TED 3

So there's an interesting thing happening But I think there's a fix. We just have to
in the labor market. On one hand, there find a way to unleash the talent that is
are a whole lot of job openings. And on hiding in plain sight. And by doing so, we
the other, there are a lot of employers can help our leaders and managers shift
really struggling to fill them. their focus from stressing over unfilled
positions to helping their teams deliver
Now we get this in part because we're value. And we can help employees and
experiencing an unprecedented rate of candidates find the opportunities to
change in the nature of work. So many advance their careers.
jobs today require new skills. Ten years
ago, companies didn't need entire teams So here's how I think we do
of data engineers and social media it. OK. Leaders and managers, step one's
content producers and sustainability on you. Before you post your next job
experts. But now they can barely opening, or your next hundred, do us all a
compete without them. favor and figure out what work actually
needs to get done. I've seen many job
But this isn't the whole story. Part of openings that look like they should belong
what's causing this disconnect is the fact in some kind of comedy show because the
that we're using outdated practices to list of requirements is so ridiculous. The
fill 21st-century jobs, and it's just not ideal candidate must be able to: manage a
working. The consequences are real. billion-dollar P and L, code like a 20-year
Google veteran, build advanced
My job is to help executives rethink how forecasting models, design beautiful
they attract and retain talent. And more PowerPoint slides, directly engage with
so than ever, leaders are telling me they the board of directors and oh, of
just cannot find the people to do the course, do all of their duties as
work. For some, this means their assigned. So as leaders write down every
strategic priorities are put on hold. And single thing that their ideal candidate
for others, their products are delayed to must be able to do, there's really only
market, and their revenues take a hit.
one kind of candidate that can do all US job listings in order to widen their
those things. A Pegasus. talent pool. But I think we can do
more. BCG recently worked with a wealth
So if you want to find the right real-life management firm to figure out what
person to do the job, perhaps try a predicts success for incoming financial
different approach. Figure out what work advisers. And the results were kind of
needs to get done and design the profile interesting. High GPA? Important. Top
based on that. school? Not important. Past client and
sales experience? Not important. Past
OK, now we know the work that needs to call center experience? Not
get done so we can start screening important. Past experience working on a
candidates in instead of screening them team of any kind? Important. So of
out. I'll be the first to admit that going course we have to remember that great
through thousands of resumes for a candidates don't need to check every
single job opening is intimidating. So it single thing on the list. And that's OK. In
really doesn't bother me that companies fact, hiring managers at companies like
design processes to quickly filter out Seagate Technology look at internal
unqualified candidates. But what does candidates first, and they focus on the
bother me is the criteria that they use 70 to 80 percent of skills that matter
to screen, which is often archaic, easily the most. And then their upskilling
identifiable things, like time in role and programs help candidates get from 80 to
degree requirements, that are not always 100 percent. One word of caution here,
predictive of success in the job. You which is to check your own biases. If
know, I bet you there's someone listening you've only hired people that have fit a
to me right now who hasn't applied to a narrow mold, you're going to have to look
job because the requirements section outside your team in order to get this
said you needed five years of right.
experience and you only had four.
All of this is a little bit like dating to
Lucky for us, there's some big-name me. You know, you may think that you
companies working to address this. IBM, need someone who's handy and who can
for example, has removed degree cook and who loves camping and who
requirements from 50 percent of their
wears designer clothes and, well, reorganization and they, you know,
nowadays plays pickleball. But in designed logical groupings of job
reality, perhaps the ideal partner is postings and drafted responsibilities for
actually someone who can make you laugh each role. But when it came time to
and gets along with your family. The staffing, interestingly enough, not one
dating metaphor is actually perfect for single person suggested an
my next piece of advice, which is this: to opportunity for a candidate outside their
up the odds of a good match, start with team. Now, more often than not, the
coffee. If you're a manager or a talent you need actually does exist in
candidate, don't feel like you need to your company. You may just need to look
jump into marriage or even commit to to a different floor. In fact, in the early
dinner. Why not start with coffee? This days of COVID, Unilever moved 9,000
is the concept behind micro people to new internal rolls. So if they
internships, which are small-scale paid can do that, I'm pretty sure you can find
projects usually completed by college and the person for your one job opening
graduate students. And for somewhere in your company.
companies, they actually provide a lower-
risk path to hiring and allows them to And if you're listening to this and feeling
reach students in schools that they frustrated by the lack of opportunity in
otherwise might not have looked to. Talk your current role, perhaps it's time for
about finding hidden talent. And amongst you to start to tell people outside your
those experimenting with micro team you're ready to try something new.
internships are companies like Microsoft
and PepsiCo. Now there’s a flip side to looking beyond
your floor, and it’s this. And here's my
We've talked a lot about talent hiding in ask of managers and leaders. While it’s
the hiring process. But surprise, there's very natural to want to hold on to your
so much talent hiding in your rock star teammates, doing so may
organizations. So my recommendation to actually keep them from their dream
everyone, managers and employees, is to job. So please let your people go so they
look beyond your floor. I recently worked can grow. Sixty percent of people who
with a large company going through a left their jobs recently cited the lack of
career advancement as one of the main
reasons for leaving. So leaders, please
don't think you can keep someone in the
same role for years without expecting
them to leave. That's called talent
hoarding, and it's not OK.

And on the other hand, companies that

actively support their talent to move
internally report more diverse, innovative
and effective project teams. So while it
might be hard to support someone who's
ready to move on, trust me when I say
you absolutely should.

I know there's a lot going on in the labor

market, and these five tips are not going
to address everything. But we're never
going to discover something new if we
keep using the same lenses we have for
decades. So perhaps the way to discover
hidden talent is as simple as taking a
fresh look.