What every shrewd e-learning & professional development CMO should know about the talent crunch

Employers are having a hard time finding the right people to fill jobs despite high unemployment in Europe and the US, a survey by U.S., based staffing firm Manpower revealed on February 20th 2008.

Manpower CEO and Chairman, Jeffrey Joerres said in a statement that; “The talent shortage is becoming a reality for a large number of employees around the world.

In this article, I will give CMOs four strategies they can put in place now, to help them prepare for the talent shortage and prosper in 2009 and beyond.

The talent crunch is NOT a trend – it’s here to stay – for decades

“The talent crunch is not a cyclical trend, as we have experienced in the past, this time the crunch is real, and it’s going to last for decades” says Manpower CEO, Joerres.

With that said, you’d think companies were rallying around working hard to figure out how they can get ready for the looming talent crunch. But this is not the case, most companies are still putting their heads in the sand, thinking it won’t effect them.

True, some companies will be effected more than others. But the fact still remains; baby boomers are leaving the work force, however slowly, and we don’t have enough talented young people to replace them.

A Boston firm recently surveyed 2,900 HR people and found that only one-third were confident that they had enough talent in the pipeline to keep their businesses humming as boomers bow out. There is less management bench strength than at any time in history, they said.

Understand how it effects your balance sheet

Manpower, CEO says; “In 10 years’ time, many businesses will go under because they failed to plan ahead of time for the talent shortage and will be unable to find the people they need to run their businesses.”

But by getting a firm grip on what’s happening in the marketplace, following company triggers. CMOs are in a better position to set in place, razor sharp marketing tactics, ambitious sales goals and set prudent marketing budgets.

The data they collect will be invaluable when planning present and future campaigns, because they can prepare for the inevitable client base fall-out.

Cutting costs doesn’t mean reducing marketing campaign costs

In fact, this is the perfect time to beef up marketing campaigns. As many companies reduce all costs, including their marketing budgets. This will leave the flood gates open for CMOs to crank-up their marketing efforts in the hopes of grasping those all important new accounts.

Client retention is key to survival

While winning new clients is fun and exciting, retaining old clients is just as important.

As the marketplace shrinks, and companies go under, winning new clients is going to become tougher and tougher, so holding onto those all important clients – hard won, will make more and more good business sense.

So while many companies, in the days to come, will flounder and watch in horror, as their accounts disappear into thin air; due to lack of preparation and for not considering customer loyalty important.

Smart CMOs, will be winning bigger market share by consistently building customer loyalty into their marketing mix, while continuing to build their client base.

In conclusion: To survive and thrive in 2009 and beyond, smart CMOs understand that the crisis is not a trend, they appreciate how the talent crunch affects their clients and their marketplace; by boosting their marketing campaigns NOT reducing them and putting client loyalty first.