According to a recent poll in Human Resource Executive, when HR executives were asked whether or not the ‘war for talent’ was under way today, 22% responded ‘No’ while 17% were not sure. I’d love to know who those people worked for, as I would create a hedge fund that consisted of nothing but short positions on those stocks. If companies are not already dealing with or actively preparing for the shortage of workers in their industry, they have no chance of successfully competing in the years ahead. None.
Equally as alarming, almost 1 in 5 HR executives were not sure about the existence of the war for talent. How this could ever be the case is beyond me. The single most important function of HR is to make sure that their company has a constant supply of sufficient human capital to compete in the marketplace. That means retaining talent, developing talent, and attracting talent at all times. To do this successfully, one would absolutely have to be aware of what is happening on a macro level to help guide strategic thinking and weigh appropriate tactical decision-making. If you work for a very small company, offshore the majority of work overseas, or are lucky enough to be in an industry with an abundant supply of talent (if one actually exists), then maybe, just maybe, you could get away by answering ‘No’ to the survey. But to answer ‘Not Sure’ ??? – that’s just pure negligence.