Hiring and retaining a skilled workforce can be challenging for businesses. It seems there is a labour skills shortage, even before the pandemic. This article showed that organizations would see a worldwide labour shortage of about 4.3 million workers in the tech, media, and telecommunications sectors alone.
The talent gap is stalling digital transformation
According to the article mentioned above, the move to digital transformation is stalling a lot of organizations out there. As the marketplace moves into the digital world, businesses must transform and roll with it. If they can’t move forward due to a skills gap in the labour market, they’ll get left behind. Business owners need to find new talent fast. If this is you – are you still fishing in the same pond and coming up with nothing?
Diversity is the key
Try fishing in a bigger pond. Minority groups, including ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, and even women in male-dominated sectors, can be the missing pieces in the puzzle. For example, when Dell launched a new hiring program for people with autism, they could expand the talent pool. It included an internship program and job coaching for selected candidates. As a result, the hiring program was very successful.
This study showed that company cultures with gender diversity are 21% more likely to have financial returns above industry standards. And they’re 33% more likely to have financial returns with an ethnically diverse workforce. So there are many business benefits to hiring a diverse workforce!
People want to work for companies that embrace diversity
When people work in an inclusive culture, they can feel connected to the company. In addition, diverse employee teams have boosted morale, productivity, and work performance. By hiring a diverse workforce, you’ll tap into a much larger labour pool and will be able to find the talent needed. Plus, with that range of skills, ideas, and engagement, you’ll see an increase in your bottom line and employees staying for the long term.
