The Unicorn You’re Seeking May be Hiding in Plain Sight

By Claude Werder, Vice President and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group

Great talent is so coveted – and seemingly so hard to find – that sometimes it feels like we are chasing unicorns.

But, unlike the mythical unicorn, great talent is out there in the real world. Sometimes we just don’t look in the right places or leverage the talent within our own organizations.

Brandon Hall Group and talent-management solution-provider Cegid will present a webinar March 13 examining how employers can improve talent development to drive internal mobility. Sometimes great talent – the unicorns – are hiding in plain sight.

There are risks and obstacles whether you recruit talent from the outside (perceived talent shortage, expense, competition) or develop talent internally (turnover, engagement, cost and difficulty of development, etc.).

Most organizations choose to roll the dice on external recruiting, a  questionable decision when 72% of organizations struggle to hire talent and 53% see a talent shortage in their industry, according to Brandon Hall Group research.

On average, employers target only about 3 of 10 job vacancies to be filled among current employees.

Why not invest more in internal mobility? Almost 9 in 10 organizations say they don’t fill more positions internally because “we believe it’s important to bring new voices and viewpoints into the organization.”

OK … but look what happens next:

  • Only 9% of organizations have clear, well-communicated career paths for more than half of their employees.
  • About 55% say their internal talent pipeline is not large or deep enough to fill more positions from the inside.

Organizations want to hire people from the outside for fresh viewpoints, then fail to develop them or provide paths for advancement. So employees leave and organizations start the cycle all over again. This is the definition of insanity — doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.

It’s time to refocus on internal mobility, which is dependent on engaging, effective talent processes. Today’s talent technology enables organizations to dramatically improve inter-related talent processes – assessments, onboarding, training, continuous performance feedback, coaching, mentoring, career development – that can drive engagement, performance and talent retention.

The result is an expanded pipeline of talent that is already familiar with your business and culture. A rich internal talent pipeline allows you to be more selective in your external recruiting, save money, and build your business around employees who are already invested in your mission, products and customers.

I hope you will join us for the webinar. And please contact us if you want to learn about our talent development research and thought leadership on these topics.

Claude Werder, Vice President and Principal HCM Analyst, Brandon Hall Group

Claude Werder is Brandon Hall Group’s Vice President and Principal HCM Analyst. He focuses on Leadership Development and Talent Management. Brandon Hall Group is a leading research and analyst firm with Practices in Learning & Development, Talent Management, Leadership Development, Talent Acquisition and Workforce Management/Core HR.

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Mike Cooke

Chief Executive Officer of Brandon Hall Group Mike Cooke Prior to joining Brandon Hall Group, Mike Cooke was the Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of AC Growth. Mike held leadership and executive positions for the majority of his career, at which he was responsible for steering sales and marketing teams to drive results and profitability. His background includes more than 15 years of experience in sales, marketing, management, and operations in the research, consulting, software and technology industries. Mike has extensive experience in sales, marketing and management having worked for several early high-growth emerging businesses and has implemented technology systems to support various critical sales, finance, marketing and client service functions. He is especially skilled in organizing the sales and service strategy to fully support a company’s growth strategy. The concept of growth was an absolute to Mike and a motivator in starting AC Growth, in order to help organizations achieve research driven results. Most recently, Mike was the VP and General Manager of Field Operations at Bersin & Associates, a global analyst and consulting services firm focused on all areas of enterprise learning, talent management and talent acquisition. Tasked with leading the company’s global expansion, Mike led all sales operations worldwide. During Mike’s tenure, the company has grown into a multi-national firm, conducting business in over 45 countries with over 4,500 multi-national organizations. Mike started his career at MicroVideo Learning Systems in 1992, eventually holding a senior management position and leading all corporate sales before founding Dynamic Minds. Mike was CEO and Co-Founder of Dynamic Minds, a custom developer of software programs, working with clients like Goldman Sachs, Prentice Hall, McGraw Hill and Merrill Lynch. Also, Mike worked for Oddcast, a leading provider of customer experience and marketing solutions, where he held a senior management position leading the company into new markets across various industries. Mike also serves on the Advisory Board for Carbon Solutions America, an independent sustainability consulting and carbon management firm that specializes in the design and implementation of greenhouse reduction and sustainability plans as well as managing the generation of carbon and renewal energy and energy efficiency credits. Mike attended University of Phoenix, studying Business Administration and Finance. He has also completed executive training at the Chicago Graduate School of Business in Chicago, IL.

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