If you continuously hire people while losing talent internally your organisation will not survive. Focusing on the internal development of employees is important and it provides a continuous pipeline of fresh talent for leadership positions. An organisation that looks after its staff will reap the benefits and the Grant Thornton International Business Report shows that the private sector is indeed focused on the development of their talent.
Your company brand is not only the image of the business in the minds of your workforce, but also in the minds of any external stakeholders such as potential employees and your clients. Strong employer brands tend to be associated with large multinational organisations. What about your company? Can you clearly articulate the employer brand to attract and importantly retain talent?
If you are not able to convince potential new employees,
who have come to meet you regarding a job opportunity,
that your grass is greener than where they currently are,
it is not likely that they will consider your offer.
As the global market for talent tightens, you must ensure that you have systems in place for finding and identifying the right talent. I have yet to meet any executive in Thailand that finds it easy to identify and hire really talented people. We have clients who go on and on for months in their attempt to find just one that comes  close to the job requirements. They are waiting for a miracle. Waiting to find the needle in the haystack. Meanwhile they are loosing sales opportunities, they are not getting the best deal from their suppliers, existing staff put in extra hours to cover. This is obviously not a healthy situation for very long.
Yet, the fight for talent is only going to get more difficult. Further Grant Thornton research found
that the lack of availability of skills is the biggest constraint on expanding the business.
To recruit and retain the right people you must have in place a human resources structure aligned to the needs of your business. You need to create an environment that not only attracts good people but retains them. It’s about how you treat people, providing the necessary tools and resources, opportunities to learn and access to knowledge. Leadership and management must be inspiring, but also real, consistent and believable. It must all be underpinned with strong values communicated through the day to day experiences the people have of the organisation.
So what action do you need to take? First, you must recognise the issues and challenges surrounding talent, both locally and globally. Talent is not restricted by borders. Organisations in every part of the world must identify a sound recruitment and retention strategy.
Secondly, you must focus on human resources solutions. You need to create an employer brand that delivers and communicates strong and consistent messages. Values need to be defined and embedded not just in words but in very action you take. Internal talent development is as important as recruitment of new talent into an organisation. You need defined competency frameworks so you recruit not just any talent but the right talent.
Finally, take action. Recruitment and retention needs to be at the centre of management decision. HR is a strategic function and should be represented at the highest level of your organisation, no matter what the size, nature or level of maturity.
