Skills shortage impacts business performance fuelling war for talent

London, United Kingdom – According to SuccessFactors, skills shortage is starting to impact business performance and the war for talent is becoming a reality. The company recently completed a research programme in order to understand the impact of a skills shortage and how companies can adapt so business performance won’t suffer.

Last year, executives in Germany were unable to find 92,000 qualified engineersⁱ, and in the UK 43 percent of surveyed managers felt they did not have the skilled workforce they needed to fulfill their business goalsⁱⁱ. By 2030 an additional 45 million employees will be needed in Western Europe. This gap cannot be filled by current population growth.

In the next decade, the median age in Germany and Italy will be 47ⁱⁱⁱ, while in the US the number of workers over 55 has increased 60 percent yet the number of new workers a mere 3.5 percent^iv. France is losing 600,000 retirees from its skilled workforce every year, and watching their valuable skills and experience walk out the door with them^v.

This indicates that the skills shortage is here and growing at a bewildering rate. This means companies must act now because without a skilled workforce, business performance will suffer and companies face a tough time ahead.

However, forward thinking companies are already adapting. The use of talent management solutions allows these companies to identify the talent that already exists in their workforce and recruit the right people under the noses of their competitors. Evidently, there will be winners and losers in the war for talent but creating a talent management strategy now will ensure you are on the right side.

Organisations can take SuccessFactors’ quick online benchmarking test to see how they compare to other companies. Immediate recommendations will be made on what you can do to improve and where to get guidance on creating a winning talent management strategy.

To take the skilled workforce benchmarking test, visit http://www.successfactors-skilledworkforce.com/benchmarking.php.

Additionally, to learn more about developing a highly skilled workforce, and business execution software, visit www.successfactors.com.

References

ⁱ  VDI-/IW-Ingenieurmonitor March 2012
ⁱⁱ Future Forecast: Expectations for 2012 – Chartered Management Institute, Dec 2011.
ⁱⁱⁱ “Stimulating Economics through fostering talent”, World Economic Forum in collaboration with BCG, 2010
^iv Congressional Research Service report for Congress “Retiring baby boomers   – A Labour Shortage?” January 2008
^v Le Centred’Analyse Strategique (CAS) et la DARES