Paul Leacock is a Director of Talent Magnet and Blacksmith, a Culture Agency dedicated to forging company cultures that engage hearts and minds because its great for business. This is Part One of a two part post and is being published in full in theHRINZ Human Resource Magazine in December 2011.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.  It seems that a term that has sat dormant for the last few years, thanks to the impact of the GFC, is rearing its ugly head again.  It’s popped up in a number of business conversations I’ve had lately and in several business articles and pieces of research that have crossed my desk and mind. That term is none other than our old friend “the war for talent”.  Yes, ladies and gentleman – it seems that “the war for talent” is back and if the research I’ve been reading is correct – it looks like it’s here to stay and this time it means business.

A February 2011 research paper from Deloitte entitled ‘Talent Edge New Zealand – Getting the balance right’ says that a whopping 81% of respondents report at least moderate (people) shortages today that have some impact on business results, and 13% indicate these shortages are significant.  Our little friend received another mention with the latest ‘DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2011’ saying “The war for talent is back on with leaders realizing they will need to spend more time as talent managers.”

So what’s driving the “war for talent” that’s filtered up into our business conversations and literature over the last few months?  From my observations, the research indicates some of the same answers that were around when McKinsey & Company coined the term in 1997:

Increased pace of globalization and talent mobility

In their ‘Talent Watch First Quarter 2011 Report’ Bersin and Associates a global consulting firm say that globalization and expansion into new markets are now top of mind among business leaders. Thirty-six percent of respondents cite these as one of their top two priorities for the year.  And in a presentation given by PWC at a recent HRINZ session in Auckland – their research points to “an explosion of activity in emerging markets has contributed to a significant increase in the need for companies to move people and source talent from all around the world”.

Demographic change with New Zealand’s aging workforce

In reviewing Statistics New Zealand information on the net annual change in the New Zealand working age population from 1977 through to current day and forecasted out to 2050 the view is alarming.  From 2003 the net change in the New Zealand working age population (20-65 years) declines rapidly till 2025 when it is forecast to go into negative growth and remain there past 2050 where the research ends.  This combined with the fact that other bigger and richer economies such as Australia, Germany and China have similar working population trends means competition for talent is going to get much more intense.

Advancing technology and our changing relationship with work

The cloud is making it very easy to work anywhere, any time.  I can run my entire business from a web browser and if I had to from my iphone.   I no longer need to be in the same office, city or even country to get the job done.  Global recruitment guru, Kevin Wheeler, recently wrote a piece for ere.net entitled ‘The Changing Nature of Work, Employment and Recruiting’.  In his article, Kevin points to flexible working hours, multiple jobs and virtual work as some of the issues, paradoxes and changes shaping the future of our working lives.

Part Two coming soon!