By Laurie Dillman

As the struggle to recruit top talent builds on a global scale, organizations are realizing that more and more of the most talented candidates are becoming entrepreneurs because of the available opportunities.  Not only are organizations competing with one another for talented candidates, they are competing with the candidates themselves. 

Does this mean that a natural shift in organizational structure is looming? 

With the impending labor shortage in Canada, will there be enough candidates to go around, even on a temporary basis?   By having a healthy respect for the needs and desires of Generation Y, your organization can emerge triumphant in this talent tug-o-war.

In order to mitigate some of the labor shortage problems that organizations will be facing, the government of Canada is attempting to help Canadian businesses identify which job sectors are hiring and which sectors are likely to experience growth in the future.  You will find this information here.

In theory, this is a great plan because it is explorative in nature; however, unless a majority of businesses, including entrepreneurs, subscribe to this initiative, there is no way to truly understand the employment needs of every business in every market sector.  Moreover, with each new technological advance being made, older products become unnecessary, and markets can become extinct overnight, thereby, radically impacting labor demands. 

So, are we getting to an age where organizations will be forced to “do more with less”; is this what we have been training for since the Industrial Revolution? 

Our mission—if we choose to accept it, is to recognize the needs of Generation Y by participating in opportunities for sharing industry information that the government is providing us; in addition, we need to gather all of the relevant information we can get our hands on from industry SME’s and bring it into the boardroom.  This information is essential to creating strategies that speak to the future now; according to Statistics Canada by the year 2030 over 75% of the workforce will be represented by Generation Y.

So, what does your organization’s strategy look like from all angles? Here are a few questions well worth considering:

• Does your business plan anticipate new laws and regulations around the concepts of social media, electronic documents, independent contractors, and proprietary rights?
• What are you expecting to spend on future wages?
• How will increases to the cost of living drive up the cost of doing business for your organization?
• How will the inevitable cultural shift from increased immigration affect your organization?
• As social norms begin to change will your organization be prepared to accept and foster them regardless of legislative demands?
• Does your organization anticipate that future employees will have more or less expectations regarding their cultural requirements?
• Has someone from your firm initiated a discussion about employee partnerships?

When one considers the global emphasis on idea generation through increasing competition and the massive amount of research and development going on in every country of the world, it is impossible to estimate the thousands of technological advances that will be made over the next ten years.   However, by understanding this truth and realizing that the next generation is tuned in to this global phenomenon your organization will be in a better position to effectively leverage this knowledge and to build an outstanding forecasting strategy.

Remember that as global competition increases, so will great opportunities, and, thanks to the internet, the future of business is no longer measured in months and years, it is measured in milliseconds.  Generation Y understands this trend; that is why they are always on the lookout for new employment opportunities. 

It is also why, without a talent retention strategy, the average time frame you should plan to employ a Generation Y candidate is roughly about two years. 

Laurie Dillman is a value driven HR generalist who is passionate about life. Currently she is a Human Resources freelancer living in the City of Prince George, BC. She would enjoy hearing your comments and ideas about performance feedback. You can find her on LinkedIn or at dillman@telus.net.