A recent study reveals global talent shortage could threaten business growth around the world

There have been various studies around talent shortages and the war for talent over the past few years. More recently, the heavy focus on the "employee experience" has been prompted by the ongoing competition for top talent that companies find themselves engaged in. With increasingly positive global economic activity and low unemployment rates, talent is one of the biggest concern for CEOs! 

Reference a couple of our other posts for reminders on the situation:

The Fight for U.S. Talent

Winners and losers in the war for talent

Now enter Korn Ferry's newly released study entitled the "Global Talent Crunch." This study proposes that the biggest challenge is not that robots will be taking jobs away from people, but rather there aren't enough humans available. The study finds that by 2030, there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people, or roughly equivalent to the population of Germany. Left unchecked, in 2030 that talent shortage could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues. 

The study revealed some interesting things at the country level too:

• Developed markets will be hardest hit by imminent talent shortages.
• Australia, France, Germany, Japan and the U.S. face the largest threat, with a combined opportunity cost of $1.876 trillion in annual revenues by 2020.
• The U.S. faces a critical shortage of skilled workers that is set to worsen. It could leave $1.748 trillion of annual revenue on the table by 2030 - equivalent to six percent of the country’s economy.
• India is the only economy in the study maintaining a talent surplus in 2025 and 2030. 

Alan Guarino, vice chairman and Korn Ferry CEO explains that, "The right talent is the greatest competitive advantage there is for an organization - and that talent is getting scarcer every day. Our study reveals that there already isn’t enough skilled talent to go around and by 2030, organizations and economies could find themselves in the grip of a talent crisis. In the face of such acute talent shortages, workforce planning and a comprehensive understanding of the talent pipeline are critical.”

Consider what this means for your business and global mobility program. Our hunch is that talent mobility can play an even greater role in supporting the company's key business and talent initiatives.

For a deeper dive into the topic, read our newest white paper:  "Get ready for the great talent face-off."