Talent: Finding, Hiring, and Keeping It
Any of these three topics might fill volumes of books. Indeed, there are volumes of information about all of them today, especially finding good talent. Technology is part of the problem and part of the solution. According to several sources, America is one of the leading countries in the advancement of technology. Microsoft suggests that the United Kingdom leads the way in how schools use technology. Technology, without the talent to use it, is useless. Therefore, if education is not keeping up, there may be a lag in finding that talent. In addition, even though technology has certainly been around for a while, a number of older Americans are not keeping up with technology. That can put a dent in the talent pool. Another issue is the fact that younger people have no loyalty to one company and the talent pool becomes unsustainable. How can technology be the culprit but also the solution?
Technology as a Solution
Training: Organizations may need to offer more training for the jobs requiring technical skills. Offering technical training as rewards can be incentives for people to stay with your organization longer. A recent, albeit limited study, suggests that bundling HRM practices does have a positive effect on employee loyalty (Seeck & Diehl, 2017). Another study confirms this idea and even suggests that investing in employee development can increase engagement. The idea of training and offering training in technology sounds like a win for everyone.
Hiring: If you read my blog (and I hope you do), you know that I often write about using technology to administer online assessments to ensure a good hiring fit. However, technology training is expensive, and assessments can help you better determine which employees have an aptitude for using technology. Being generous with incentives is one thing, being strategic with them is even better.
Retention: One source posits that 57% of employees think that HR technology improves engagement and that HR employee engagement initiatives increase retention. HR technologies include activities such as recruiting through offboarding, using software to track employee feedback, recognizing employee achievements, promoting positive activity, providing programs in physical, mental, and financial wellness, as well as other training and development programs.
Humans as a Solution
Almost every job candidate complains about the lack of interaction with humans in the job search process. Interviewing by phone or even or the internet is common. Technology helps streamline the process and saves HR time in finding people to hire. Here’s a question for you, how many of you reading this article would purchase a car, boat, or house simply by reading about from a piece of paper someone sent you via cyberspace?
Once a person is working in your organization, technology can handle a multitude of tasks such as online benefits selection, intranet newsletters, online training, virtual meetings, and on and on. Again, these are all great tools, but mentoring, coaching, and succession planning should not be left to a robot or AI. Human mentors and coaches can make an impact to other humans resulting in higher performance and longer retention.
Calming The Talent Panic
Many organizations see their plight as one of panic to secure the right talent. Using the right combination of people and technology can help solve that problem. Organizations must be willing to use technology where it makes the most sense. They must also be willing to use people strategically. If you find you have no time to get the job done, there are both technologies to use and people to hire to get the job done. The bottom line will only feel the pinch if you’re failing to serve customers and other stakeholders well.
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Sources
Kumar, D. & Shekhar, N. (2012, August). Envisioning Employee Loyalty. Journal of Management Research, Vol 12 Issue 2, P 100-112.
Seeck, H. & Diehl, M. (2017, March). A Literature Review on HRM and Innovation - taking stock and future direction. International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol 28 Issue 6, P 913-944.