The talent shortage is here to stay

Here at Rhabit Analytics, we speak to HR leaders in companies of all sizes to determine what their talent management programs lack and help them fill those gaps with modern processes.

At Rhabit, we work with companies that range from small manufacturers in the US Midwest to large global conglomerates. Despite different sizes and budgets, they have a commonality: Human Resources and Talent Management Executives are laser-focused on retaining talent.

With labor force participation below pre-pandemic levels, unemployment rates steady at 3.4%, and the Boomers retiring out (some earlier than anticipated), we’re not surprised we’re experiencing this talent shortage. Every organization should be worried about the availability of skilled talent in the upcoming years.

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So that begs the question - what can HR leaders do to get ahead of this?

Well, first, you need to make it the executives’ problem. 

Hear us out on this. New initiatives will not succeed without the full buy-in of senior leadership. You’re probably thinking, “OK. How do I get executive buy-in for a new initiative when we’re actively making budget cuts?”

The advice we give our prospective clients is to speak their language. Run a gap analysis, determine what your talent program lacks, and make an airtight business case on why it is business-critical. The reality is the business still has to operate, and during lean times you must optimize, especially when it comes to your people.

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The Questions HR Leaders Should Be Asking

A few questions you should ask to identify gaps in your talent management strategy:

Engagement:

• Is your engagement strategy proactive or reactive?
• How do you respond to engagement data?
• Do you have a way to measure if your response made an impact?

Performance Management:

• Are your managers giving frequent feedback on each employee’s performance?
• Do you managers know how to give effective feedback?
• Is performance feedback timely and relevant?

Learning and Development:

• Do your employees feel they have opportunities to grow?
• Do your employees understand the opportunities available to them?
• Do your managers actively develop their employees?

Leadership Development:

• Do your managers have self-awareness about how their behaviors are perceived by their team?
• Are their employees empowered to give feedback to their leaders?
• Are your managers capable of receiving feedback in a productive way?

Retention:

• What % of your employees plan to leave your organization in the next 12 months?
• Can you identify which departments or divisions have the highest turnover intent?
• Can you identify why employees in these groups are signaling they want to leave, and do you have a way to react? 

The solution for your talent concerns

If you find yourself saying “I don’t know” or “no” your company is actively at risk of losing valuable talent. I say this from a good place, as I genuinely believe it’s easy to turn around. When organizations come to us concerned about a recent turnover, or negative engagement survey, we get them back on track in just a few months.

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We would recommend starting with our Talent Management gap analysis template. We’re happy to send you a copy to help assess where you need to focus for an iron-clad business case. Just send us a message (this link will prefill an email for you).

Also, we would like to offer our time to help you design your process. The Rhabit team is well-versed in building use cases to help HR leaders get executive buy-in and execute their vision. Even if you’re at the beginning of your process, we can give a unique perspective into how organizations like yours are improving retention, employee satisfaction, and manager performance.

Start today by blocking out some time on our calendar.

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