Now is the Time to Assess Your Team’s Talent Needs

By Lyn Currie, Managing Director, Executive Search

One of the challenges of managing a team through a time of economic uncertainty is the concept of uncertainty itself – the sense of ambiguity can make it harder to push projects forward, create stress on teams and resources, and slow down talent acquisition efforts. But uncertain economic times also present an opportunity – to step back and assess your current talent needs and begin to recruit leaders who are well placed to drive growth and performance once the economic landscape improves.

1. Start by understanding your culture today and what you want your culture to be in the future.

There are a number of tools available to help organizations through this process – one great example is Waterstone’s Culturepreneur Operating System which is designed to help organizations assess, craft, measure, and transform their culture as part of a larger human capital management approach.

2. Do you have the right people on your team to get you to your ideal culture and drive performance?

A comprehensive talent assessment may reveal that you have gaps in your structure that need to be filled to ensure you’re ready to weather the economic storm and grow when things begin to turn around. You may also discover that you have the right people in the wrong seats and can use this opportunity to restructure in a way that supports career growth as well as performance and retention goals.

3. Do your people have the right leadership attributes to get your team to the next stage of growth and performance?

While these vary from company to company, traits like resilience, grit, flexibility, an innovative mindset, and the ability to be a team player and inspire others can be invaluable whether you’re looking to grow or to weather challenging times.

4. Do you have people on the team who can play multiple roles within the organization?

For example, people who can inspire the team, who can play a significant role in culture, or who want to get involved in leading committees or employee resource groups. Why hire a Chief Financial Officer who checks all the technical boxes when you can hire Chief Financial Officer who has all the technical skills but will also model engagement, bring energy into the organization, and demonstrate empathy and innovation?

5. Do you have succession plans in place for key roles within the organization?

Understanding who within your organization is best placed to step into a leadership role in the future, and making a development plan for them, is a core part of any talent assessment. And if there is no one internally, then creating a plan to identify, recruit and develop future leaders becomes a priority.

During uncertain economic times, many organizations step back from talent acquisition efforts. Instead, use this time to do a full talent needs assessment – you’ll be a step ahead of the competition and better placed to grow as that uncertainty settles.

At Waterstone Human Capital, we work with companies every day to help them assess and develop their people and culture. Schedule a meeting with one of our experts today and find out how we can help you attract and retain high-performance talent who will help you drive growth and success.