Can good talent management counteract the shortage of skilled workers?

The existing shortage of skilled workers is becoming an increasing problem, especially for the German economy. Demographic change and far-reaching changes in the economy continue to drive the competition of companies for qualified employees. In order to find and ensure the required competencies both outside and internally, more and more companies are making use of the Talent Management approach.

Global study highlights the problem of shortage of skilled workers for recruiting.

Talent Management provides companies with tools for recruiting, identifying and developing the talent they need to counteract this dynamic and fill positions over the long term. Accordingly, good Talent Management goes far beyond hiring and retaining talents and specialists – it helps employees to uncover their potential and develop it further. As a rule, Talent Management systems are used here as modern software solutions that can technologically map all areas of Talent Management, from recruitment and the identification of talents within the company to the precise development of employees.

Shortage of skilled workers requires improved recruiting

For about three quarters of the companies surveyed by the eLearning Journal as part of this year’s BENCHMARKING study, the biggest problems are the inadequate identification and recording of internal key personnel (78%) and the lack of suitable talents to fill specialist (79.3%) and management positions (72.5%). This is also confirmed by this year’s Talent Tech Labs study, which presents a similar methodology for the global market. Thus, with 69% of the companies surveyed, the lack of skills is also a major challenge in the recruiting process worldwide. In particular, 46% find it difficult to recruit suitable managers. In addition, more than a quarter of all companies lack the basic requirements for a smooth hiring process, such as good applicant communication and technical tools.

The Talent Management approach could provide a remedy here in the future. With 81.1 % of all participants in the BENCHMARKING study, this topic is already relevant for the vast majority of companies operating in the DACH region. 41.7 % of these are already using one or more Talent Management systems, another 27.6 % are in the planning phase. This means that the corresponding software is also very popular. With 87.5% of all respondents, recruiting in particular is to be improved in times of increasing shortages of skilled workers – closely followed by personnel development (85.2%) and the identification of already existing, talented employees (82.9%).

Talent Management will remain important for recruiting and personnel development in the future.

Talent management can also pay off in medium-sized companies

This finding does not apply to large companies. Talent Management is also highly relevant for 70.6 % of SMEs in the DACH region. Talent Management is highly relevant for medium-sized companies in the DACH region. Large companies often have an easier time attracting potential talent to the recruitment market than their smaller competitors because of their high profile. This makes it particularly difficult to fill open positions at short notice with suitable candidates for small and medium-sized companies. Forward-looking planning and a strategic approach in the context of a Talent Management concept can therefore also support medium-sized companies in identifying future gaps and taking appropriate measures at an early stage. Nevertheless, the topic has not completely arrived in the middle class. Although 37.8 % of the companies surveyed with less than 10,000 employees are currently planning to implement such software, only 11.7 % of small and medium-sized companies are already using it. Both the BENCHMARKING study and the Talent Tech Labs study identified the cost factor as possible reasons. For example, 58 % worldwide and 38.7 % of companies in the DACH region stated that they lacked the necessary budget. However, this affects all companies equally, regardless of their size.

The Future of Talent Management

However, the existing shortage of skilled workers and the forecasts of demographic change suggest that investments in suitable software, for example for personnel recruitment, will also become necessary in the future. It is also advisable to look more closely for talent within your own ranks. It is possible that individual employees already have skills that are in demand without this having been recorded so far. Accordingly, the Talent Tech Labs study predicts that the Talent Management systems of the future will increasingly focus on the further development of talent identification. Another interesting development of the future could be the increased use of temporary employment agencies and freelancers. Thus, 79% of the companies surveyed by Talent Tech Labs always stated that they would increasingly rely on external competencies in the future. Accordingly, a further development of the Talent Management systems to the management of freelancers would also be conceivable.