Is there still a war on talent?

67% of employers believe that there is still a war for talent, 23% feel that there isn’t, with 10% undecided.

If we take it that almost 100% of people would have believed there was a war for talent 12 months ago and only 67% today, it shows a distinct shift in opinion, but not as dramatic a shift as would have been expected. However, the Brightwater Group agrees with the survey results; in most disciplines, it is still very difficult to recruit the key people.

In a recession there is more unemployment (currently 6.3%) with predictions it may rise to as much as 9%, but the truth is that all the best people in their fields are working. When people are talking about a ‘war for talent’, they are talking about the top 9% - and even those few key people that are made redundant soon find work again.

Attracting, remunerating and retaining the key people can in fact be harder now than it was a year ago. Less people are willing to move for fear of the unknown in a changing marketplace – and even when it comes to offer stage, we have found more people accepting counter-offers, or changing their minds than we had before.

So, is there still a war for talent? Definitely! It’s just that during uncertain economic times, there are less Clients chasing those few key people at any one time.