Assessing Business Talent for Jobs in a Changing Economy   Today thousands of people are looking to replace the jobs they used to hold. But it will be harder and harder to find those jobs because they have probably already changed - and can no longer be found.

Re-engineering jobs

Managers of successful companies are at the forefront of job re-engineering. They are operating now with fewer employees and learning the importance of hiring the right talent to survive and thrive. They will need better and faster methods to assess and match jobs with business talent to succeed in an economy of continuous change.

Permanent changes

While we continue to read daily news of the decline of North America's traditional 9-5 industrial jobs, we are also witnessing the formation of new 24/7 jobs for the emerging service-based economy. Yet even the experts admit they do not know exactly which jobs will drive tomorrow's business economy. They are more certain about the type of jobs that will NOT drive it.

Recent news from a Federal Reserve Bank of New York study reports that a majority of the 2.7 million jobs lost since the beginning of the 2001 recession represent "permanent changes in the U.S. economy and are not coming back." Forrester Research Inc., a trend-analysis firm, predicts that 3.3 million US jobs will have transferred overseas by 2015. A majority of these are production jobs that can be done more economically elsewhere.

Uncertain direction

However, the economy is fickle and does not appear to favor a single direction in job growth. We have seen the emerging service economy create new jobs, and then quickly destroy them. For example, job opportunities as securities and commodities brokers were driven up by investment-mania for the fateful dotcoms of the 90's. Approximately 69,000 of those jobs have since been eliminated - perhaps for good. With the creative application of online technology, jobs in the financial sector continue to evolve and redefine themselves.

Spotlight on Talent

Economic uncertainty and changing job dynamics focus the spotlight directly on employee talent. Companies continue to abandon slower moving products and services while targeting new ones with a downsized workforce. Their select teams of key employees often work longer hours than ever before to accomplish the equivalent of what used to be multiple jobs. Increased expectations for results demand that managers reexamine and redefine jobs regularly. In fact,
jobs often morph dramatically overnight, forcing a reshuffle of talent and job priorities to meet new challenges.

The good news is that recent surveys show North American companies are beginning to achieve increased productivity with highly leveraged talent, and this has captured management's attention. Now managers are seeing firsthand how important it is to hire multi-faceted talent that is committed, accountable, resilient and has the specific attributes necessary for success.

Identifying the "right" Talent!

What is "the right employee talent" for today's jobs? The answer is not that easy, as it depends on defining the job's key accountabilities, the company culture, the working environment, and many other variables.

While flexibility and urgency are highly valued skills in reacting quickly to change, steadiness and reliability are equally important in maintaining consistency, stability and quality. A wide range of verified talent within an organization may provide maximum options for handling change. Only through using an effective methodology to accurately assess the unique requirements of evolving jobs can managers make the right decisions on hiring talent for success.

Bottom line - are you prepared?

The bottom line is that jobs have changed - and the changes are far from over. Your answers to the thought-provoking questions below will reveal how prepared you are at this time to respond to the demands of our rapidly evolving workplace:

• How have your company's jobs changed?

• How do you identify and select the matching talent those jobs now need - and how have you prepared to repeat this process quickly and effectively, time and time again?

• How do your abilities rank with your competitors' abilities in this area?

Plan a strategy now to hire the business talent you need to lead your company through continuous job changes into a successful future.
 

Human Performance Specialists

Contact HRGroup --- your Human Performance Specialist --- to discuss how the TriMetrix™ System can lead your company to success with customized job benchmarking, talent selection and personal development.

© 2003, Target Training International, Ltd.

Contact HRGroup for a demonstration of the TriMetrix(tm) System for job benchmarking, talent selection and personal development. TTI Distributors deliver human capital management solutions for enhancing your organization's ability to compete and thrive in the marketplace.