Lateral hiring ‘companies’ best weapon’ for talent retention

Employee Incentives & Loyalty and Marketing News: Lateral hiring ‘companies’ best weapon’ for talent retention

Ensuring employees are in the right roles will be the biggest opportunity for businesses in the immediate future according to a poll of over 3,000 senior HR professionals carried out by Alexander Mann Solutions. In its survey, the global talent acquisition and management specialist found that 25% of senior HR professionals believe that improving lateral hiring internally will serve as companies’ best weapon for talent retention in the immediate future.

These statistics increase significantly when considering sectors which are already experiencing skills shortages. For sectors such as investment banking, energy, and healthcare, where creating effective talent pipelines is more challenging, figures rise to 36%, 50% and 86% respectively.

These findings mirror a recent report by PwC, Talent Mobility 2020, which revealed that only 30% of CEOs have the talent they need to fulfil their future growth ambitions, and in their efforts to address the talent challenge, leaders are increasingly choosing to integrate HR, talent and succession planning, and internal mobility programmes.

Lisa Forrest, Global Head of Internal Talent Acquisition at Alexander Mann Solutions, comments;
“With very high attrition rates in many regions, retaining talent has become a priority for senior HRprofessionals and CEOs alike. However, it is certainly positive to see that CEOs are recognising that their existing pipelines are not sufficient enough to fulfil their future growth plans and are reviewing how lateral hiring fits within wider talent and succession plans. When you consider the highly-competitive, globalised landscape in which we operate, effective internal mobility strategies must be not only proactive, but also aligned with business objectives and the wider HR function, if they are to provide genuinely measurable success.”

Highlighting the benefits of redeploying employees, Lisa adds:

“While there may be some reluctance to let employees go from specific managers or departments, redeploying individuals, either to different regions or business areas, is one way to really gain an advantage over the competition. The opportunity to move laterally within an organisation is now recognised as a key element in attracting, engaging and retaining talent and according to PwC this is particularly true of the millennial generation with 71% revealing that they want- and expect – the opportunity to work internationally in their careers.”

“It’s crucial that organisations acknowledge that employees will, at some point, look for a change in their career. When they reach this point, HR professionals need to be able to consider opportunities to redeploy them within the organisation, as to preventing top talent from migrating to another employer. The use of predictive analytics, which uses algorithms to pre-empt such desires to move, can be particularly effective in identifying potential new roles that even the most diligent human recruiter might overlook.”

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