sell our skills. We forgot that a business is about making money..not about giving us a job. In the world we live in now, a job is no longer a "right", and you are not just competing with Susie or Johnny down the street for a job...you live in a global job market and a global economy..now your competition is basically the world.

I know as a fact that jobs go unfilled due to the lack of what the company needs and are looking for. So, that is just a reality to us that we need to do better in training our citizens for these new jobs.

Correction: I know as a fact that jobs go unfilled due to the lack of what is needed to "fulfill" what the company needs and is looking for. So, that is our reality and we need to do better in training our citizens for these new jobs.

Something else we need to understand in this country, if we are going to be any competitive in this twenty-first century...its no longer enough to have the right skills or the right job experience. Now to get a job, or even be considered...you have to have a whole package of desirables including the mere basics of excellent skills and experience -- you need to fit into and have the ability to excel in the company's "future goals" (not just the present), proof that you go over and beyond your job description with strong results, be innovative and always thinking of new ways to help your company achieve its bottom line, get more customer loyalty, and achieve efficiency; and you need to know about the world around you. Again, this is a global economy and global job market, its not just about America anymore...companies need people who can feel comfortable with and operate on the global stage with ease, even people who work in non-executive or non-management positions must have these things now. That just means if you are a person who scoffs at learning a second language (e.g., Mandarin), and/or you don't really listen to how your industry is doing in other parts of the world and how that affects your employer, then you are at a disadvantage. Plus, you got to be seriously internet, social media, and communication savvy (e.g., Skype, Facebook, etc).

Of course the "who you know" aspect and the amount of influence you can bring to your job that can help your employer make money, increase consumer loyalty, save money, make things more efficient, etc. are all important too.

When a company looks at you as a job candidate, do they equate hiring you with having a greater growth future for them or do they see "just good enough" for now? As one who has previous experience with getting interviews for higher profile jobs, I can tell you...you have to have the excellent skills and, at the same time, be one fierce competitor in this job market.

All of these things feed into your package of being a stronger job candidate with the "right talent" and even then, you have to be a savvy competitor because now we have more and more people around the world who have this same total package.