The talent war

Résumé du document

The world is changing, globalization and Information Technology (IT) has brought large competition and. In addition, we are facing a 'talent shortage' due to demographic facts and changing behaviours. Investing in the human capital is now the key success factor to stay competitive in this environment. The notion of 'human capital', is defined by Gary Becker in his book 'Human Capital' as 'similar to physical means of production like factories and machines'. However, each author has his own definition of the notion 'Human capital'. Peter Husz in 1998, defined it as 'the time, experience, knowledge and the abilities of an individual household or a generation, which can be used in the production process'. Whatever the definition we pick, it is essential to understand that 'Human Capital' is becoming a competitive advantage.

Extraits

[...] "With the competition for talent so incredibly fierce, it is essential to look beyond conventional methods of recruiting to stay ahead of the game. People are motivated to refer job candidates when the potential for a reward is added to the equation." Said Scott Simmons, Staffing Consultant, Microsoft Dynamics[1]. The Talent War is open. Companies have to face it and find way to attract and retain best peoples. The first thing to consider is to build success thanks to Information Technology by implementing networks, internally and externally. [...]

[...] While am I relating this recurrent fact? Because it is the starting point of the OF TALENTS”. Indeed of American companies already experience difficulties to recruit and maintain critical skills candidates[2]. Strong of my background in the recruitment field, I assume that recruiting and retaining best people suited for a company's position is the basis to keep company viability within a competitive environment for the next 20 years. Like machines and money, the “human capital”[3] is an asset. It is even the most important asset in the way that you can copy everything from a company except its human capital. [...]

[...] This makes the competition harder between those companies. According to the Information Technology Association of America (ITTA), “there are 346,000 information technology jobs that remain unfilled because of a lack of skilled workers. Moreover it is estimated that three out of every 10 computed-related vacancies now take six month or longer to fill”[5]. Working as a consultant at the leading recruitment company in France and Europe, I realized how difficult it was to find talented people. These people are solicited and we have to be sure to communicate a good image of our client in order to attract candidate for a first interview. [...]

[...] I believe in external and internal networks. Let's use referrals network to fill out our open positions. Let's just link everyone within the company. I would love to work for this ideal company! Won't you? 2. Memo From: Staff representative To: Head of the Human Resources department (Mr. Johnson) Re: organizational management trends Dear Mr. Johnson, Since I've entered the company 10 years ago, I have been pleased to come every morning to share our goals and serve our cause. [...]

[...] While physical capital became abundant and available for any company, human capital is becoming rare. People get use to this new “open space” and are more and more willing to jump from one job to another. Because professional training programs are increasing and improving they're even willing to change the field they're specialized in. Moreover, ideas are coming up more rapidly and cheaply which makes it even more difficult to stay on top. The only way companies can survive is to innovate faster than competitors. [...]