Talentrev Getting A Grip On What's Underneath Talent Issues--And What We Can Do

This headline from Reuters grabbed my attention:

"AT&T CEO Says Hard To Find Skilled U.S. Workers"

The specific issue: Chief Executive Randall Stephenson says AT&T can't find enough  skilled workers to fill all the 5,000 customer service jobs it promised to return to the United States from India.

Anyone with any telecommunication "customer service" interaction might be inclined to say that those already employed don't have the skills either. (I don't think that's true, by the way. I believe that too many  companies measure success in ways that serve internal paper-pushers and have little to do with resolving customer issues).

The surprise: Instead of talking about recruitment and retention, Stephenson talked about public education. He is distressed that in some U.S. communities and among certain groups, the high school dropout rate is as high as 50 percent.

"If I had a business that half the product we turned out was defective or you couldn't put into the marketplace, I would shut that business down," he said.

Now: fast forward to the world of luring talented people away from their existing jobs.

Personalized iPods and "Passive Candidates"

Just when I thought I was pretty much on top of what's happening, I found this on BusinessWeek.com:

"Tempt Talent With Creative Recruiting"

It really is an interesting read and will give you a sense of just how creepy competitive the job market is getting. And I learned a phrase I hadn't heard before: "Passive Candidates." This is a euphemism for people who are already happily employed but highly desired by other companies. "Passive Candidates" gave me the same queezy feeling that I had when I first heard an HR director announce that he was in the process of "right-sizing" his company. (About 750 soon-to-be-former employees wondered exactly what made it "right").

How does one reach this targeted "passive" talent?

  • Send a personalized iPod with artistic packaging and a recorded message from the CEO
  • Need programmers? Design a coded message only potential hires can decipher, then put it on a billboard directly in front of the offices of your rival (from whom you want to extract the programming talent).
  • Design a Resignation Toolkit that helps the object of your desire take the guesswork out of kissing the current employer good-bye.

This Week Is About Talent For the Long Run

Businesses want to hire the right people. You want to know what your real talents are and how to get them used. While organizations wring their hands over a shortage of talent, current employees scream that they are being underutilized. And in the midst of all of this, educational institutions are not focused on building the talents and skills needed--and projected--by businesses of all sizes.

I'm deeply invested in surfacing the systemic nature of the Talent "issue." I spend much of my speaking and consulting practice working with individuals and companies on all aspects of the talent equation. I can say this with great confidence: It's not about hiring or retention or T&D or public education. It's about all of those and how they are currently disconnected.  To treat them individually without systemic context can lead to doing the wrong things really well and wondering why there's still an overriding problem.

I hope you'll join in and add your own observations, experiences, concerns, and questions.


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