At a time when the unemployment rate is above eight percent and people are desperately seeking work, employers are surprisingly having difficulty filling critical positions. According to a recent article in Chief Executive, the reason employers struggle to find employees is because an overwhelming number of skilled Baby Boomers are retiring, leaving the workforce inundated by under-skilled entry-level applicants.
So how do employers address this challenge? Many CEOs are prioritizing their talent-management strategy. Such strategies entail identifying leadership potential in applicants, performance assessments and development activities. CEOs are also actively participating in the interview process, rather than completely relying on or delegating to HR. Here are some of the strategies employed by major CEOs for recruiting and developing talent:
Miles White, Abbot Laboratories CEO, participates in the interviewing process for the top 400 jobs in his company. He says this gives him greater insight into the talent pipeline and allows him to plan for movement of resources well in advance.
Mark Hass, president and CEO of the world’s largest public relations firm Edelman, regularly holds 90-minute video conferences with employees called “Hangouts with Mark.” The video conferences allow Hass to engage with his employees on a variety of topics and gain visibility into them at a different level.
Jim Moffatt, CEO of Deloitte Consulting, emphasizes the importance of talent and people. He responds to his employees efficiently and authentically, mentors them and helps them develop their talent. This lets his employees know they are important to him and inspires them to do the best they can.
Mark Hatton, CORE Security CEO, hires people with management experience but offers them opportunities to learn new skills. Providing employees at the management level with resources and training creates an environment focused on learning and innovation. Hatton says dynamic learning environments always attract the best talent out there.