Addressing a session Skilling Up For The War For Talent, at the Skillsoft Perspective 2021, Jeff Blake opined that the leaders have to take a look at all the aspects of the employee life which will ensure bringing the best and desired candidates on board. But to overcome the cost of training them, keeping them engaged at the same time is also highly essential, to avoid attrition as qualified employees always seek better opportunities and exposure.  

Hiring Skills 

To have the right talents on board, it is highly crucial to execute talent management skills at every level starting right from that of recruitment. According to Blake, the hiring process has to speed up. He said that being open to a pool of opportunities the qualified candidates are hard to retain right from the hiring stage. So, whether a walk-in or a campus hiring, the process of onboarding has to be finished faster than earlier in order to keep the talent from being picked up by a competitor. The world being flat due to technical innovation, hiring globally should be easier than before but only with the right hiring skills.   

Factors affecting retention 

Blake pointed out that there are primarily four areas or factors that need the most attention by the employers namely flexibility, engagement, mental health, and L&D and Succession.  

Flexibility: Not just because of the government regulations but also citing the fact that there was no remarkable decrease in productivity, many companies underwent remote working. “We were able to work very closely with our clients to get them set up for a seamless transition to ensure that productivity has not been reduced,” said Blake. However, he pointed out that some employees sought onsite work who also need to be assured comfort by the employers.  

Engagement: With lifestyles changing more rapidly than thought, engagement ideas need to change too. To engage people, it is important to be aware of the background that they come from. Not necessarily all ideas would work on everybody. Unlike the traditional approach, today’s workforce needs faster and interactive engagement options. Starting right from a wellness session, to engaging sessions with celebrity speakers, wellness managers have to dive deeper.  

Mental health: “Mental health is the third piece that we've really focused on as a physician, because it's, it's something that continues to be a focus, and as we continue to move forward through the pandemic it's going to be an even bigger part of our desire to allow us to have it happen,” said Blake.  

Learning and development: Commenting on the learning aspect of talent retention, Blake said that the employee will vary with the industry. Starting from retail and commerce, to tech and digital financial services, learning programmes play a huge role in engaging the employees

“We creating our running programs for the different skills that they need within their job functions, but we're also allowing them to explore different things,” said Jeff Blake. 

Concluding the session, Blake said that investing money blindly can’t be a long-term solution but employers have to grow the habit of listening to their employees. A lot of people just want to know that their employers really care and that they are looking out for them.