"The world has changed—it will never be normal again—and that's exactly what you have to love!"
All companies are facing this changed world. Buzzwords such as digitalization, flexibilization, globalization, competitive corporate management, communication on equal terms, and changes in values and culture—to name just a few—are haunting all departments.
In order to deal with these issues in all their complexity, a new mindset is urgently neededamongcompany managementandhuman resources departments.
The process of change in the labor market has been noticeable for years—demographic change is not something that has only become apparent recently.By 2020, there will be a shortage of 6 million people due to the low birth rates in the 1970s and 1980s. Closely linked to this is the aging of society. This poses just as great a challenge for companies. These facts should be a wake-up call for all companies, because it means that those who do not act now, those who do not change their mindset now, will lose a decisive competitive advantage within the next three to five years: people, plus the opportunity to find and develop them for a company.
The age of "post and pray" is long gone—it has been a long time since standard job advertisements attracted the desired number of applications. It is therefore essential to break new ground—one of many options is to establish strategic talent relationship management. This can be summarized in one sentence:
"Discover tomorrow's talents today."
But how? This is precisely where "out-of-the-box" thinking comes in: finding talent—and that means all potential candidates, whether active or passive—where they are. Surely you're not spending all your time on online job ad platforms. Finding talent doesn't mean spending all day online or at your desk. It means getting out there, visiting trade fairs, actively networking, being active in the market, taking advantage of events, etc.
"Be brave and creative."
Go where the talent is. For example, with the help of a "talent scout." Where can you find young, innovative fashion designers? The best places are the various fashion fairs in Berlin, Amsterdam, etc. The talent scout's sole task is to approach these talents directly on site and establish contact—not to approach them for a specific position. Their job is to build a long-term/strategic relationship – to get the talent excited about the company today so that when a suitable position becomes available, they can offer it to that talent. However, this also means that intensive contact with the talent should be established over time. A one-time birthday card is not enough – you have to stand out and stay in touch with the talent individually. When implementing such measures, it should never be forgotten that in order to build and maintain a strategic talent relationship pool, there must be sufficient acceptance of the talent scout position at the top of the company. It is equally important that the underlying processes in a talent relationship management pool are supported as effectively as possible with a well-functioning tool, e.g., embedded in an existing applicant management system.
Building a strategic talent relationship management system takes time—but saves money in the long run—because it results in tailor-made recruitment.
Now is the time to break new ground, implement these innovations, and thereby generate an absolute competitive advantage.
About the author
Petra Carl is a fully qualified lawyer specializing in labor law. She has been working in human resources for 20 years and learned her craft from the ground up, heading up HR departments in various companies and consistently developing them in line with the challenges of the labor market in recent years. As a long-standing human resources manager in the fashion and lifestyle industry, she has in-depth knowledge of HR processes. Her expertise covers the entire employee life cycle.
The five key areas of her further development are employer branding, candidate journey, social media-based active sourcing, direct approach, and strategic talent relationship management.
At Senator Executive Search Partners, Petra Carl is responsible for HR process optimization. She offers the following services for your HR department:
- Customized, forward-looking HR solutions
- Support and guidance for transforming your current human resources system into a state-of-the-art system
- Development of 'HR 4.0', with particular emphasis on its five key areas
