Perhaps it's time for HR to stop relying wholly on workers and look at implementing new strategies
About 40% of businesses have revealed that they find it hard to recruit "good people" into their workforce, a struggle that puts their organisation's business planning and execution at risk. This is according to a survey carried out by business transformation specialists Oliver Wight among senior executives in the APAC region.
According to the report, 40% of the respondents said they were having difficulties recruiting so-called ‘good people’, while 37% are concerned over (poor) employee job satisfaction.
"Compounded by the current high cost of recruitment, there is clearly a significant concern for businesses," added Stuart Harman, partner at Oliver Wight, conductor of the research.
These findings reflect what they perceive as an "increasing problem," particularly in Australia.
Harman added that the lack of "good people" is likely due to them "moving on to new ventures," which leaves a gap on organisation trying to find the right people for their vacancies.
"The 'good people' that play a key role in the effective running of their company's business processes are moving on to new ventures," said Harman in a statement. "This is leaving a void in many companies who are struggling to fill positions with the right people and is therefore having a knock-on effect on different areas of the business."
Read more: Recruitment vs talent acquisition: Is there a difference?
What can employers do?
Harman suggested removing the reliance on people to ensure that planning processes and execution are not dependent on the employees.
"An obvious solution is to ensure there is a policy of continuous education and training in the organisation's formal planning processes, to ensure these processes are always understood, managed effectively, and being constantly improved and refined. That way you can remove the dependency on a handful of individuals," said Harman. "Not only does this mean planning and performance are improved, the promise of personal development, and a career path also improves employee engagement and the potential for talent recruitment."
However, employers might need to take their minds off other short-term issues in order to address the people problem, as the report found that shortcomings in planning processes are also driven by recent world events.
According to the report, as executives are "constantly drawn" into resolving short-term issues, "they are inevitably distracted from longer term management of the business and the people issues will remain unresolved."
