A new survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) helps to illustrate what many in the talent management industry have been saying for some time: In a flat world, the ability to find and retain top talent is foremost among the challenges faced by global companies.
Indeed. Many of the world’s largest and most successful companies are working feverishly to update business processes and implement technology systems that support an economy where talent management has no borders. Among the Global 2000 companies, there appears to be little doubt that the old methods of recruiting and retaining key staff are ill-suited to today’s global business environment.
Steve Rimmer, PwC partner in the Human Resource Services practice, apparently agrees: "Almost one-third of these U.S. respondents also expect to use a language other than their own in the workplace. Employers seeking to attract and retain these highly capable employees will need to take these types of expectations into account."
Karen Vander Linde, a partner in the Advisory practice at PwC, drives the point home when she says, “The global economy is shaping expectations of the future workforce."
As if on cue, two Global 2000 companies this week signed long-term commitments to extend and expand their use of Workstream’s advanced talent management software systems, and a third Global 2000 company with significant operations in Southeast Asia signed a similar agreement.
These deals underscore the critical role technology is playing in helping growing companies manage talent on a global scale, and Workstream is a prime example of that trend. Today, Workstream solutions are used by dozens of global businesses and hundreds of thousands of employees internationally, and its latest software release provides support for 10 languages and multiple currencies out-of-the-box.
In a flat world with many open markets, enhanced communications and an increasingly educated global workforce, leading companies will implement cutting-edge talent management systems first. In the race for talent, now is the wrong time to be on the outside of this trend looking in.
