Talent drain needs fix

A talent crisis for most workplaces is not years or even decades away, according to the latest survey from professional services firm Deloitte & Touche.

It is already here.

Through December and January, Deloitte surveyed 123 human resources executives at companies across the nation for insight into how their companies are dealing with retirements of their most experienced and productive employees.

Most companies are not dealing with it very well: 10 percent to 15 percent of the businesses responding to the survey report “critical” shortages of people in research and development and in their sales divisions. When asked to name the one issue that will most impact companies, four of 10 firms responded “retention of key talent.”

The work force crisis is so troubling that three of 10 companies have discussed it at the board of director level, Deloitte found.

The findings come as no surprise to Michael O’Brien, founder and president of The O’Brien Group, a Wyoming-based consulting company that offers executive coaching and executive team development.

He said many migrations occur because some executives have been diligently saving – perhaps their spouse is working as well – and they are ready to go it alone at a company they create. “If executives haven’t thought about this recently, they need to take a look at what the next four to five years will hold for their top 10, 5 or 2 percent,” O’Brien said.

“Executives need to think about who they will be able to count on. Will key players be around in four years?”

O’Brien, co-author of “Profit from Experience” (Berkley Publishing Group) wonders if an entrepreneurial renaissance is already resulting from the growing wave of baby-boomer walk-aways.

He believes many new companies are being created, particularly in metropolitan areas such as Cincinnati, because of the allure of self-employment and because many folks simply cannot retire from the grind to sit around the house to sweep out the garage every day and watch the grass grow. “Guys who could retire and live in beach houses don’t want to,” he said. “They want to keep working. These are players. They are baby boomers, and they want to play.”

Find key players

Ken Kunkleman is the Columbus-based senior manager in the human capital practice arm of Deloitte Consulting who consults for a Cincinnati-based grocery retailer and a large manufacturer here.

He hears about one or another element of the study every day from his Cincinnati-area clients, which he was not at liberty to name.

The first step for companies worried about having people around who would be ready to step into a vital role is obvious.

“You have to identify them,” he said.

Key players may not be at the executive level, either. For instance, some of the most important people at a Disney theme park are the workers holding the brooms, because they get asked directions daily. Clean-up crews become the first line for customer service.

Looking outside the company for replacements can bring disaster. So many companies are looking outside their organization that eventually too many recruiters are chasing too few qualified people.

Also, recruiting from outside an organization can bring people who do not understand a company’s workplace culture.

“The question that everybody must ask is: ‘How do I develop my internal talent,’ ” Kunkleman said. “Are there other people in the organization with an interest and aptitude for the jobs? After all, they are here, and we know they show up for work.”