Michael Eger
Partner, European Transformation Team
Integrated talent strategies
The future of work agenda has employers rethinking the employer/employee relationship, pioneering new workplace and workforce design, and creating differentiated employee experiences.
Talent strategy challenges
- Attracting, developing and retaining talent for the most critical roles in the company
- Growing competition and changing talent expectations
- Combining business and people priorities, with the talent experience at the centre
- Assessing and understanding the people and skills we have now and preparing for what we will need in the future
- Upskilling and reskilling the workforce to address significant business challenges
- Rethinking how to prioritise talent related to automation, AI and other digital forces
- Understanding what different employee populations expect from us
Craft a future-focused talent strategy
Today’s organisations face unprecedented pressure to reskill and redeploy talent to stay competitive. A more diverse demographic profile, digital ways of working and shifting expectations are reshaping the future of work. These forces demand a rethink of how organisations prepare to attract, develop and retain talent for the most critical roles needed now and in the future. The right talent creates innovative cultures within a company and thus can attract more of the best talent.
An effective talent management strategy helps to:
- Transform the organisation and work design into a simpler, more agile structure, moving away from a traditional multilayered organisation
- Identify the levers needed to address and solve people-centred challenges
- Align innovative technology and skills to transform the workplace
- Balance the strategic business and workforce strategies with operational implementation
Future-proof your organisation by closing the readiness gap and addressing the people impact
34%
of employees expect AI or automation will improve their employee experience by making positive changes to their workload.
46%
of employees expect their company will teach them the needed skills if their job changes due to AI or automation.
Create an impactful talent strategy
With an ever-evolving operational environment posing new challenges in redefining work, flexible arrangements and emerging to a post-pandemic world, organisations — now, more than ever — need to reset their talent priorities with a refreshed strategy.
These five key questions are crucial to consider during a talent management strategy refresh:
- What is the best framework for activating our organisation’s business strategy through the lens of human capital?
- How is our organisation’s talent distributed across critical demographics, and what is the projection for the future?
- What external talent forces need to be considered as we think about their impact on our workforce?
- What is our view on how work will be redefined to deliver responsibilities within increasingly agile frameworks?
- How do we ensure diversity, equity and inclusion are woven into our end-to-end value proposition?
Talent strategies prioritise future workforce needs
The last several years saw accelerated conversations about the future of work, transforming decades of thinking on work automation and flexibility into action. This shift presents an opportunity to renew talent management strategies and prepare your business for future success.
65%
of executives say that their organisation needs to be more digital than it is today.
54%
of executives believe that their businesses will not survive beyond 2030 without embracing AI at scale.
48%
of HR leaders see skills shortages as a top threat to their business this year.
Our talent strategy framework
Mercer is uniquely positioned to deliver value through talent segmentation and engagement by building synergy between people and technology. Let us help you reimagine how talent can be connected to work. Our talent strategy framework balances the business and people impacts with the talent experience.
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Business impact
includes the internal and external factors that shape an organisation and its people and capability needs. Excellent talent management tangibly supports business objectives and strategies. -
People impact
concerns user/target group needs and preferences. Excellent talent management delivers on employee expectations, which is also measurable through engagement and performance. -
Talent experience
aggregates the experiences of everyone in an organisation. It concerns talent management touchpoints and processes within a talent framework that caters to the interests of both the business and the people.
Bringing the talent management framework to life
Bringing a talent management strategy to life requires a multidimensional implementation approach to address strategy and purpose, organisation and roles, services and processes, and culture and leadership. At the heart of the talent strategy, and involved at every step, is the talent experience.
Four areas of talent experience that have an impact on both the business and its people
Circular image showing the connected areas of the talent experience that have both a business and people impact. The four areas are Strategy and purpose, Services and processes, Culture and leadership, and organisation and roles.
Strategy and purpose
- Tangible value for the business
- Holistic workforce planning and derivation of priorities and measures
- Focus on critical target groups
- Future-oriented decisions
Services and processes
- Talent strategy as basis for target-group offerings and services
- Engaging platforms and formats
- Connected talent services along the employee lifecycle
- Smart integration of technology
Organisation and roles
- Talent management roles based on business and people needs
- Clear and purposeful distribution of responsibilities and tasks
- Sensible interaction and connections
- Active involvement of the business
Culture and leadership
- Inclusive communication, dialogue and enablement
- Transparent communication on opportunities and expectations
- Aligned leadership mindset
- Empowerment of employees
Introducing our talent strategy team
Paul Habgood
Partner, Workforce Transformation
Raphaele Nicaud
Partner, Talent Solutions Leader Europe
Nicole Peichl
Partner, Mercer Promerit
