In our recent discussions with clients and candidates, an interesting pattern is emerging which may have some very serious consequences for companies’ talent acquisition plans and for the careers of senior management.
Following years of robust growth in emerging markets, the war for talent amongst businesses resulted in boom times for employees. Skilled workers were constantly being headhunted as companies tried desperately to maintain their talent pool as they scaled. This led to frequent job changes and rapid increases in remuneration as employees took advantage of the environment. One of the biggest complaints we heard was about the lack of loyalty amongst their workers.
As economies have started to recover, companies are once again looking to rebuild their talent pools. However, they are wary of employing individuals who were previously moving from one organisation to another. On the other hand, employees are wary of taking up assignments with organisations that until recently were still reducing headcount. Hence, despite the number of excellent candidates in the market, and a number of very interesting opportunities, many roles are still left unfilled as the mutual risk aversion leads to reluctance from both sides to close the deal.
Recently however, companies in emerging markets have been faced with a number of headwinds. Economic growth is falling in a number of countries due to both local and external factors such as elections, fiscal tightening by governments and weak macroeconomic conditions.
Faced with these challenges a number of companies have resorted to downsizing programmes in order to maintain competitiveness. Many employees have found themselves suddenly unemployed. In a few cases, redundancies have taken place in only a few months following the appointment of the employee in the organisation.
These abrupt changes have left many workers scarred and therefore far more risk averse. Those still in employment have also been affected as they hear the news of their friends losing their jobs. There are a number of very highly qualified and talented people who are suddenly looking for work. At the same time, those currently employed are now ultra cautious about making a change. Now workers complain about a lack of loyalty from their employers!
Is your organisation facing a similar situation? What is the solution? Let’s have a chat and see if we can help you bridge this gap.