How Great Leaders Are Handling the Current Talent Shortage

There is no shortage of challenges facing leaders today. 

Leading remote teams, communicating the company return to the office policy, navigating a rapidly changing market, and handling a constricted supply chain, just to name a few. While these are all legitimate constraints, there is one challenge rising above the rest, acquiring talented professionals.  

Don't just take my word for it; the stats regarding acquiring talent in the short term are staggering. According to the Allegis Group's Global Workforce Trends Survey, 79% of respondents in North America experience challenges acquiring critical talent. In addition, Randstad Sourceright's 2021 Talent Trends Report found, 40 percent of human capital leaders report that talent scarcity has negatively impacted their organization - the highest total in the past five years. 

As jaw-dropping as these statistics are, the talent shortfall appears to be here to stay. A recent Korn Ferry study found by 2030, there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people, resulting in $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues. 

The Problem Isn't Isolated

The talent shortage isn't just forcing some teams or businesses to have to close or pause operations; it's also contributing to the rising employee burnout problem. When a team is short on staff, it causes team members to work longer and harder to pick up the slack. The managers of teams in this situation might not recognize it, but leaders certainly do. 

Managers care about short-term productivity regardless of the price. Leaders care about the long-term price of productivity.  

Most managers focus solely on results. Leaders recognize results matter, but they see a world beyond just immediate outcomes.  

Since the talent shortfall is here to stay and the problem isn't isolated, what can you do to thrive in this challenging environment?

Recruit Year-Round, With Everyone

Coaches in NCAA Division 1 college athletics know that to be great over a long period of time, they must recruit year-round and not just during open recruiting periods. The same is true in the workplace.  

Mark Wojcik, Founder & President at HireLevel, told me, "Be consistent and be flexible. Be consistent in your interview process and your communication. Be flexible with requirements and with candidate qualifications. Because at the end of the day, great leaders can harness great potential."

Great leaders can harness great potential.

Instead of waiting until the need is extreme, every single team member, from the CEO to a front-line employee, should feel responsible for attracting talented people to the organization consistently. 

Look for "Cultural Cofounders"

In the middle of talent crunches, it's easy to forget about hiring for a good culture fit and settle for the thinking that "any warm body will do." While it might help you in the short-term, this will no doubt hurt your team in the long run.  

On a recent episode of The Masters of Scale podcast with Reid Hoffman, Workday's CEO Annel Bhusri talked about personally interviewing their first 500 employees for what he called "cultural co-founders." The idea was, "if we hired the right first 500, it would give us the next 5,000 because they would be with the company for 10+ years to uphold the culture and attract the people that fit our culture well."

The best leaders hire for culture fit and for people who desire to get better.

While this might seem extreme, if you are going to create a development and people-first culture, you better be sure to hire the right people who fit your culture and desire to progress.

Be Proactive for Talent Outside Your Vertical

W. Chan Kim & Renée Mauborgne coined the terms red and blue oceans to denote the market universe in their book, Blue Ocean Shift. The idea being, Cutthroat competition turns the ocean bloody red. Hence, the term 'red' oceans. Blue oceans denote all the industries not in existence today – the unknown market space, unexplored and untainted by competition.

While seeking talent isn't a perfect fit to their idea, there is excellent value, seeking talent in professionals outside your traditional vertical. For example, I have been helping an upstart in the automotive industry seek talented customer service and salespeople. Instead of looking for people with experience in the automotive industry, we are looking for people who have hospitality service experience, because technical knowledge is easier to teach than a servant's heart.  

Find an alternative industry where talented people have developed great leadership skills and be proactive in getting them to make the switch. It might be precisely what they are looking for, and no one is reaching out to them. 

Closing

There is nothing easy about the current talent shortfall, especially in specific industries like hospitality and manufacturing. However, if you recruit year-round, look for cultural cofounders, and focus on the untapped people outside your vertical, you will be on your way to a more talented team.

Lastly, as I tell my team all the time, "if it were easy, everyone would do it well."