The talent pool is changing. At one end, baby boomers are dog paddling. At the other end Gen Yers are dangling their feet in the water, and in the middle a small group of Gen Xers are diving for coins. Sound familiar? If it doesn’t now, wait a few years when many of the 78 million boomers hit retirement age.

You are not alone if you’re having difficulty finding highly qualified people to fill strategic positions.

Unfortunately, it’s not déjà vu (remember the late 1990s?), and the trend is expected to continue. The United States workforce is aging and shrinking as baby boomers retire and there aren’t enough younger workers to fill the gap. As a result, you may be at risk for losing a strong base of experienced middle managers and supervisors. Because the talent pool is more diverse than ever, comprised of three very distinct generations, it’s time to adapt your recruiting strategy to suit the market. Here are 10 simple steps you can start taking now.

1. Be proactive

Create a talent pipeline and keep it full of qualified job candidates—even if you do not have current hiring needs. And because quality professionals are not looking for work, you have to go looking for them. This is especially true for young talent.

2. Know your talent pool

When you go looking for talent, go prepared. Understand who your target candidates are and what motivates them. Baby boomers are not receptive to the same things that Gen Xers are, which differs from what Gen Yers want.

3. Get on the fast track

Everything is moving at a faster speed, thanks to the Internet, tech-savvy recruits and a competitive market. You can lose candidates if your hiring process is slowed by too much bureaucracy. Shorten your hiring cycle and make an offer before your competitors do.

4. Develop a system

To beat the competition in the war for talent, you need to manage your candidate flow. By creating specific, clear job postings and a streamlined testing and interviewing process, you can reduce the number of unqualified candidates and increase your chance of making the right hire quickly.

5. Don’t depend on technology

The Internet may help you find quality, but it won’t necessarily bring you quality. Finding the “needle in the haystack” before the competition is impossible without screening tools to filter out the unqualified. Also, don’t overlook partnering with local businesses and services. Sometimes the best candidates are in your own backyard.

6. Keep it high touch

Behind the technology you need a well-armed recruitment organization that can articulate a compelling vision and reason why the candidate should choose to work for your company. Gen Yers especially crave–and expect–interaction and personal attention throughout the hiring process.

7. Dig a bigger pool

Promote diversity and reach out to groups that may have been overlooked in the past, including people with disabilities and older workers. To accommodate changing needs, tap into nontraditional sources—temporary, contract, consultant and outsourced workers. To create a pool of backup reserves, encourage baby boomers to stay on to share their knowledge and provide training.

8. Build relationships

A reactionary approach will not work in a severe talent shortage. Relationships with quality professionals need to be established today if you want to bring them on board tomorrow. Younger generations expect open, honest communication and high level of engagement. Give it to them now and you have won them over before the hiring process begins.

9. Rethink your compensation plan

Wages tend to rise during periods of economic growth, often appearing first in new hire compensation. Understandably, you don’t want to increase your costs. But in a competitive market where young workers expect high pay and lots of perks, you’ll need to boost your incentives in order to attract and retain top talent.

10. Embrace change

You’ve heard it before: To stay on top of your game, your company needs to continually reinvent itself. The same is true when it comes to recruiting and retaining top talent. New generations of workers are looking for companies with flatter structures, more employee involvement and continuous learning and development opportunities. Retiring baby boomers are looking for companies that can offer them less time-consuming, less stressful roles and, in some cases retraining. Every generation wants a strong work/life balance, more flexibility and meaningful work.

According to the landmark “War for Talent” study conducted by the management consultant firm McKinsey & Company, the most important corporate resource through the next decade will be talent. That means your company may need to loosen up—to change its structure and operation in order to become an employer of choice.

Three generations: Which one works for you?

Baby boomers

• Born: 1946 to 1964

• Size: 78 million

• Strengths: strong work ethic; loyal; dedicated; team-oriented

• Requirements: job stability; flexible schedule; extra income; sense of purpose

Generation X

• Born: 1965 to 1979

• Size: 45 million

• Strengths: highly educated; high-tech; adaptable; independent

• Requirements: work/life balance; high pay; recognition; continuous learning; engagement

Generation Y

• Born: 1980 to 2000

• Size: 70 million

• Strengths: more technically savvy than Gen X; adaptable; confident

• Requirements: work/life balance; high pay; recognition; feedback; self-development; engagement

		Linn Back is an affiliate owner at Westaff, which has offices in Lansing, Owosso and Grand Rapids. Westaff provides temporary and temporary-to-permanent staffing, professional permanent placement, behavioral and skills employment testing, and employment and background verification checks.