Source Smart: The Deck is Stacked in favor of the “Skilled” Worker

We’ve all heard the stories about how hard it is to get talent and how there’s a war raging for these qualified professionals. The take-away from this is the word qualified. Qualified professionals have their pick of jobs globally and are looking for very specific opportunities. And really, it’s not just about the money.

Here’s what a staffing industry consultant told me recently as we discussed the skill shortage. Individual X – an IT programmer/manager — is working for Google in India earning $200,000+ annually. The company told him if he wanted to develop his career further, he would need to come back to headquarters, in Mountain View, Calif. The individual looked around, quit Google, and got a better-paying job through word of mouth with a retail firm in India.

He didn’t want to move out of the country and didn’t have to. There are many other similar tales pointing to an evolving pattern. Skilled workers are holding the cards.

The real story is that these professionals have choices. They can command salaries, locale and the type of work they want to do. Where does that leave you? You have to source smart. Understand that despite the economy, companies and their staffing firms need to understand the power of the brand and be open to different work arrangements. Positioning your organization to effectively compete for global talent has to be done strategically.

We discuss all this and more at our first ever CWS Summit in Singapore 14th and 15th of November. This is a great opportunity for buyers of contingent labor to understand the talent markets in Asia and Australasia. Attend the different sessions and learn from our experts who address how they cope with these complex issues.