Strong swimmers in the talent pool

This quality of available talent is going to be a key factor in who survives and grows now that the war for skills has started again in earnest across the region.

It’s easy in the recruiting business to only focus on the client, but unless ‘organisations such as ourselves properly manage our talent pool, we as recruiters can’t properly deliver for clients.

I firmly believe in the idea that “who ever owns the talent owns the market” which (to put it mildly) is going to create an interesting dynamic, as the economy strengthens.

As we come out of the effects of the slowdown the availability of skills will be a bigger factor than ever. Industry commentator Steve Savage, CEO of major metropolitan and international recruiting firm Aquent, recently made the prediction that as the talent shortage starts to bite again that it will be "more severe than anything we experienced before the downturn.”

The same guy described talent as a non-renewable resource and I think it’s a great way to think, particularly in the temporary or ‘labour hire’ market.

There is no mistake that the national fight for skills has definitely resumed in earnest. We know that regional locations have always had a bigger recruiting challenge and that makes it essential to go the extra mile to secure the best talent. This challenge also puts the obligation squarely on us as recruiters, to retain such talent and to manage them well.

In our own case being proactive with talent and looking after worker safety has created enduring strength in our talent pool. By simply forward planning the next assignment and actively managing safety we have disciplines that have proved very effective for us in retaining our talent pool. Constant planning and relationship management with clients is also an essential part of delivering our business package well.

In October last year I said at our breakfast briefings that it was ‘The best time in a generation to recruit’ and it seems my prediction may well have been correct.

To read the article ‘The best time in a generation to recruit’ from last October just click on the below link.

WOT Newsletter Issue 1