If today’s uncertain, post-pandemic, and fast-paced global economy has taught us anything, it’s that businesses need agile, flexible workforces to weather the storms and drive recovery, growth and innovation.
The concept of talent mobility and an awareness of the need to develop and align workforces to meet strategic needs has been around for a while - but the process of moving talent from role to role has traditionally been seen only as an internal process.
Moving into a new world of work necessitates a move away from this siloed and sluggish mindset, towards the cultivation of internal and external talent pipelines, built with the capacity to quickly deploy key skills across projects, teams and geographical borders when required.
Being agile means more than establishing an open-plan office and improving the work/life balance for employees. Organizations need to leverage technology, data, and external and internal talent pools to succeed in the global economy, proactively identifying the people and skills required to enable their business to continue to grow in a changing world.
Being agile in the new world of work means moving away from the org chart of structured job titles. Shifts in the market and working practices, digital transformations and regulatory transitions may mean that you no longer need the same type of talent as before. Evaluate your business needs and objectives and plug in your workforce from there. The businesses that survive will be the ones that make the necessary adjustments by being malleable to change and constantly updating their skillsets.
Work out if you need these skills long-term, or for a short-term initiative; it’s simply not cost-effective to hire full time employees that are only required for one month in a year. Look beyond the internal movement of employees and explore external talent networks and non-traditional work arrangements such as contractors, freelancers and virtual workers. If you map your workforce to your objectives, you will begin to create a dynamic ecosystem, that you can plug into on an as-needed basis.
Only 43% of business leaders feel assured that they have established adequate talent pools to meet the future needs of their businesses.
Having these pipelines stocked and readily accessible is what enables businesses to quickly and efficiently place people into positions when needed, and without delay.
Talent mobility is essential here. The shift to remote working has now enabled even wider talent pools around the world to open up which means that key skills can now be unlocked and accessed at a much faster rate to deliver on ever-changing business-critical initiatives.
Building talent pools ahead of demand has been proven to work in the best of times and becomes imperative now that every business is having to be more agile than ever before.
People are the key to managing change effectively and ensuring growth in our constantly changing world. By acting now and embracing global talent mobility, you are investing in the future of your organization.
Alex is Marketing Manager at Talmix, developing, executing and managing campaign strategies and 5 a-side tactics.
