With workforce environments changing rapidly and the importance of the customer experience growing, many are calling today the fourth industrial revolution. Faster innovation, contactless purchasing, global marketplaces, and transformed workforces all equate to the dawning of a new era of industrialization.
We are a world of consumers fueled by social media, targeted messaging, and complex algorithms, but we are also a world of inventors, innovators, and disruptors that fuel manufacturing and keep new production processes evolving.
In this fourth industrial revolution, we find skill supply and demand gaps are just one of many factors that slow down innovative enterprises. Competing for talent on the open market is time-consuming, often ending with overpaying an employee, and is always a gamble. When skills are short in supply and high in demand, the lucky few who have these skills are in the driver’s seat and call the shots for their employment. Competing in this climate is both costly and challenging.
Enter disruptive technology. The creation of internal talent marketplaces helps to remedy this challenge and build greater awareness of your internal talent’s skills. An internal talent marketplace also ensures opportunity transparency without office politics.
How Does it Work?
An internal talent marketplace allows your workforce to self-promote the skills and certifications they are most proud of and it works as a fantastic reminder that they are more than their day jobs. Why does this matter? Simple. Knowing the talent you have and the skills they acquired along their career journey (which is varied, and in this fourth industrial revolution follows a jungle gym type path), means you can plan for upcoming skills in advance, with the best candidates you already have.
Reskilling and upskilling are the cornerstones to building talent bench strength. Your talent bench strength is what will carry you through the next “big thing” seamlessly so you can be first to market and earn that market share.
It’s More than Bench Strength. It’s Business Agility and Resilience that Wins Markets and Keeps Your Enterprise Open During Challenging Economies
Business continuity planning keeps your business operating during unprecedented times. It takes a dedicated workforce to successfully pivot a company from office to remote status or when changing business strategy based on supply and demand opportunities. Timing is everything in these fast-moving ecosystems. A workforce that is engaged preserves revenue during a crisis. More than ever companies need to value their most-skilled workforce members and make talent mobility a core element of any business continuity planning and resilience strategy.
Responding to market changes in an adaptive and agile way comes only after breaking down information silos and barriers to opportunities. Redeploying and uncovering talent and capacity inside your organization is especially relevant when hiring freezes are implemented at an organization.
This Revolution, although Different than the Others, Follows Some of The Same Rules
Nations that failed to adopt industrialization quickly became obsolete in previous industrial revolutions and this is true today as well. At the enterprise level, it’s easy to adhere to a business model that has achieved success in the past. However, as markets evolve and transformations occur, enterprises innovate faster. Workspeed is the pace we all maintain and it’s important to implement change at this same pace.
Utilizing the talent you already have saves your enterprise time and money and it bolsters morale among your workforce. Skills are a never-ending cycle of supply and demand and career paths rarely follow the hierarchical structure we saw 20 years ago. Oftentimes employees have skills from a previous role that are not readily visible in their current role. A talent mobility solution highlights all of the skills of your current workforce, so as a need arises, you can fill it with your current talent rather than sourcing on the open market.
Motivation is a key element in keeping any workforce productive and engaged. Communication, regular project updates, and flexibility are a few of the things a workforce looks for in a good employer. Leaders set the tone for a workforce and in trying times, leaders are depended upon to drive initiatives, build confidence, keep projects moving forward, and develop strategies to stay competitive and grow. A motivated workforce is a productive workforce and productivity is essential in a tight market.
How will you motivate your workforce this year?
Are you ready to learn more about how your enterprise could benefit from a talent mobility solution? Contact us today for a product demo or download our case study.