Know Thy People
– By Rebecca Matchette
Anticipating waves of retirements from baby boomers and skills gaps in the workforce, most workforce experts predict that critical talent will become scarcer within the next few years. To ensure their organizations have an adequate supply of high-performing talent for important jobs, business owners should ask and answer the following questions as part of their strategic plan.
- Which segments of our workforce create the value for which we are most rewarded in the marketplace?
- Which areas of our business will be most impacted by impending waves of retirement or other attrition?
- What are we doing to prepare successors?
- In what areas is the talent market heating up (i.e., demand will outpace supply)?
- Which segments of our workforce will be most impacted? What are the potential bottom-line implications?
- What skills will we need within our organization over the next five years that we don't currently have represented? How will we create or find those skills? What happens to our business if we don't find them?
- What is our turnover within critical areas? How much is that turnover costing us in customers, productivity and innovation? What are we doing to resolve the root cause?
- Have we actively developed talent portfolios or workforce plans that will help us to understand and communicate the financial consequences of human resource decisions on our business?
It's always been important to have 'good' people in the key positions within your organization. Let 2008 be the year you answer the questions that will sustain your workforce and benefit your business!
Rebecca Matchette is President of bec, inc, a human resources consulting firm that specializes in matching talent to right work. Please contact her at 630-462-0025 or email below.
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