Trending Now

How E-Invoicing in Logistics Contributes to a Streamlined Supply…

New Articles

The Rise of Nearshoring

talent
Archives, Global Trade Daily

The Rise of Nearshoring

Leave a comment

Understanding the Appeal of Nearshoring for IT Talent Needs

The IT and technology talent shortage is reaching a crisis point. As demand for skilled tech workers surges, supply constraints at home are making hiring difficult and expensive. This widening gap threatens to hamper innovation and growth across sectors.

Data shows that the global tech talent shortage could reach 85 million jobs by 2030. With roles staying open for months, project timelines suffer.

For companies worldwide, adopting global sourcing and nearshoring models has become mission-critical to access the talent needed to remain competitive. No longer can tech leaders rely solely on local labor pools to deliver.

Nearshoring provides the solution, empowering companies to tap into abundant tech expertise in closer proximity to home offices than offshoring. Leading organizations are pivoting to nearshore staffing to fuel growth and execute strategic initiatives in today’s constrained environment.

What is Nearshoring?

Nearshoring refers to outsourcing operations to third-party providers in close geographic regions with abundant talent pools. It differs from offshoring, which leverages far-away destinations like India and China. Popular nearshore locations include Canada, Mexico, Central America, and Latin America – all within similar time zones.

Advantages Over In-House and Offshore Staffing

Compared to domestic hiring, nearshoring opens access to wider talent sources unconstrained by local shortages. Communication and collaboration are easier than distant offshoring. Nearshoring strikes an optimal balance.

Lower Costs

Nearshore IT professionals often cost 30-50% less than U.S. counterparts with similar skills and experience. Higher output and efficiency also increase value. Nearshoring avoids productivity-draining lags prevalent in offshoring.

Faster Recruiting

Abundant tech talent in nearshore regions reduces hiring times from months to weeks. Rather than awaiting scarce local candidates, roles can be rapidly filled from expansive nearby labor pools.

Time Zone Alignment

Minimal time zone gaps allow seamless collaboration between nearshore and onshore team members. This facilitates effective integration and delivery.

Limited Infrastructure Needs

Companies can leverage providers’ existing nearshore delivery centers rather than building their own offshore captives. This saves costs and lead time.

Enhanced Quality

Top nearshore partners invest heavily in their staff. Robust training and engagement ensure highly skilled teams that excel at the latest technologies.

Optimized for Talent Acquisition Needs

For temporary staffing, nearshoring provides unmatched speed, flexibility, and integration. Teams scale up and down rapidly for project needs. Nearshore consultancies function as integrated extensions of core staff.

The Accelerating Shift Toward Nearshoring

The data shows nearshoring rapidly gaining preference as companies expand globally while needing to remain close to home offices.

For CIOs and tech leaders facing talent gaps, nearshoring represents a vital pathway to access in-demand skills and maximize capabilities. The advantages over onshore and offshore alternatives are clear.

Partnering with an established nearshore provider opens the door to flexible, specialized talent abroad quickly and cost-effectively. Companies can drive innovation and execute transformative initiatives fueled by global tech experts.

As talent needs arise, forward-looking companies have nearshoring in their sights. With a trusted nearshore partner, companies can confidently scale to meet today’s demands and tomorrow’s opportunities. Now is the moment to gain a competitive advantage through a nearshore approach purpose-built for modern tech needs.

Author Bio

Chris Cassidy is the Chief Executive Officer at Mojix, a a leader in real-time, item-level visibility solutions and human capital management for nearshoring IT development services that provide end-to-end business intelligence for supply chains around the globe. Mojix harmonizes data to provide traceability, product authentication and automated inventory management solutions that are built on a high security, scalable SaaS platform.

 

accountants professional
Archives, Education, Global Trade Daily

Number Crunch: Nine in 10 Accountants, Auditors Struggle to Find Talent

Leave a comment

Surveys show firms adopting new technologies at a rapid pace
to attract and retain talent, connect with clients and increase insights.

What is the fastest-growing challenge facing accounting firms and internal audit departments today? More than 90% point to hiring and retaining skilled accountants and auditors. Some are even turning away business due to a shortage of staff.

That’s the finding of two newly released reports by leading software provider Caseware International, which surveyed more than 6,000 accountants and auditors globally.

According to the surveys, to tackle this challenge and boost client collaboration, accounting and auditing organizations are ramping up the adoption of advanced technologies such as cloud services, data analytics and business intelligence.

The Caseware reports ‐ 2023 State of Accounting Firms Trends Report and 2023 State of Internal Audit Trends Report ‐ offer a glimpse into how accounting firms and internal auditors worldwide are adjusting to changing business environments. Responses were gathered from more than 4,100 accountants and 2,300 auditors.

The talent crunch

Nearly 35% of accountants cite finding the right talent among their three biggest practice management issues over the past year, compared to just 14% of accountants who cited it last year ‐ making finding talent the fastest-rising industry challenge.

More than 90% of accountants and 95% of auditors surveyed find it either challenging or extremely challenging to hire skilled talent. When retaining talent, more than 85% of accountants and 90% of auditors said it is either somewhat or extremely difficult.

“With unemployment rates at historic lows, it’s not surprising that accounting firms and audit teams are having difficulty finding and retaining staff,” said David Osborne, CEO at Caseware. “Companies seeking top talent need to employ innovative strategies to address this challenge, such as improving compensation, implementing more flexible work policies and adopting technologies that allow staff to work more creatively and efficiently.”

Technology challenges

Other top practice management challenges cited by accountants relate to new ways of working, including communicating with clients in a virtual world (40%), using new technologies (38%) and adjusting to working remotely (35%). Auditors pointed to moving from manual to digital processes (38%) and adopting new audit technology (36%) as the main issue.

“Accounting and auditing professionals are still coming to grips with technologies that most were forced to adopt due to the COVID-19 pandemic and are placing a heightened sense of urgency on adopting new technologies to enhance their work processes, collaboration and insights,” said Davis Jackson, Chief Commercial Officer at Caseware.

According to the reports, almost 70% of accounting firms expect their rate of technology adoption to increase over the next two years, while more than 80% of internal audit teams are already employing cloud technology.

“Clients today expect their accountants and auditors to deliver more than just numbers ‐ they want deeper insights to help direct their business strategies, so it’s not surprising that more and more professionals are turning to intelligent technology to enhance their role as strategic advisors,” Jackson said.

Other highlights include:

2023 State of Accounting Firms Trends Report

● While nearly 80% of accounting firms use client collaboration tools, almost 52% said their client engagement process is only somewhat efficient.

● Nearly three-quarters (74%) of accounting firms plan to adopt new cloud technologies over the next two years.

● More than half of accountants (56%) have adopted business intelligence software to advise and guide clients on their finances and risk factors, while 30% say they are planning to invest in it.

2023 State of Internal Audit Trends Report

● More than 60% of auditors said the amount of advisory services they provide has grown over the past year.

● Analytics are a critical operational tool for more than 55% of internal audit teams.

● Nearly 42% of auditors said their most significant internal pressure is to prove their value to their organization.

About Caseware International

Caseware is the leading global provider of desktop and cloud-enabled solutions for audit, assurance, financial reporting and data analytics for accounting firms, corporations, and government regulators.  Caseware’s innovative tools and platforms help more than half a million customers in 130 countries work smarter, dig deeper and see further as they transform insights into impact.

country candidate talent retention candidate
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Technology

How Companies are Tapping Foreign Talents from Abroad Amid a Regional Talent Shortage?

Leave a comment

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry is an important economic sector that also plays a role in the creation of jobs. It is also often regarded as the backbone of the digital economy in all areas of business. It has a significant influence on corporate procedures, tasks, and the overall structure of work throughout the whole economy, and it contributes to an improvement in overall productivity. Exportation of information technology services and services that are enabled by information technology has been a primary factor in India’s expansion of its ICT industry. Some companies believe that global recruiting businesses have an edge over local ones because of their ability to capitalize on their experience in sourcing jobs from all over the globe.

India is one of the most significant nations in the world for the emigration of information and communications technology experts. The movement of Indian information and communications technology (ICT) specialists to other countries have been helped along in part by Indian multinational information and communications technology companies, particularly those with offices in other countries such as the United States, Singapore, Canada, and so on. These multi-national corporations owe a significant amount of their expansion success to India’s ready availability of highly qualified information technology personnel.

On a global scale, location is less important when it comes to hiring people. Many businesses located outside of India are actively searching for skilled individuals in the IT sector who are willing to remain in India and continue their careers there. The demand-supply gap is responsible for the reduction in the income gap that exists between what someone earns in India and what they make in a foreign market. 

When it comes to recruitment, there are a lot of different methods to look overseas. A company has the option of bringing in talent from another country, recruiting locals who have been working overseas, or forming a regional team that works across national boundaries.

  • Bring in talented people from other countries.

The recruitment of talented individuals from other countries not only helps to close the resource gap but also imparts a global perspective and expertise.

  • Bring foreigners to live among the natives.

We now have the option of expanding our search to include those who are employed in other countries. They have both a grasp of the culture of the country in which they are currently living as well as an international background.

Guideline concepts in managing people despite fast growth

  1. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a scenario that cannot be compared to anything that has occurred in recent history, and it is not yet clear what effects it will have in the long run. According to the findings of the most current study, eighty-one percent of respondents had the expected that their leaders would have a global perspective. On the other hand, just 55% of respondents believed that their leaders can despite effectively lead across cultural boundaries. It all comes down to generating corporate growth in spite of competition, cost challenges, and operational inefficiencies within a global economy that is becoming more uncertain.
  2. When it comes to the recruitment of new individual, proactive planning and preparing the way for development by putting in place the necessary infrastructure, resources, and staff will be of tremendous assistance to your organization. When coming up with ideas for recruiting techniques, it is essential to think creatively and have a flexible mindset. To accomplish this goal, the talent acquisition team should maintain tight proximity to improve the way human resources are managed in this day and age of fast growth.
  3. Over the course of the previous year, Funding Societies has brought on more than 320 new employees across the area. When a firm experiences significant growth, it becomes more crucial to develop a strong corporate culture among the ever-expanding personnel. This requires doing cultural evaluations as part of the recruiting process in order to choose candidates who are a good match for the organization. It is also important to ensure that there is a good match between the firm and its workers by ensuring that employees comprehend and accept the organization’s core values.
  4. After all, posting the mission statement and core values of the organization on every available surface in the workplace is not acceptable. It is helpful to have meaningful and instructive conversations going in both directions during onboarding sessions and events like fireside chats with the CEO. Last but not least, leaders have a responsibility to serve as role models by putting the principles of the organization into practice in their day-to-day work.

 

recruitment
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Software

4 Ways to Use Software Effectively For Logistics Recruitment

Leave a comment

HR managers in the logistics sector have a lot of challenges to overcome. One of the most significant is the lack of a sufficient talent pool. There is a rise in demand for logistical services. 

Many attribute this to the Covid-19 pandemic. More people now resort to online shopping and companies must work hard to satisfy the demand for supply chain logistics. Yet, there are not enough people to fill the job positions. This is mainly due to a widening skills gap. Older workers are opting for retirement while younger demographics are not lining up for jobs within the logistics sector. There is a significant lack of skills, experience, and qualifications. 

And, with such high demand for talent, HR must improve efficiency to attract the right candidates. The right software can provide the most effective solutions. We will explore how to use them in our article.  

Better Quality Candidates with Recruitment Solutions 

HR managers have for a long time depended on legacy systems to fill job positions. These include advertising open positions where they then go through the applications and narrow down on the best candidate. Then comes the interview process, final selection, and onboarding. 

Manual processes can take a lot of time and money. But now, with technological advances, there are recruitment solutions available. They increase efficiency by automating some of the tasks.  

The HR department gets access to:

-Powerful applicant tracking Systems (ATS) to create and manage databases. 

-Better quality job posting and distribution services.

-Advanced search capabilities for the right candidate.

-Data analytics that yields tons of insights for better decision-making.

-Intuitive onboarding for recruits.

-Third-party integrations such as CRM for nurturing relationships.

-Account and customer service management. 

HR recruitment software saves time that would go into manual processes. Automation leads to higher efficiency and streamlined workflows. It frees up the team to concentrate on other tasks.  

The Role of Candidate Relationship Management Systems 

With such a demand for talent within the logistics sector, it is easy to lose employees to competitors. HR has a critical role to play in retaining the existing workforce. That means constant engagement and finding ways to boost employee experiences.  

Investing in candidate relationship management systems can assist with this. The software helps in nurturing and managing candidates, right from the recruitment stage. Here is how it works. 

The company uses applicant tracking systems to develop a repository of potential candidates. And the recruitment CRM provides additional information on the candidate.  

HR can use the data to personalize their communication and engagement with recruits. And that’s not all. The CRM helps send out personalized emails, screening, interview scheduling, and running background checks.  

HR also gets data that can provide insights on the effectiveness of the recruitment strategies. 

Talent Sourcing and Matching Recruitment Solutions 

As stated, it can take a lot of time to go through each application to find the best talent. Recruitment software automates the process, thus increasing speed and efficiency.  

And, online recruitment software can search more platforms for the right talent. They scour job posts, social media platforms, and other online sites to get qualified candidates. 

The algorithms focus on factors like experience level, education, and industry knowledge to narrow down suitable candidates. It helps avoid bias, which is a big problem in recruitment.  

Talent matching software ensures the right person fills the job position. It focuses on the skill in relation to the job. It is expensive to hire someone only to later find out they are not suitable for the job.  

Better Candidate Experience with Recruitment Solutions 

With so much competition for talent in the logistics sector, employers must work hard to improve the candidate experience. Let’s take the example of lengthy recruiting processes. Candidates may view the long wait for feedback as a lack of interest and could move on to the competitors without a second thought. 

That means you lose out on the limited talent due to in-house inefficiencies. Automation can help increase efficiency, thus faster response to potential recruits.  

We have looked at the important role of candidate relationship management systems. Ongoing communication shows the recruits that they are top of mind. HR can keep the candidates up-to-date with what is going on. 

Such a simple step can help build positive brand perception. A good word from such candidates about how well you manage them will make the organization more attractive to others. 

Do you know that up to 69% of employees will share a negative candidate experience? 55% will not pursue a position in your company if they read a bad review. How the organization manages candidates is, therefore, a critical recruiting factor.  

Recruitment solutions with technologies like chatbots can improve the candidate experience. The bots provide quick responses to queries. The candidate does not have to wait a long time for information. Such tools are also fantastic for onboarding.  

HR simply uploads the information they would want to share with new employees. The latter can then, at their convenience, log in to access the information.  

Recruitment software can uncover hidden talent within the organization. It will go through the database to match potential candidates to open positions.  

That means there are chances for existing employees to move into jobs that are more suited to their qualifications. That forklift operator might be a fantastic salesperson. 

Further, the promotion can be a fantastic motivational factor. Finally, it will save the company money and time by not having to go through talent sourcing in the wider market.  

Final Thoughts 

The logistics sector is facing a tough time when it comes to recruitment. There are job opportunities available. But, companies are facing a challenge finding the right talent to fill the positions. That means, there is high competition for the limited pool of candidates. 

Companies that invest in smart recruitment solutions can have an edge over the competition. Applicant tracking systems, for example, help in the creation of databases. It helps save time which would go into placing job postings across various platforms.

Candidate relationship management systems increase engagement. They provide an excellent way to nurture relationships with industry talent. 

The use of recruitment software also enhances the candidate experience. HR keeps up with engagement and provides ongoing feedback. Finally, tools like chatbots provide prompt feedback to queries and can help with onboarding. 

retention
Archives, Commentary, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

8 Small Policy Changes That Can Significantly Strengthen Retention

Leave a comment

Worker shortages are plaguing the warehousing and logistics industry. While many companies are looking for new ways to attract workers to remediate the situation, retention is just as, if not more, important.

Without strong retention, recruitment will do little good. Replacing a salaried employee also costs six to nine months’ salary on average, so retention is far more affordable. Thankfully, even small policy changes can strengthen employee retention. Here are eight examples.

1. Tighten the Recruitment Process

Retention starts with hiring. Employers can prevent many turnover cases by hiring workers who are more likely to stay in the first place. The first step to achieve that is to ensure that job postings are accurate and transparent.

One study found that nearly half of all workers have left a job because it didn’t meet their expectations. Instead of relying on vague language and buzzwords, job descriptions should offer specific details about the position. That way, any applicants understand the roles they’re taking on, preventing disillusionment down the line.

Job seekers will also appreciate honesty. Being transparent in the recruitment process may give new hires a better starting impression of the workplace.

2. Create Upward Mobility Opportunities

One of the most crucial policy changes for better retention is to enable upward mobility. In 2019, 20% of workers who left a job did so because of career development-related reasons. In fact, career development has been the number one reason employees leave for 10 straight years.

This issue has a relatively straightforward fix, too. When a new position opens up, instead of looking for outside hires, companies should promote from within. Businesses should also look to create plenty of opportunities for advancement to give workers a career growth goal.

Career development opportunities can be more than raises and promotions, too. Courses to teach employees new skills or fund their education will help increase retention, too.

3. Accept Anonymous Feedback

Another simple yet effective policy change to make is to have a system for anonymous feedback. Workers may have suggestions for improving the workplace but may fear retribution if management can trace their comments back to them. Anonymous feedback forms let employees speak up confidently.

It’s important to respond to this feedback, too. Making changes that workers want can help ensure the workplace fosters a positive environment. Employees will also feel empowered if they see how their actions impact the workplace, and empowered workers are 33% more likely to stay for three years.

It can help to encourage workers to use these systems, too. That encouragement will promote an air of trust and transparency and empower them further.

4. Support Worker Health

Lifestyle-related benefits are easy to overlook but can be an effective policy change to retain employees. Healthy workers are likely to feel happier and more satisfied, and employers can help them be healthy. By offering perks that support healthy worker lifestyles, businesses can show their employees that they care about their well-being.

Providing nutritious food options in company cafeterias is an easy change to make. Foods high in nutrients like vitamin C can boost workers’ immune systems, helping them feel stronger and healthier. Providing exercise programs or occasional on-site massage therapy can help too.

5. Communicate With Employees Often

Along similar lines, it’s important to maintain communication with employees. Studies show that nearly half of Americans feel lonelier than usual, so feeling seen and valued in the workplace can make a significant difference. Talking with workers will help them feel valued and bring any issues they have to light.

Remember that this communication goes both ways. In addition to listening to employees, management should inform them of any upcoming opportunities and changes often. If workers don’t understand what’s going on at the company, they’ll feel underutilized and unimportant, leading to turnover. In contrast, feeling involved can convince them to stay.

6. Maintain Competitive Compensation

Most employers already understand that higher pay and more competitive benefits will help convince workers to stay. This issue goes beyond bumping up a starting salary once or offering new perks, though. Businesses should have a policy to review industry compensation rates periodically to see how theirs compares.

Workers quitting because of pay and benefits-related reasons have increased by more than 26% since 2010. This trend also coincides with the growing movement of more businesses offering new perks and adjusting pay rates. What constitutes competitive compensation is changing and changes regularly, so a one-time fix is insufficient.

Periodically reviewing industry trends can reveal whether an employer offers sufficient compensation or if they need to adjust. This prevents underpaying compared to competitors as well as unnecessarily raising rates.

7. Recognize and Reward Commendable Behavior

According to one survey, 79% of employees who quit their jobs cite a lack of appreciation as a major factor. Thankfully, employers can address that with relatively straightforward policy changes.

Workplaces should have a policy of recognizing and rewarding positive behavior in their workers. Regular awards given to the highest-performing employees or praising workers’ actions and achievements in company newsletters can help workers feel valued. These rewards, though seemingly small, can go a long way in employee retention.

Workers don’t often expect much in return for good service. Typically, recognition of a job well done is sufficient. While monetary incentives don’t hurt, taking the time to praise commendable behavior can make a significant difference.

8. Encourage Employees to Take Advantage of Perks

Another seemingly small but significant change for employee retention is letting workers know it’s okay to use their benefits. Poor experiences with other employers may leave workers feeling like they shouldn’t use their time off or other perks. Encouraging them to do so can assuage those concerns, making them feel more welcome.

When workers take advantage of their benefits, they’ll likely feel more relaxed and fulfilled. When management doesn’t just allow but encourages it, they’ll feel appreciated, too. If employees feel like their employers care for their work-life balance, they’ll be less likely to leave.

Small Changes Can Have a Big Impact

Workplace changes don’t need to be disruptive to have a substantial impact on employee retention. It’s often an amalgamation of multiple “little” things that convince workers to leave a job. In the same way, making several little changes can convince workers to stay with their current employer.

These eight changes represent some of the most effective yet straightforward improvements to strengthen retention. By implementing these fixes, businesses can reduce turnover and related costs and foster a more motivated, positive workforce.

employee
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

It’s an Employee’s Market, Here’s How to Keep Them

Leave a comment

Have employees ever had this much leverage?

Employers are struggling to fill jobs in the wake of “The Great Resignation.” There were a record number of U.S. job openings in June – over 10 million – as nearly four million Americans quit in that month alone, reflecting confidence they can find better positions and places to work.

Many employers are having to compete for workers by offering attractive signing bonuses, higher pay, better benefits, and remote work flexibility. But company leaders, whether they are trying to recruit top talent or retain it, must be cognizant that doing either successfully depends on much more than an attractive compensation package and big raises, says Kathleen Quinn Votaw, the author of DARE to CARE IN THE WORKPLACE: A Guide to the New Way We Work.

“The role of leaders in recruitment and retention has been changing,” says Quinn Votaw, CEO of TalenTrust, a strategic recruiting and human capital consulting firm. “People want different things from you now. A paycheck is not enough on any level.

“It comes down to work culture, and leaders set the tone for that. Leaders who hold onto outdated management styles like top-down control or distrust of anyone working from home will lose some of their best employees. Today, you can count on the fact that top talent is evaluating your values, leadership style, and your level of commitment to putting people first. These are the things that determine whether people stay with you or go.”

The global pandemic, Quinn Votaw says, has increased the importance employees place on work-life balance, more flexibility, and stronger connection with leadership. Deloitte’s 2021 Human Capital Trends report shows that many executives believe workers will gain greater independence and influence relative to their employers in the future.

“In this type of market, workers have a lot of leverage,” says Deloitte CEO Joe Ucuzoglu.

Quinn Votaw offers three ways for leaders to create a culture where workers want to stay and one that new talent wants to join.

-Emphasize communication and recognition. “When people feel underappreciated for their contributions, it’s impossible to have a positive employee experience,” Quinn Votaw says. Increasing recognition, along with prioritizing open and transparent communication, she says, “build the strong connections and trusting relationships that employees want most.”

-Nurture a healthy work-life balance. Putting a higher priority on productivity than the well-being of employees leads to disengagement, burnout, and turnover. Research by Robert Half finds that 70 percent of employees say they’ve been working on weekends and working more hours than they did before the pandemic, yet 51 percent of them worry that their manager doubts their productivity when working from home. “Who can blame them for looking for new opportunities in happier, healthier, more trusting work environments?” Quinn Votaw says. “Give employees manageable workloads and the flexibility to get the job done in a way that fits their life holistically.”

-Listen and take meaningful action. Quinn Votaw says turnover prevention boils down to understanding what your people need. “Employees have complained for decades that leaders are terrible at making needed changes in response to their feedback,” she says. “Today’s employees won’t put up with lip service. Act on their feedback quickly so they know you are listening and understand that they are valued.”

“People want leaders who listen to them, trust them, show patience and humility, and support and empower them,” Quinn Votaw says. “Retaining your talent means creating an amazing, positive, inclusive culture where everyone is paid fairly, appreciated, and able to grow.”

______________________________________________________________________

Kathleen Quinn Votaw (www.talentrust.com) is the CEO of TalenTrust, a strategic recruiting and human capital consulting firm. She is the author of DARE to CARE IN THE WORKPLACE: A Guide to the New Way We Work. Regarded as a key disruptor in her industry, Quinn Votaw has helped thousands of companies across multiple industries develop purpose-based, inclusive communities that inspire employees to come to work. Her company has been recognized in the Inc. 5000.

talent acquisition
Archives, Global Trade Daily, News

What’s Next For You? How Knowledge Management is Transforming Talent Management in Global Markets

Leave a comment

Knowledge management seeks to apply organizational knowledge in order to satisfy and exceed employee’s expectations. All executives need to be aware of how to better control knowledge management which coincides with talent management and to do this, they should understand the strong correlation between two important factors. The focus of this article is based upon the critical role of knowledge management which allows a rich basis for understanding the mechanisms by which talent management is influenced.

6 Key Practices to Integrate Talent Management and Knowledge Management

Since executives are constantly dealing with employee development, talent management is something they pay a great deal of attention to. Of course, this is not new but worth mentioning. A mistake in this area may be vital to the organizations and executives must choose their practices wisely. This article addresses these knowledge management practices in depth to set the record straight upon the importance of talent management.

1. Prioritize Candidate Experience

Knowledge is a collection of meaningful experiences. The key take-away for executives is that prioritizing candidate experience can enable organizations to solve problems and create value through improved performance and it is this point that will narrow the gaps of success and failure leading to more successful decision-making.

2. Tailor Talent Acquisition Strategy to Business Goals

Executives must determine their business goals for the next three years and develop a talent acquisition strategy that focuses on planning the work and technically supporting newly-hired employees to achieve the business goals. A talent acquisition strategy helps companies to achieve their business goals that reflect excellence and some kind of higher-order effectiveness. This is where executives can attempt to achieve business goals—stemming from a talent acquisition strategy across pivotal areas on the organization.

3. Educate the Hiring Manager

Hiring managers can become familiar with employee recruitment practices through education. Education is more active, broad, flexible, experimental, synthetic, and strategic compared to training. Why is this, you may ask? Because education is a process that leads to acquiring new insights and knowledge, and potentially to correct sub-optimal or ineffective actions and behaviors that cause companies to spiral out of control.

4. Enhance Training Efficiency

Executives must provide work-related training programs for newly-hired employees when beginning onboarding and must be aware of their training efficiency programs. As executive trainers, I agree with Jennifer Rowley who suggests training courses as an effective way to share knowledge. Most importantly, applying knowledge aimed at providing better decision-making and work-related practices and creating new knowledge through innovation. Knowledge has to be measured in some way, many trainers talk about return-on-investment of training which is hard to measure, training satisfaction measurement by participants and their desire to apply it to the workplace is an excellent barometer of learning new skills or building upon old ones. The key point in the training is the knowledge use coupled with testing and re-testing to ensure that the knowledge is actually helping the organization grow professionally for employees and profitably for all stakeholders.

 5. Write No Strict Job Descriptions

When newly-hired employees come on board, they are given job descriptions. But how can executives write no strict job descriptions? The answer to this question lies in an executive’s demonstration to motivate employees to approach organizational problems in a more novel approach. In doing this, executives can inspire employees to rethink problems and challenge their current personal attitudes and values. Most importantly, executives can transform organizations by attempting to change the basic values, beliefs, and attitudes of employees so that they are willing to perform beyond their previous or originally level specified by the organization in their job description.

6. Be More Flexible

Flexibility in the workplace may enable executives to improve departmental and managerial interactions and develop relationships among managers, business units, and departments. Through flexibility in the workplace, executives can also shift the power of decision-making to the lower levels and inspire newly-hired employees to create new ideas and implement them, which can in turn propel interdepartmental communications and improve knowledge exchange.

In Conclusion

This article can offer several implications for practice. First, this article highlights that there is a strong correlation between knowledge management and talent management within organizations. Importantly, this approach advances the current business literature on talent management by offering novel insights into how knowledge management affects talent identification, satisfaction and retention. This article suggests new insights to identify knowledge management as a primary driver of effective talent management for companies. Therefore, I suggest that executives embrace knowledge management. My primary focus is on one factor (talent management) but there are many more important components of the managerial function that can be enhanced when knowledge management is embraced. The key here is that there are positive effects of knowledge management on talent management.

______________________________________________________

Rowley, J. (2001). Knowledge management in pursuit of learning: the learning with knowledge cycle. Journal of Information Science, Vol. 27, No. 4, pp. 227-237.

training
Archives, Uncategorized

5 Ways To Improve Your Training and Achieve Measurable Business Results

Leave a comment

U.S. companies spend billions of dollars a year on training, but how many of those businesses are seeing positive, measurable results from such a large investment in their employees?

Not enough of them, studies and experts say. One study on workplace training reported that 43 percent of employees found their training to be ineffective.

“I doubt that many employees would rate their training as engaging, rigorous, or highly effective,” says Dr. Jim Guilkey (http://www.jimguilkey.com), author of M-Pact Learning: The New Competitive Advantage — What All Executives Need To Know. “For most trainees and trainers alike, job-required education is viewed as a necessary evil.”

So how can companies train their employees better and from that training produce outcomes that grow the business? Dr. Guilkey says it comes down to employing effective instructional design methodologies rather than traditional models.

“Traditional training often doesn’t work for companies today in competitive marketplace environments where growth is essential to survival,” he says. “The training is usually developed and delivered by subject-matter experts who have little or no knowledge of instructional design. Assessments test rote memorization rather than the ability to apply specific knowledge in authentic situations.”

Dr. Guilkey suggests some new learning solutions and why he thinks they’re more effective than traditional training methods:

Problem-based. “Problem-based learning involves a strategic approach of structuring the learning process within authentic, challenging, and multidisciplinary problems the learner must address,” Guilkey says. “This results in higher levels of learning than content-based, traditional training, which teaches content with little or no application to authentic, real-world problems.”

Continuous learning. “As opposed to singular-event learning, continuous learning is an ongoing process that allows learners time in the field to assimilate and apply new knowledge before learning more advanced concepts,” Guilkey says.

Collaborative learning. A variety of interactions between peers, mentors, and facilitators fills in gaps, answers more questions, and reinforces the learning process. “This differs from the traditional method in which the learning is limited by focusing on the lecturer — a one-way transmission of content,” Guilkey says.

Multidisciplinary. The traditional approach focuses on singular concepts presented in a linear fashion, whereas the multidisciplinary approach “requires participants to combine and correlate learning across concepts and use real-life scenarios,” Guilkey says.

Testing for application of knowledge. Guilkey thinks assessment should be based on the performance of a strategic task, in which learners apply their skills and knowledge, rather than the traditional style of testing for rote memorization. “There’s a huge difference between being able to recall pieces of information and having a performance-based measurement to put all the pieces together,” Guilkey says.

“Many company leaders are unclear on the actual skills and knowledge of their employees and whether they are providing a competitive advantage,” Guilkey says. “You’ll never create a competitive advantage using traditional training methods.”

__________________________________________________________

Jim Guilkey, PhD (http://www.jimguilkey.com) is the author of M-Pact Learning: The New Competitive Advantage — What All Executives Need To Know. He is the president of S4 NetQuest and a nationally recognized expert in instructional design and learning strategy, with extensive experience in leading the design, development, and implementation of innovative, highly effective learning solutions. Under his leadership, S4 NetQuest has transformed the learning programs for numerous corporations, including Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s, Merck, Nationwide, Chase Bank, BMW, Cardinal Health, Domino’s, GE Medical, Kaiser Permanente, Yum! Brands, and others. Guilkey is a frequent speaker at national conferences and corporate training meetings. Before co-founding S4 NetQuest, Guilkey served as the assistant director of flight education at The Ohio State University. He received a BS in aviation and an MA and PhD in instructional design and technology from Ohio State.

ATS
Archives, Global Trade Daily, Special Reports

How an ATS Can Help Your Business Survive and Thrive in the Digital Era

Leave a comment

It is very clear why you are looking for elusive talent in a niche where it is already lacking, trying to convince your top choice candidates to consider you and not your competitors and evaluating the right fit for a given position – all with a restricted recruitment budget and a deadline. Having an ATS at this point can turn the tables and give you a competitive edge. And you need it because it empowers you to significantly move the needle on improving the quantity and quality of hires.

You can either run a business that makes forward progress or you can deal with an overflowing email inbox, sort resumes, screen applicants, schedule interviews, make phone calls and interview them. Fortunately, you can leverage technology to do all the legwork and stay focused on getting the right people who can grow your business.

What is Applicant Tracking System and Why Use It

An applicant tracking system helps streamline and speed-up the sourcing process by automating manual aspects of recruitment so you can save time and stay focused on selecting the right fit. A feature-rich applicant tracking system includes:

-Automated job postings

-A branded careers site that is mobile-responsive

-Job board and social media integrations

-Smart filter intelligence

-Real-time dashboards

-Auto-generated recruitment reports

-Customizable recruitment workflows

-Personalized email templates and text messages

-A centralized candidate database

-Unlimited cloud storage

If all of these features sound terrific to you; imagine the enormous savings they will bring your business in terms of time, effort and money.

Time savings

Manual job postings take up a ton of your time. Promoting your open positions on different social media platforms can take up precious hours of your productive day leaving you little time to focus on your core business processes. If you thought this is it, now comes the actual task that will test your patience and your sanity – opening emails, downloading resumes in different formats, screening and sorting applications, and shortlisting candidates for interviews.

Using online recruitment software automates all of these mind-numbing activities in an instant, freeing up your valuable time for things that actually matter.

A Seamless and Superior Candidate Experience

Today’s tech-savvy job seeker expects you to deliver a positive candidate experience at every step of the sourcing process. Online recruitment software makes it easier to ensure a rich end-user experience with a mobile-responsive careers site, allows you to customize the application process to make it quick and easy for your busy candidates, keeps them involved at every stage with automated emails, sends them interview reminders to eliminate no-shows and gives you a competitive edge when it comes to candidate management. Also, with Google’s increasing emphasis on mobile-responsiveness, having an applicant tracking system can make or break your talent pool.

Improved Collaboration

Online recruitment software keeps the entire team in sync and updated with a centralized, easy-to-access framework. It ensures a collaborative recruitment environment where you can share candidate ratings and reviews in real-time, use @mentions to notify specific team members, set automated interview reminders, access recruiting data on-the-go with a mobile app, and keep candidates engaged in a timely and professional manner with personalized emails – all without the hassles of maintaining paperwork.

Actionable Insights

Using an applicant tracking system allows you to leverage real-time insights with intuitive reports that facilitate informed decision making. With more actionable data at hand, you can make better hiring decisions. You can also leverage these intelligent reports to get a clear snapshot of your recruitment operations and evaluate the performance of different job boards and social media platforms. This helps improve hiring efficiency by enabling you to focus your efforts on the right resources.

_______________________________________________________________

Kelly Barcelos is a progressive digital marketing manager specializing in HR and is responsible for leading Jobsoid’s content and social media team. When Kelly is not building campaigns, she is busy creating content preparing PR topics. She started with Jobsoid as a social media strategist and eventually took over the entire digital marketing team with her innovative approach and technical expertise.

2020
Archives, Global Trade Daily, International Trade

Survey: Business Leaders Start 2020 with Lingering Concerns About Talent Shortages & Recession Risk

Leave a comment

A new survey reveals that the world’s chief executives view the risk of a recession as their biggest external concern in 2020. Attracting and retaining talent ranks as their top internal concern. They also feel unsettled by trade uncertainty, political instability, and more intense competition from disruptive technologies. However,
they plan to counter such forces by developing more innovative cultures and new business models.

Conducted annually since 1999 by The Conference Board, this year’s survey gauged nearly 750 CEOs and nearly 800 other C-Suite executives from mainly four regions: Europe, Latin America, Asia, and the United States. As part of the survey, participants weighed in on which external and internal issues warrant the most immediate attention in 2020.

External Concerns in 2020

Recession fears top the list

–Global: For the 2nd year in a row, CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank a recession as their top external worry
in the year ahead.

–US: For US CEOs, a recession rose from being their 3rd biggest concern in 2019 to their top one in 2020. The issue surpassed cybersecurity, their top concern in 2019.

–Elsewhere: A recession also tops the list of concerns of Chinese and European CEOs, and is the runner-up for Latin American and Japanese CEOs.

Widespread concern over trade uncertainty

–Global: CEOs globally rank uncertainty about global trade as their 2nd biggest external worry in 2020.

–US: It ranks as the 4th biggest worry of US CEOs, tied with its affiliate issue: global political instability.

–China: Chinese CEOs rank trade uncertainty as their top worry, tied with their fear of a recession.

–Latin America and Europe: CEOs there rank it 1st and 3rd, respectively.

Chinese CEOs feeling the effects of economic sanctions

–China: Chinese CEOs rank the effects of economic sanctions as their 5th biggest external worry, tied with the issue of more demanding customers. Their concern about sanctions is the highest-ranking by any country by a big margin.

–What it reveals about US-China trade tensions: The role technology plays in this conflict is deep and enduring. Tariffs are likely to be temporary and easily subject to negotiation, but technology blockades, via economic sanctions, are not.

Competition intensifies

–Global: For CEOs globally, fiercer competition rose from being their 4th top external worry in 2019 to their 3rd in 2020.

–US: For two years in a row, US CEOs cite the issue as their 2nd top external worry.

–China: For Chinese CEOs, concerns about fiercer competition rose from being their 7th in 2019 to their 3rd in 2020.

Cybersecurity budgets increase, but strategy remains elusive

–Bigger budgets: More than 70% of responding CEOs globally plan to increase their cybersecurity budgets in 2020.

–But unclear strategy: Almost 40% of responding CEOs globally say their organizations lack a clear strategy to deal with the financial and reputational impact of a cyber-attack or data breach.

Climate change heats up

–Global: For 2020, CEOs globally ranked the impact of climate change on their business as 9th, up from 11th in 2019.

–Driving the momentum: CEOs in Latin America (4th, up from 10th in 2019) and Europe (8th, up from 13th in 2019).

“The ongoing concerns about recession risk among business leaders reflect the slowing economy of the past year and the uncertainties about the outcome of the trade disputes and other policy concerns,” said Bart van Ark, Chief Economist at The Conference Board. “However, given a slightly better outlook for the global economy and an easing of trade tensions, we anticipate that a drumbeat of negative sentiment – which can become a self-fulling prophecy – can be avoided, and that we  will see more confidence about business prospects in 2020.”

Internal Concerns in 2020

The number-one priority: attracting and retaining top talent

-Widespread agreement: Regardless of a company’s location or size, attracting and retaining top talent ranks as the number-one internal stressor for CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally in 2020.

-What’s intensifying the talent battle? A tight labor market, among other issues. CEOs globally, for example, cite the tight labor market as their 5th biggest external worry in the year ahead.

Developing innovative products and cultures are a key focus

–Create new business models because of disruptive technologies: CEOs and other C-suite executives globally rank it their 2nd top internal priority.

–Create a more innovative culture: CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank it their 3rd top internal priority.

Widespread commitment to cultivating leaders for the future

–Global: CEOs and other C-Suite executives globally rank developing “next-gen” leaders as their 4th top internal priority.

–Japan: Japanese CEOs rank this issue as their number-one internal priority, ahead of all other internal issues.

Women C-Suite executives more concerned about equal pay for equal work

–Women: Globally, implementing equal pay for equal work ranked as their 6th top internal priority.

–Men: Globally, the issue ranked as their 15th top internal priority.

“The global challenge in acquiring and retaining talent requires companies to be more strategic – knowing not only what qualities and skills to recruit for, but also how to recruit more efficiently and effectively,” said Rebecca Lea Ray, Ph.D., Executive Vice President of Human Capital at The Conference Board. “To support such efforts, they can consider leveraging artificial intelligence, a valuable tool when used with the proper understanding and safeguards.”

Mature-Market CEOs vs Emerging-Market CEOs

The survey results reveal much agreement between CEOs in mature economies (436 respondents) and emerging markets (304 respondents). But, some stark differences exist when it comes to which issues they plan to prioritize in 2020.

3 External Differences

Tight labor market
-Mature-market CEOs rank the issue as their 3rd biggest external concern. Emerging-market CEOs rank it 10th.

Uncertainty about global trade
-Emerging-market CEOs rank the issue as their number-one external concern. Mature-market CEOs rank it 4th.

Declining trust in political and policy institutions
-Emerging-market CEOs rank the issue as their 5th top external concern. Mature-market CEOs rank it 8th.

3 Internal Differences

Create new business models because of disruptive technologies
-Emerging-market CEOs rank the issue as their 2nd top internal priority. Mature-market CEOs rank it 4th.

Manage mergers and acquisitions
-Mature-market CEOs rank the issue as their 7th top internal priority. Emerging-market CEOs rank it 12th.

Build a more inclusive culture
-Mature-market CEOs rank the issue as their 8th top internal priority. Emerging-market CEOs rank it 16th.

“When it comes to creating new business models because of disruptive technologies, there is more urgency among  emerging-market CEOs than those in more mature economies,” said Chuck Mitchell, Executive Director of Knowledge,  Content, and Quality at The Conference Board. “This should raise a warning flag about possible complacency considering the current speed of disruption. The truth is that, today, companies no longer enjoy the luxury of a decades-long lead time to adapt to the digital revolution.”

_______________________________________________________________________

Media can contact The Conference Board for a copy of the full survey results.

The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that delivers trusted insights for what’s ahead. Founded in 1916, they
are a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conferenceboard.org

Republished with permission