Just how helpful has McKinsey's 1998 declaration of ‘War for Talent’ been for organisations facing globally shared difficulties in sourcing and retaining a skilled workforce?
However it is used, the term 'War' conjures up an aggressive stance. It also suggests the existence of winners and losers, with clear battle lines drawn between opponents. In addition, as with any war, there are inevitably winners and losers - but who are those winners and losers in this situation? And how helpful is this mindset to us as the situation continues to worsen with little hope of an end in site?
Under this scenario of 'War' we also see talent turn on talent - with the newbies, the Gen Y's quickly finding themselves in the firing line - criticised for their lack of loyalty and high expectations. Although the attack on new generations was never solely reserved for the Gen Y's. Their predecessors, the Gen X's were originally referred to as the Slackers Generation before their more common and less derogatory label, Generation X, stuck.
We also need to remember the Gen Y’s are entering the market with little to no concept of recession or downsizing and as a result, they are more transient, more demanding and less easily led. The question being, is that really such a bad thing?
The current market, fuelled by economic buoyancy, high employment and open opportunity, is a reflection of our previous generations' efforts so isn’t it time we start to acknowledge this trend and work with it instead of against it?
How do we change our mindsets?
The first thing we need to do as organisations is to stop referring to the current situation as a 'War' on or for anything.
It's time to disband the troops and declare peace. It's time to find a new approach, one which accepts rapid and constant change and enables us to start working with the flow rather than against it.
So what are the key messages from Generation Y?
• The transient and mobile workforce is here to stay and organisations who best leverage this situation will be the ones who thrive in the future.
• Work with the current situation and change your organisational strategy to focus on building real relationships with all your employees.
• Generation Y’ers can only begin to display loyalty and commitment when organisations drop their corporate ego and start to communicate on an individual level.