The Critical Pillars of a Future-Ready Talent Strategy

The war for talent has been going on for a long time now. Earlier, organizations cracked the formulae to retain their existing employees and attract new ones. However, a lot has changed in recent years. Today, fast growing organizations which cannot have or have no clear talent strategy are facing problems like higher attrition rates, reduced internal mobility, no clear guidance for leadership roles, etc.

A robust talent strategy is the secret sauce that helps manage existing and potential talent. To that end, a future-ready talent strategy takes into consideration a holistic future focussed talent engagement and development that are not biased toward certain sections, experiences, gender, etc. It also stresses talent mapping, among other aspects.

Keeping this in mind, let’s look at the pillars of a future-ready talent strategy.

Pillars of Future-Ready Talent Strategy – Process Design

Future-ready organizations know the importance of future-ready talent strategies. But what exactly is being future-ready?

Being future-ready implies that organizations realize the challenges digitalization is throwing their way. There are constant advancements in the technological landscape. And the leaders in the organization need to ensure that their current pool of talent and potential hires are abreast of these constant developments, have been hired and or internally groomed in the skills and competencies required to meet the evolving organizational needs.

A future-ready talent strategy takes stock of everything an organization has, including human resources (skilled, performers, non-performers) and the technology they need to meet the growth and beat the competition.

As for the critical pillars of a future-ready talent strategy, here they are:

Organizational Structure

The first pillar is to define organizational structure and how it impacts hiring and development decisions. A system that outlines the direction of organizational activities and defines the roles and responsibilities of the entire staff is defined as an organizational structure.

Organizational structure plays a vital role in realizing desired outcomes. It paves the way for informed hiring decision-making as the businesses align the hiring decision with the long-term goal. Additionally, organizational structure adds clarity to organizational priorities and ensures that different roles are compatible with each other.

Defining the organizational structure implies what is the authority structure in the organization, i.e., whether it’s centralized or decentralized. Often, traditional organizations have centralized leadership – a defined hierarchy. Contemporary organizations and startups mostly have decentralized organizational structures. This allows them to be agile, quick, and adaptable to changes.

Upskilling

Upskilling the existing talent is another pillar of future-ready talent strategy. Recognizing the capabilities of internal talent and upskilling them to stay abreast with the current technological development is critical. A future-ready ecosystem places importance on upskilling and reskilling and doesn’t keep away from it.

Besides, such an approach helps organizations grow, lead in the market, and ensure they stay ahead of the competition. A talent strategy takes stock of the skillset that are a must-have for today’s and tomorrow’s workforce. Resource training and upskilling certainly receive prime importance in such an environment.

Performance Metrics

Employee performance is one of the measures to judge whether the organization is on track to achieve its goals. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and organizational structure go hand in hand when it comes to realizing a future-ready talent strategy. With the right performance metrics in place and communicated properly, employees know the expectations they need to suffice. And they perform accordingly.

Performance metrics are critical in gauging the effectiveness of a company’s internal and external activities. In fact, KPIs help organizations measure their performance across various dimensions, including productivity, retention, and engagement. The data collected helps pinpoint areas in which improvements can be made.

All in all, the talent strategy involves improvements in the current processes to make room for technological interventions and address changing workforce preferences.

How Are These Processes Implemented?

Implementing the processes is the second step toward realizing a future-ready talent strategy. The implementation process involves the following:

Resource Identification Through Interviews and Placements

Organizational structure helps develop a clear strategy for how:

• How the potential candidate will be interviewed, and
• How they will be placed in the firm currently (or in the future) – depending on the transformation the business undergoes.

Resource Training

Identifying internal talent and training them on the latest technology is one of the ways to prepare a talent pool. This comes in handy when a business requires talent with specific skills. Training the new resources on the latest technology also helps prepare them for the challenges ahead.

Implementation Support

Implementation support ensues proper planning before a process is implemented. This is where every possible challenge and obstacle is considered and resolved for a successful implementation. It also offers stakeholders support in their implementation process.

Post Implementation Support

Only implementing the processes isn’t enough. Businesses need post-implementation support to check whether all the implemented processes are working fine. The post-implementation support also checks for any loopholes in resource training and keeps tabs on new technology that would entail training.

Implementing these processes is crucial to ensure that the pillars of a future-ready talent strategy stand firm and that the organization is ready to fulfill its desired goals.

In a Nutshell

Organizations need a future-ready talent strategy to outperform the competition and ensure that their employees are agile enough to take on desired roles and responsibilities.

Pierian Services, a leading Global Business Services Company, offers a range of services and solutions pertaining to talent strategy. We help businesses create a robust, future-ready talent strategy that yields long-term results. Contact us to learn more.