RPO and Talent Management Blog by Ochre House | Ochre Talk

Emerging Talent: how will your organisation find its own Bilbo Baggins in 2013? (Part 2)

In my previous blog I looked at how the wizard Gandalf’s recruitment of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, for an adventure might inspire us to challenge accepted recruitment practice when taking a fresh look at our emerging talent programmes this year.

In this piece I want to focus on what JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit might have to say to us about the benefits of embracing diversity because with high youth unemployment across much of Europe, skills shortages in technical areas, an expanding pool of well-qualified talent in emerging markets, increasing global connectedness via social media, rising UK university tuition fees, and a seemingly ever expanding suite of qualifications being offered by candidates – to name but a few issues – forward thinking organisations will surely want to ensure their emerging talent strategy has that special touch of magic to attract and retain the best. This will mean embracing diversity like never before.

It is perhaps a universal truth that we tend to perform better when we feel we are valued and our individual contributions are appreciated. I know I’ve always valued working in organisations that recognise the benefits of a diverse workforce.  Emerging talent is particularly fully immersed in what could be termed our iWorld. For me the ‘i’ represents both the multitude of mobile technologies which enable us to connect and engage with each other, as well as the way products and services are increasingly customised for the individual – it is all about personal choice and the creation of a society where there is real interconnectedness and where each of us as individuals can make a difference.  The challenge is, therefore, to ensure your organisation understands that true diversity is about valuing all characteristics that define each person and that it goes far beyond what might be mandated by legislation or government targets to do with issues like race, gender and age.

Diversity in organisations today should reflect this broader concept that encompasses not just who we are but what – and how and where – we’ve learned, along with what our strengths and weaknesses are. There is plenty of research to support the fact that embedding diversity in an organisation’s working culture enhances market competitiveness, not least of all because it brings new perspectives and ideas and contributes to improved corporate reputation across a wider group of potential customers and employees. So, ask yourself the questions:

• How could we better embed diversity in our emerging talent programme’s actions and words?
• Are we harnessing the knowledge and creative energy of our diverse workforce well enough?

I suppose what I’m saying is that following Gandalf’s lead and recruiting a hobbit to a team of dwarves should not be just because it ticks a diversity box, but rather because all involved have a real understanding that a hobbit’s particular skills, experience and view of the world will enhance the overall performance of the team!

What’s your top tip for embracing diversity in emerging talent recruitment?

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1. Emerging Talent: how will your organisation find its own Bilbo Baggins in 2013? (Part 3) @ RPO and Talent Management Blog by Ochre House | Ochre Talk says:

   January 23, 2013 at 11:40 am

   [...] of emerging talent to look in unfamiliar places (part 1) and to embrace diversity like never before (part 2). In this final part of the trilogy I am looking at how Bilbo Baggins’ adventures can remind us of [...]