This is part 3 of our Talents series. We focus on this essential feature for every modern business and analyze the concept from several perspectives. The goal? To better understand talent and how it impacts the workplace, how we can promote it, and how we can get the most out of it. (…)
This is part 3 of our Talents series . We focus on this essential feature for every modern business and analyze the concept from several perspectives. The goal? To better understand talent and how it impacts the workplace, how we can promote it, and how we can get the most out of it.
Click the links to read Part 1 and Part 2 of the Talent Series.
The (somewhat) unexpected outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has inevitably forced companies to see things from a different perspective. There have been disruptions to workflows, the adoption of new working models, increased work flexibility and new management approaches, among many other things. There were no other options. Companies could only overcome this challenge with an adaptive stance.
Many experts say work won't be the same after COVID-19. On the one hand, because companies will maintain some of the routines developed in times of crisis, as they certainly realized that the new way of doing things could be beneficial. On the other hand, because people will look at work differently, perhaps preferring to work remotely part-time or full-time. All of this will shape a new normal for work that will undoubtedly impact the needs and requirements for future talent searches.
In short, the pandemic has highlighted something that some companies have known for some time: anyone trying to succeed in today's business landscape needs to be agile. In other words, companies need to be flexible enough to quickly adapt to new scenarios. Accepting that routines and work models will change over time (and sometimes very quickly) is essential to staying ahead of the competition and keeping up with constantly fluctuating markets.
Now, it is essential to understand that companies are only as agile as their workforces. This can mean several things at once, but it is best summarized in a single concept: talent agility. Knowing this and understanding how to promote it can help your company better prepare for the uncertain scenarios to come.
What is talent agility?
Talent agility refers to your ability to quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively modify your workforce to meet new situations. It covers all the ways you have at your disposal to ensure you always have the talent you need to meet your company's business challenges. Thus, talent agility includes:
- Learning programs
- Talent development plans
- Talent acquisition and retention
- Talent management
A combination of all these methods will certainly increase the capacity of internal talents to face new scenarios that may arise and adapt better to new demands. Furthermore, all of this will do wonders for the morale of your workforce, as everyone will feel part of a dynamic team, always prepared and deeply valued. This is because you will be investing in your team, helping them develop new skills that will benefit them, their careers and the company.
Why is talent agility important?
As proven by the Coronavirus, the business landscape can change in a matter of hours. What worked today may not work tomorrow. The product you've been planning for months may seem useless after a competitor beats you to market with a similar product. The skills your team has honed over the years can fall out of favor in a minute. New technologies can create new demands – and new threats. A startup can revolutionize a field with an innovative approach. And so on.
As you can see, all of these situations do not necessarily arise in times of emergency. Of course, COVID-19 created a new scenario overnight, but all of this happened (albeit less dramatically) quite frequently before the pandemic. There are many examples to support all of this: Uber revolutionized the world of mobility, artificial intelligence is changing practically everything from finance to agriculture, no one would hire a Flash expert today.
These examples (and many others we didn't discuss) challenged our business views. Before the arrival of Uber, we would not have thought about having the possibility of evaluating a taxi driver. Artificial intelligence is now providing us with insights that business executives only dreamed of before. Flash, once the omnipresent king of the Internet, was quickly replaced by HTML5 tags. These changes forced traditional companies and talent to adapt or risk being forgotten. Think this is too dramatic? You can ask Kodak executives what they think about this.
Thus, changes are inevitable. Even large companies that would love for things to stay the same need to understand this to stay competitive. It is in this context that the agility of talent proves its importance. By having a workforce that is constantly improving and learning, any company can better respond to these changes, whether they are predictable or not. It's a question of adaptability, just like evolution.
The future will, without a doubt, be different from today and will require very different talents and skills for work. Ten years ago, no one would have imagined that today we would need blockchain experts or Internet of Things developers. Now there is a lot of demand for them. Many people who worked on other things made the switch and are now blockchain experts and IoT developers. They were agile enough to pivot when the market changed. This is exactly what you need.
How to Achieve Talent Agility
Naturally, all of the above is easier said than done. Typically, changes are more abrupt and rapid than our ability to respond. This leaves companies and their talent in a reactive position – as the pandemic has clearly shown. This doesn't mean you have to sit around idly waiting for the markets to change. You can be better prepared when your company and the people you work with develop the right mindset: one enabled by talent agility.
So how can you promote this in your company and help your talent be more agile? Doing the following:
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Know the strengths and weaknesses of your talent. The first thing you need to know is what knowledge you have in your company and what is missing. Therefore, you will need to analyze your current workforce. Be as thorough as possible, as saying “I have two software developers, three marketers and an accountant” is not enough. You know the specific skills of each of them!
For example, you might find that your marketer also knows UX or that one of your software developers has blockchain-related skills. Take a detailed inventory of these skills (even the ones you don't currently use). This will let you know where your company stands in terms of capabilities.
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Know your competitors, market and industry. Now that you have an internal talent inventory, it's time to evaluate your competition and your entire industry. Checking your competitors' hiring intentions, spotting emerging trends in your audience, or staying on top of the latest news in your industry can identify potential talent needs in the short, medium, and long term.
Don't just focus on competitors who feel closest to you (in terms of size and market focus). Check your entire industry, from large companies to new startups. Someone may be about to revolutionize the field with a specific strategic move, and you need to be aware of this to acquire the skills necessary to move in the same direction at any time. While this may seem more reactive, it doesn't matter if you're the first to hear about a trend that could become a new norm: what matters is that you get there quickly and right.
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Plan a talent strategy. When you know your company, your competitors, and industry strengths, weaknesses, and skills trends, you have a complete picture that allows you to plan your next move, talent-wise. Where will you go? This is a tricky part as there is a lot that goes into creating such a strategy, a mix of data, trends, experience and pure instinct. The plan should define where you will go next: what skills will you invest in?
Certainly, don't take this as a call to go all-in on a single investment. You have to be smart about the direction you take with your talent. Perhaps you can diversify your efforts and train your workforce in different skills that you think could make a difference in the future. You can partner with a nearshore development company to fill in the gaps. The important thing is that you create a viable plan to follow, with a clear purpose.
Keep in mind that the plan won't be defined in the store – a big part of talent agility is being flexible, so you'll have to be ready to change direction at a moment's notice.
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Combine different talent methodologies. Now it's time to put that plan into action. Ideally, you should combine different strategies to obtain the skills defined as your talent objectives. This means that you will have to resort to some of the methodologies mentioned above. A good suggestion is to always start with skills learning programs, training sessions and talent development strategies.
Investing in reskilling and upskilling can provide greater talent agility, as you will have a workforce whose skills you already know will be enhanced through new skills. They will have the advantage of knowing your company and your market inside out, so they will add extra value to all your efforts. Additionally, investing in your team will better prepare them for unexpected changes and increase engagement with your business.
Increase the agility of your talent
It is difficult to measure the impact that the pandemic will have in the short and medium term. It is safe to assume that several things will change due to the economic outcomes of crises, new worker preferences or companies' new business strategies. Therefore, we need to prepare for a future that will introduce more uncertainty and change than we are used to.
Given this, talent agility becomes even more critical, as it will provide you with the right state of mind to face future challenges with the best weapon any company can have: great talent.
