The acquisition of top talent and strategically placing highly-skilled workers within your organization is crucial to business growth and beating your competitors - but what happens when there is a skills shortage in your industry?

Unfortunately, this is the case for the large majority of sectors in the current working world, and it’s only set to get worse in the future.

In fact, according to global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry’s 2018 study, the United States faces a critical shortage of skilled workers that could cost the country $1.748 trillion in lost revenue by 2030 - the equivalent of 6 per cent of the country’s economy.

Writing in the report, Alan Guarino, Vice Chairman of Korn Ferry CEO and Board Services, said: “The right talent is the greatest competitive advantage there is for an organization - and that talent is getting scarcer every day.”

“Our study reveals that there already isn’t enough skilled talent to go around and by 2030, organizations and economies could find themselves in the grip of a talent crisis. In the face of such acute talent shortages, workforce planning and a comprehensive understanding of the talent pipeline are critical.”

It’s clear that organizations, no matter the size, need to implement new strategies that will give them better access to skilled workers and an edge over their competitors - but how? HCMWorks has listed our top five strategies here:

1 - Look in-house

One way to deal with a skilled shortage is to maximize your long list of talented workers that you already have working for your business. It can sometimes be much easier to upskill an existing employee who fits your company culture than finding a new employee that both has the required skills as well as the values to integrate into your organization.

This could involve giving your most talented workers new responsibilities, promoting those who are showing promise, creating a strategy to improve employee retention, as well as investing in employee training to create your very own talent pipeline.

2 - Change the way your skilled employees work

One of the most frequently overlooked ways of dealing with an industry skills shortage is getting the most out of your existing employees. By completely transforming the way your most talented individuals are currently working, you can optimize the way they work.

This transformation could include taking away daily manual administrative tasks from your skilled workers, and either hiring new staff to do that work or finding a way to automate it. This will free up your most valuable employees and allow them to maximize their time on the work that your company depends on.

3 - Offer a world-class workplace culture

A shortage in skilled workers means the very top talent in your industry now have the choice of which company to work for. Employees are not just looking at career development and remuneration, they are also seeking an enjoyable place to work where they can meet friends and enjoy coming into the office every single day.

By providing an environment that your employees (and contingent workers) enjoy, and that makes them feel valuable and indisposable, you’ll be able to hire top talent over your competitors and meet those all-important workforce targets.

4 - Transfer employees from different offices

Just like you can find in-house talent and train them, sometimes it’s beneficial for large organizations to transfer employees from different offices. If you work for a large enterprise, this could even involve transferring employees internationally.

By transferring employees from different departments and offices (who may not have as much as a need for them as your office), you’ll gain access to guaranteed talented workers who not only have a great understanding of your organization’s processes and values but who will also fit seamlessly into your company culture.

5 - Make use of the highly skilled gig economy

The best way to deal with the shortage in skilled workers is to make use of the ever-growing gig economy, and that means developing your very own contingent workforce - made up of non-permanent workers, freelancers, consultants and contractors.

Making up around 30-40 per cent of the entire US workforce, the gig economy can give your company access to highly-trained non-permanent workers that offer your business expertise, flexibility and the ability to fill workforce gaps at short notice.

Not sure how to optimize and manage your contingent workforce? A managed services provider (MSP) that specializes in the contingent workforce, such as HCMWorks, will be able to develop a plan for the unique needs of your business.

The result? Your business will be able to outmanoeuvre the shortage in skilled workers while saving money at the same time. To learn more contact our team of experts today.