Finding potential managers is becoming more difficult than finding skilled workers

While many companies have reported a shortage of skilled workers to date, the next shortage is looming, especially among the next generation of managers. The background to this varies from region to region. And so must the way they deal with this problem. This is the result of a worldwide survey conducted by Korn Ferry Futurestep.

Young leadership talent threatens to dry up

Especially in the South American and Asian regions, young people have been promoted very quickly in recent years to lower- to mid-level managers, some of whom now lack the necessary experience and skills to take the next step up to higher levels as department or division managers, notes Jan Müller, responsible for Korn Ferry Futurestep's business in EMEA. "In particular, they have not been sufficiently trained in managing employees. There is a lot of catching up to do here."

At 27 percent, European HR bosses have also declared the lack of leadership talent to be the greatest challenge for their company. Jan Müller says: "In Germany in particular, the first and second levels are filled with very competent managers, and in many cases successors already exist for top positions. It is becoming more difficult to fill this succession pipeline, as fewer and fewer candidates are coming up. This makes it all the more important for companies to uncover the potential of young employees and develop them specifically into middle management - and retain them in the long term. Otherwise, there is a risk of not having enough management trainees available in a few years." The situation is likely to be similar in Switzerland, where certain sectors, such as the construction industry, are already complaining about the lack of young managers. However, the reason for this is still seen in the lack of interest in construction professions among school leavers.

All industries fight for the same top talent

While it used to be a knighthood for IT professionals to work for a leading software group, for business economists as investment bankers or management consultants, and for engineers in industry, such a sectoral division can no longer be made today. "Everyone is fighting for the same talent," says Jan Müller. "This includes not only specialists such as data scientists or cyber security specialists, but also the best engineers, business people or sales specialists." And so, in the same study, 22 percent of the HR executives surveyed in Europe said they were looking primarily for sales specialists with a technical background - making them the most sought-after candidates on the job market.

"That's why companies today are taking ever greater risks in radically changing their brand core and thus their culture," says Jan Müller. "Automobile manufacturers are focusing on swarm, jeans and service, management consultancies are increasingly mutating into digitization specialists, and IT groups are hiring classic mechanical engineers. That didn't exist to the extent it did five years ago - and today it's a competition that's becoming increasingly global."

Retention of talent becomes a key criterion for HR success

This makes it all the more important to retain and develop talent over the long term once it has been recruited. It is true that the speed at which a vacancy can be filled is still the most important success criterion for recruiters. That's according to 63 percent of respondents in Europe. But this is followed by the length of time the talent stays (51 percent) and the success of the respective candidates in their job after 18 months (42 percent).

"What's the point of filling a position quickly, but then it's gone just as quickly?" says Jan Müller. "HR bosses need to check that their target systems are properly calibrated: Recruiting new employees is a process that can become very expensive due to direct and indirect costs. Accordingly, it must be in the interest of companies to retain the employees they have hired at great expense over the long term. This requires individual programs and a long-term development and option corridor that gives young people the opportunity to constantly learn new things and be allowed to reinvent themselves again and again. And that in the same company."

The study can be viewed on the Internet at:

http://www.kornferry.com/the-talent-forecast/the-talent-forecast