Finding fresh talent in a tight market

By Elaine Varelas, 7/3/2006

If you're reading this article looking for ideas about how to develop your existing talent, raid other companies, or offer irresistible perks and sign-on bonuses, STOP READING IMMEDIATELY!

This article will not rehash stale ideas or promote gimmicks to recruit and retain staff. Instead, it offers a new way of thinking about the hiring crunch and what savvy companies can do to find fresh talent in a tight market.

We've all heard the predictions about the shrinking labor pool: the baby boomers will begin to cycle out of the workforce, while the global economy will continue to grow. How will organizations sustain a viable workforce? We know we can't rely on old recruiting tricks: sign-on bonuses, providing foosball tables, and employee referrals. If companies want to survive the coming labor shortage, and thrive, they need to rethink the way they approach recruitment and retention and, more importantly, who they are trying to recruit and retain.

There are three populations in the US that are virtually overlooked by business leaders and staffing managers: women, people from other cultures, and people with disabilities.

What can organizations do to attract these professionals? It is important to remember that this is not charity or "a last resort." It is not about being tolerant, but actively wooing a vast untapped resource that companies should have been recruiting all along.

Attracting women leaders

You may balk at the mention of women because women already make up approximately half of America's workforce, but a significantly smaller number of women are leaders. If you take a peek into a C-suite, boardroom, or partners' meeting, you will see that most of the members are still men.

Women now make up a higher percentage than ever before of business school graduates. They have the education, ambition, and skills to do the job, but they are leaving the workforce in droves after working for 10 or 15 years because of the difficulty they have in striking a work/life balance. They can have children and a family life, but at the expense of an executive-track career. They'd rather give up their corporate career altogether than settle for an unsatisfactory job.

How can companies just let that talent go? Savvy organizations are implementing non-traditional strategies to keep women in leadership roles. These initiatives include less aggressive/time intensive partner tracks, mentor programs, extended maternity leave (sometimes lasting months or years), more flexible schedules, less or shared travel, and career planning. As the labor market gets tighter, these and other innovative strategies will be invaluable to retaining women in executive positions, and positioning that organization for unmatched success.

Other countries and cultures

Another untapped labor pool is made up of people from other countries and cultures. English may not be their first language, but many of these workers have the experience and skill set companies need. Some of the strategies for recruiting people from other cultures are quite simple, such as using multilingual recruiters and advertising in non-English language media.

To attract and retain these professionals, it is also important to create an open and accepting work environment. Alter the dress code to accommodate cultural dress, and honor an array of holidays and cultural and religious observances. Instead of implementing policies where "Only English is spoken here," revel in the fact that you have multilingual employees and leverage that in an effort to attract new customers or clients. Of course, you may also need to help traditional employees get used to the diversity. Open up channels of communication and address stumbling blocks before they mount. Maybe "Spanish as a second language" classes will be as prevalent as ESL.

People with disabilities

People with disabilities are another group employers should be actively pursuing. Unfortunately, only 30% of Americans with disabilities are fully employed. The good news is that this population presents an enormous opportunity for companies looking to recruit.

One of the biggest obstacles for people with disabilities is accessibility. The workplace needs to be accessible to people in wheelchairs or with walkers. That includes buildings' entrances and exits, bathrooms, workspaces, desks, and conference tables.

People with disabilities may also require adaptive technology, such as voice command software or screen readers. It may also make sense to reassign non-essential job duties, such as making some phone calls, attending certain off-site meetings, or taking notes at staff meetings to let the person focus on the more important aspects of the job. Some people with disabilities have a personal care attendant who accompanies them to work, so organizations should make accommodations for that person as well. Flexible schedules and job sharing can also be attractive to workers with disabilities.

Accommodating people with disabilities in the workplace doesn't have to be expensive. According to the Job Accommodation Network, 80% of people with disabilities need no accommodations. 71% cost $500 or less with 20% of those costing nothing. HR executives should work with individuals to create a job accommodation plan that works best for the person and the organization.

The biggest challenge in recruiting and retaining these diverse groups of professionals is affecting a change in the company mindset. HR executives can help by empowering managers with education and information. Help managers look at their team in a different way, not by finding someone to fit the mold, but by breaking the mold. HR needs to help managers ask "What are the competencies we are looking for?," not "What does the shell holding those competencies look like?"

Managers need support in their quest for diversity. Companies need to be open, accepting, and accommodating-not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it's an effective corporate strategy that will make them more competitive and maximize their workforce.

Picture the first Star Wars movie. Hans Solo walked into a bar filled with representatives from almost every fictional planet in the galaxy. Your organization's cafeteria should strive for as broad a picture of talent represented by such diversity, or it may end up looking eerily empty.

Elaine Varelas is Managing Partner of Business Development at Keystone Partners, a career management firm headquartered in Boston, and has over 20 years of career development and HR experience. She also serves on the board of directors for Career Partners International, the world's largest career management partnership. E-mail her at .