An increase in specific talent shortages is set to make talent retention a greater priority for companies, but people's increasing willingness to change jobs is only making it harder to do so.
The issue will be the main topic that will be discussed in the Foundation for Human Resources Development's annual conference tomorrow, whose topic will be "Talent retention; turnover into tenure."
Statistics indicate that job turnover is on the increase, at least in developed economies.
US Department of Labor estimates, for instance, show that today's student is likely to have had 10-14 jobs by the age of 38. A quarter of workers have been with their current employer for less than a year, whereas half have remained in the same company for less than five years.
A recent survey by WorldatWork, a US-based non-profit human resources association, shows that in the western world, 20% of employees plan to look for a new job within two years, and another 20% plan to do so within five years.
Job turnover comes at a financial cost, estimated to range from 50 to 200% of an employee's annual salary. But according to Marvin Cuschieri, it may cause problems that go far deeper than a simple additional expense.
"Losing top talent is painful. It reduces a company's stock of assets and often affects team morale, customer relationships and technical expertise," Mr Cuschieri observes.
"It is no secret that in today's economy, talent is the most strategic asset, and people are the greatest creator of value."
What complicates matters further is the fact that in many sectors, finding people with the right skills is becoming increasingly difficult. While jobs are becoming increasingly specialised, global competition for talent and educational systems are struggling to keep up with the demands of businesses, and few companies can claim to have an adequate supply of talent and a high-quality, engaged workforce.
"Specific talent shortages will increase in the next few years, in the process limiting the ability of companies to expand and in turn, jeopardising their own chances of survival," Mr Cuschieri explains.
According to a survey by ManPower Group, 36% of global employers find it difficult to find candidates with the right skills, and more than half believe that this affects their ability to meet the needs of their clients. By 2020, it is estimated that there will be 38-40 million fewer workers with tertiary education than employers will need, representing 13% of global demand for such workers.
And according to Mr Cuschieri, "when it comes to talent retention in Malta, some aspects are all the more intensified."
"While the single market has opened Malta's employers to a wider pool of talent, job mobility within the EU remains low. Sectors such as the financial services, back-office work, aviation, computer gaming and online betting have faced a number of skills shortages. Malta's growth over the past few years has created a situation of significant skills mismatch. This is being highlighted every time in local industry specific fora," he adds.
All this, ultimately, makes retaining talent an even greater priority for companies: the issue is how to do so.
"In order to attract, retain and engage their employees, organisations need to think about developing a sustainable employee value proposition that is flexible and constantly updated," Mr Cuschieri maintains.
"Efforts such as the introduction of organisation-wide reward programmes with different strata, business-centred leadership programmes that are tied to companies' stratagems and more emphasis on performance management and employee learning and development should assist entities in nurturing their internal talent."
FHRD's 2014 conference is being held at the Radisson Blu Golden Sands tomorrow, with registration starting at 8:30am. The Malta Business Weekly is an event partner.