Talent management and employee development key to skills shortage

London, United Kingdom – A business research programme focused on understanding the impact of a skills shortage was recently conducted by the Business Execution software company SuccessFactors, an SAP company.

The results from SuccessFactors’ research programme show that having the right people with the right skills within a business helps deliver a great performance; however, if the business doesn’t have access to the people with the skills, then business performance levels will naturally deteriorate.

Across Europe skilled workforces are aging. The huge surplus of workers created by the Baby Boomer generation is getting old and retiring, taking their skills and experience with them.

The imminent talent shortage from retiring workers is enough to cause problems on its own. In addition, rapid technological development is worsening the skills shortage. Computer sciences and engineering, in particular, are susceptible, with 36 percent of IT companies and 28 percent of energy companies expecting large increases in staff over the next three years. They are not alone – many industries face threats to their workforce capabilities.

Without a skilled workforce, companies face a multitude of crippling problems. Vital tasks and business processes cannot be performed efficiently, leading to capacity bottlenecks, capability issues and reduced business performance. As the workforce ages and the talent shortage worsens, companies face severe threats to their competitiveness.

However, many companies are already putting workforce planning and staff development plans into action. They know it’s vital to start investing in talent management and employee development to equip themselves with the skilled workforce they need today and in the future.

Business leaders worried about the effect of the talent shortage on their business’ performance can take SuccessFactors’ quick benchmarking test to see how their company compares to other companies. The test provides immediate recommendations on what businesses can do to improve and where they can get guidance on creating a winning talent management strategy.

Visit http://www.successfactors-skilledworkforce.com/benchmarking.php to take the skilled workforce benchmarking test and learn more.

Additionally, to learn more about SuccessFactors’ business execution software, visit www.successfactors.com.