Article In Brief: Brian Briscoe:

Contributor to WA Business News, writes about the impending skills shortage in Western Australia and what your business can do to avoid becoming victim to it. Brian suggests that this can be done through effective planning, partnering, lateral thinking in your talent acquisition approach and the effectiveness of your selection process. Suggestions as to how each of these factors can be achieved is given. Reading Time: 3 minutes

As the clock ticked over from 11.59pm on December 31st 2009, as you raised a glass with your loved ones to toast in the new decade , you may not have realised the gulf of attitudes and circumstances that would separate 2009 from the New Year in Western Australia.

Whilst not as downcast as earlier in the year, it was only a few weeks ago that all the talk and written word around us was of redundancies, mine closures, record low interest rates and government stimuli to avoid recession. The market had its few days off to enjoy the season’s festivities and we returned to the grindstone and listened to the issues of an inevitable labour shortage in 2010.

Those of us that have been in the people game for a decade or more knew this shortage was looming; in simple terms, this state has valuable commodities in the ground that key growth markets around us want and that was always going to supersede any troubles our G20 colleagues were suffering in their own backyard.

There is a strong feeling amongst the experts in talent acquisition and executive search that we are in for a busy period with our clients in securing top talent for 2010, many of us already feeling a recent marked upsurge in demand.

This has its roots in a number of factors. The dramatic rise in recent business confidence levels has been outstanding, reputedly up 40% compared to January 2009.

According to an international business report released by Grant Thornton this month, Australia ranks third globally in business optimism, trailing only to the powerhouse economies of China and India.

Secondly, certain industry sectors enjoyed a very strong 6 months to Dec 2009, becoming very busy through their links to major resource projects.

Thirdly, and perhaps the strongest push on talent demand is a general employer fear of “missing the boat” through delayed action.

Having said all that, it’s impossible to forget that a lot of employers are still bruised and scarred from the experiences of the worst global economic conditions in decades; hence the decision to bolster teams has both panic and caution attached.

So what can you do as a business to get enough of the right people on the bus for when the speed really increases on the highway again, knowing that all other vehicles around you may be adding people to their seats at the same time? Here are “Four P-Plates” to help you on your journey:

Get Planning!
Who do you need? What will they do? Where will you find them? When do you want them on board & trained? When should you start looking? A longer, successful recruitment process is always better than a shorter, unsuccessful one so start early to beat the rush. It can take a minimum of 12 weeks to secure an inducted employee; 6 weeks of process, 4 weeks of notice (usually) and 2 weeks of induction and initial training. Candidates want to see a robust, thought out process rather than a quick fix approach, so planning ahead and allowing for this 12 weeks is both pragmatic and effective.

Get Partnered!
You should be involved in the talent search, but not to the point of taking your eye off the ball of growing your business or your division. Whether it be a quality external recruitment & search provider or your internal recruitment services, it is vital you have a strong partnership in place. Find someone who can understand your business and your culture and can then deliver the talent in an intelligent way.

Get Practical!
If the demand for talent escalates like we estimate, attempting to source Top Talent from the “same old sources and places” may not bear fruit. Speak to those who are thinking laterally about talent acquisition. Resourcefulness is the most important attribute any talent search process can embody when the talent becomes scarce.

Get Precise!
If you want to avoid a recurrence of the “bums on seats” mentality so many employers were forced to adopt in the last boom, you want to have a selection of talent available to you and a proficient recruitment screening process at your disposal to select wisely. Also, you want to get the right candidate now as the talent available to you in six to 12 months time should you need to replace an unsuccessful recruit, may be far inferior.

Brian is the Managing Director of Briscoe Search & Consulting, which partners clients in sourcing and retaining technical, leadership and professional talent through search and recruitment services. Contact Brian on 6382 1100 |mob 0423605593| brian@www.briscoesearch.com.au