How to recruit effectively for talent in today’s tumultuous landscape

As we look forward in our businesses, it’s important to think about talent in the marketplace, and to look both back at some of the changes that happened in recent times and forward to what we will need from a talent perspective in the coming years.

How the world is changing

It’s been a tumultuous time from a global perspective – we triggered Article 50 in the UK for Brexit last March, experienced continued immigration from the Middle East into Europe and elsewhere, we have a conservative and controversial president in the USA and experienced a general overall movement towards more isolation across the globe.

At the same time, some countries, like France, rejected that notion and voted for even more integration. The global landscape has changed rapidly.

It’s always a given that talent is critical to an organisation but this past year it became ever more important to as companies now have to navigate an environment which is both globally focused and isolated in different ways at the same time.  Having the right talent in place is key to continued success.

How not to recruit

As someone with over 25 years of experience in building high performing teams to lead companies through business and technology transformation, I have found that most hiring managers tend to recruit in their own image.

They have been successful in the way that they operate, so they believe (consciously or subconsciously) that hiring someone like them will guarantee that the person is also successful. Plus they feel most comfortable talking to, and working with, someone with similar beliefs and background to themselves. In a way this is logical, but in a dynamic and ever-changing environment it misses the point entirely.

So what should they do instead?

Companies need diverse talent and skills in order to remain innovative and reach out to new customers with different views, needs and cultures.

In an environment that is changing in polarized ways, as we are experiencing now, we need people that understand how to be successful in both global and local organisations.

Talent that understands the benefits of globalization and can build and leverage it within an organisation remains critical, but it is also critical to have talent that can understand the local dynamics within a country or region in order to provide the best experiences for the end customers.

For years companies have been talking about acting local, but being global. Nowadays, this is no longer a “nice to have” but it is critical to success.

The most effective way to maintain and build this talent is through:

• Recruitment of more diverse staff
• Using the best partners
• Encouraging diversity in hiring,
• Building stronger capabilities within the organisation with effective training and development.

Getting the best out of people

If you look at the most effective companies globally, they create and foster a dynamic and diverse work environment where people are inspired to give their best.

Employees are listened to and encouraged to participate.  They are supported by leadership, which leads to higher organisational performance, better feedback and lower turnover. Purposefully hiring people with different backgrounds and experiences creates diversity in talent, and it also creates a competitive edge.

Having the right talent is key to success of any organisation, but is even more critical in the changing business environment we are facing.  Companies that embrace diversity and encourage growth will outperform in the coming months and years.

About the Author:

Reno Daigle is an executive leader skilled in managing operations, IT and transformational change at senior levels. He has 20 years of leadership in managing teams across a variety of industries. He has experience in leading up to 700 people with budgets of up to £100m annually and has led global and multinational operations and change functions. He is also a technical expert at delivering ROI and efficiencies across organisations. His focus is in financial services with added experience in Retail, Travel and Manufacturing.