Talent pipelining without a workforce plan: Rabbit’s foot or four leaf clover?
Workforce planning can be a daunting task. When I hear the term, I envision bulging spreadsheets,...
There’s little doubt that a workforce is a company’s most valuable asset, so why is it that so many companies fail to hire the right employees in order to capitalize upon the wealth of benefits that finding the right person for the job offers? The most common explanation for this trend is using the wrong recruiting techniques, something that companies of all sizes are guilty of, and not only SMEs lacking the large human resource departments that give MNCs an overwhelming advantage.
A common mistake made amongst SMEs is opting for generalists rather than specialists. It’s only natural that such companies opt for generalists when they’re starting out, but as their operations expand they need to hire specialists rather than generalists to capitalize upon their early gains and keep the business growing. People with specific skills will eventually be required in all fields and when they’re required, one of the biggest mistakes a company could make is to continue to hire generalist staff rather than those with the specific skills that they require to expand and grow their business operations.
Generalists can, however, prove to be apt learners and if this is the case, then excellent – you’ve not only found a person who has proven that they’re adaptable, flexible and ready to move up the ranks into specialist positions, but also one who has experience in your organization and that’s worth a lot in any good manager’s book. If, however, you lack employees of this value – and it’s only natural that you will also find this to be the case – you’ll have to look at your other options and of the options available to you. The best would be to hire a specialist to help your generalists, though if this proves unfeasible, you may have to replace your generalists with specialists who possess the skills required for your company to expand and compete effectively.
Swift changes may have to be made if you’re to expand and grow at a healthy pace, and although swift changes often make managers uncomfortable, sometimes companies simply can’t do without them. If you’re managing a company the responsibility for identifying problems or areas in need of improvement lies solely with you so, so it’s you who needs to usher in changes that will improve your company’s performance, not anyone else. Give some thought to the generalist/specialist worker situation – what areas and departments of your company are okay for the time being with the generalist workers you’re employing, and which areas and departments required specialists last week, last month or even last year?
If you decide you require specialist employees, just how are you going to go about sourcing such workers for your organization? This is a big question for most managers, though one that is surprisingly easy to answer. Outsourcing recruitment is increasingly popular as a means to find the right employees for the job, particularly amongst SMEs seeing that outsourcing recruitment has been found to effectively level the playing field. This is something that is in the best interests of all small to medium sized enterprises, for otherwise larger companies and corporations would have an unfair advantage due to their large human resource and recruiting departments.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) could be just what your company requires to expand, grow and effectively compete with other companies, and not only other SMEs but also MNCs, so take a look at websites like eRecruit Solutions if you’d like to level the playing field and enhance your access to the specialist workers your company requires as a competitive company with its feet firmly planted in the 21st Century.
This post was written by Samantha Merrylees. Samantha is a writer for eRecruit Solutions, a UK-based recruitment agency that offers headhunting services for a flat fee. Know more about these solutions on the company's website, www.erecruitsolutions.co.uk.
A common mistake made amongst SMEs is opting for generalists rather than specialists. It’s only natural that such companies opt for generalists when they’re starting out, but as their operations expand they need to hire specialists rather than generalists to capitalize upon their early gains and keep the business growing. People with specific skills will eventually be required in all fields and when they’re required, one of the biggest mistakes a company could make is to continue to hire generalist staff rather than those with the specific skills that they require to expand and grow their business operations.
Generalists can, however, prove to be apt learners and if this is the case, then excellent – you’ve not only found a person who has proven that they’re adaptable, flexible and ready to move up the ranks into specialist positions, but also one who has experience in your organization and that’s worth a lot in any good manager’s book. If, however, you lack employees of this value – and it’s only natural that you will also find this to be the case – you’ll have to look at your other options and of the options available to you. The best would be to hire a specialist to help your generalists, though if this proves unfeasible, you may have to replace your generalists with specialists who possess the skills required for your company to expand and compete effectively.
Swift changes may have to be made if you’re to expand and grow at a healthy pace, and although swift changes often make managers uncomfortable, sometimes companies simply can’t do without them. If you’re managing a company the responsibility for identifying problems or areas in need of improvement lies solely with you so, so it’s you who needs to usher in changes that will improve your company’s performance, not anyone else. Give some thought to the generalist/specialist worker situation – what areas and departments of your company are okay for the time being with the generalist workers you’re employing, and which areas and departments required specialists last week, last month or even last year?
If you decide you require specialist employees, just how are you going to go about sourcing such workers for your organization? This is a big question for most managers, though one that is surprisingly easy to answer. Outsourcing recruitment is increasingly popular as a means to find the right employees for the job, particularly amongst SMEs seeing that outsourcing recruitment has been found to effectively level the playing field. This is something that is in the best interests of all small to medium sized enterprises, for otherwise larger companies and corporations would have an unfair advantage due to their large human resource and recruiting departments.
Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) could be just what your company requires to expand, grow and effectively compete with other companies, and not only other SMEs but also MNCs, so take a look at websites like eRecruit Solutions if you’d like to level the playing field and enhance your access to the specialist workers your company requires as a competitive company with its feet firmly planted in the 21st Century.
This post was written by Samantha Merrylees. Samantha is a writer for eRecruit Solutions, a UK-based recruitment agency that offers headhunting services for a flat fee. Know more about these solutions on the company's website, www.erecruitsolutions.co.uk.