Three essential tips for surviving the impending Talent Crisis
Let’s face it – Brexit has caused a mess. It’s left uncertainty for all and imposed a tough economic situation on businesses. Typically for those feeling the financial pinch, it’s a case of battening down the hatches, grit teeth and wait for the storm to pass.
The challenge with waiting for more certainty, however, is that when the dust settles, people WILL move on. If companies don’t invest in making their company sticky for current employees, they will lose them when this is all over. It’s worth remembering that unlike in any other time of economic uncertainty in the past 20 years, there is no latent potential workforce on the market ready to replace the people you lose. There is no one on the bench.
We’ve already explained the importance of having a global voice to survive but how can you survive the impending talent crisis?
COI, not ROI
When the going gets tough, the tough consider COI rather than ROI. Assessing the cost of inaction will help you gain a deeper understanding of what is at stake if you stand still. Doing nothing will likely cost you dearly; people will leave and you might not be able to find people to replace them.
The cost of inaction may not be felt today, but at the point in which the economy rotates, it will be felt then. There will come a perfect storm of suddenly having new orders, tenders and requests for services coming through the door just as employees start walking out.
Get sticky
Marketing and PR are not just investments to gain prospective clients. You might be marketing yourself to new employees but are you targeting those you currently have? Forgetting to leverage this message internally robs your employees of the message you’re sharing to the world. To create a sticky organisation, you need to ensure your team understand just how good the business is. Celebrate your successes, reward your team and make them inspired to be part of the dream and growth of the company. If you do it right, your team will develop a desire to share the success with potential prospects.
Developing culture inside and out
Does your website culture match your actual culture? Too often there is a disparity between the two. The culture that you project to the world on your website and social media channels should be the culture that a prospective client or candidate meets when they come into the building. This happens naturally when the message that is dispersed externally is the same as what is spread internally.
If an organisation’s culture is real and embodied throughout the organisation, then employees will be living and breathing it anyway. This should be seen through all of the marketing activities, all the way through to any interaction with the employees of that organisation.
PR is not just an outbound strategy for prospects. It is about attracting talent and keeping talent in your organisation. Those who understand this, as well as their COI, may just have a chance of coming of this mess on top.
If it is not you, it will be your competitors. What’s your next move?
