The Great Resignation has helped employees in more ways than one. Apart from the usual better salary bargaining power and flexible working conditions, they are being taken far more seriously at workplaces. Bosses are not being able to 'let go' of employees easily, more so if the staff is not just knowledgeable but brings cognitive skills like creativity and critical thinking to the table.

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The global talent shortage has reached a 16-year-high, with three in four employers facing difficulty in finding the talent they need, according to ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey for the July to September quarter.

What is the “right talent”?

Even as IT skills are one of the most sought after, what recruiters are also increasingly looking for is the perfect mix of soft skills because “as every aspect of life becomes more tech-enabled, human strengths stand out in the digital age,” the report says.

The top 5 soft skills that organisations have difficulty finding:

Creativity and originality

Critical thinking and analytical

Reasoning and problem-solving

Leadership and social influence

Initiative taking

In India, there is a positive hiring sentiment across sectors, Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India, said, adding, "We are, however, faced with an unprecedented demand-supply gap as indicated by our Talent Shortage Survey. Reskilling and upskilling the workforce to mitigate this gap should be the highest priority for employers and industry players like us.”

Also Read: 60% employees are ready to take a pay cut for better office culture and work-life balance

According to the survey, 81 percent of employees expect training programmes from their employers to help keep skills up to date.

What must companies do to retain talent

ManpowerGroup believes that an effective talent strategy should comprise a mix of four key elements:

Build: Invest in learning and development to grow your talent pipeline

Buy: Go to the external market to attract talent that can’t be built in-house

Borrow: Cultivate communities of talent outside the organisation

Bridge: Help people move on or move up to new roles within an organisation

Also Read: Employers feel inflation heat in May and IT hiring slows, shows survey

Meanwhile, earlier this month, Michael Page, in its report The GreatX, said there had been a rise of "soft motivators" influencing candidates' decisions on where to work. “To attract and retain talent, companies can no longer think of 'soft' motivators as nice-to-haves, but as factors that would give them a crucial edge over competitors in the war for talent,” it said.

These motivators include aspects like salary/bonus/rewards, company culture and value, a sense of purpose, leadership, company brand, promotion, flexible working arrangements, office location, technology provided, and environmental stability.

Also Read: Employees' bargaining power in Indian organised job market here to stay for a few more months