The struggle to retain talent

Irish people are among the most highly educated in the world, and over 50 per cent of 25-34-year-olds have a third-level qualification.

A 2020 study from Swiss business school IMD - one of the leading business schools in the world – ranked Ireland as first in the world for attracting and retaining talent. Post-pandemic, however, and like many places around the world, companies are struggling to attract and retain top and specialised talent.

Joan McNaboe, who heads up the skills and labour market research team at further education and training agency SOLAS, says that there has been a continuous increase in demand for staff across a number of sectors, but particularly in ICT and finance.

“There are some vacancies and labour shortages, but the biggest issue for companies is in hiring highly-skilled staff,” McNaboe says. “The shortages are particularly acute in niche areas – for example, engineers with energy or pharma experience.”

Shay Walsh, managing director of BT Ireland, says that there is massive competition for skilled talent in areas like networking, security, unified communications, and all forms of cloud services. “There is a supply and demand issue locally, and there are some challenges such as availability of work visas for bringing talent from outside of Ireland into companies.”

Joanne Morrissey is human resources director at Microsoft, and she says that a digital transformation – long under way before Covid-19 but rapidly accelerated by the pandemic – has led to an increased demand for people with digital skills.

But while we can’t rest on our laurels, there is a good news story here.

Mary Clinton, project leader for financial services at pharmaceutical firm Pfizer, says that Ireland’s pro-business outlook, as well as a highly skilled and highly educated workforce, make it a competitive and attractive talent environment.

“Ireland’s welcoming and progressive culture aids in all aspects of talent retention,” Clinton says. “There are real strides being made in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, a key pillar of Pfizer’s ESG priority work. This cultural progressiveness, coupled with high standards of living and quality of life, all supported by a robust third-level education system and a government that is fully attuned to the needs of global businesses, create an environment ideal for the retention of top-end GBS talent.”

So, what can Ireland do to continue being a leader in attracting and retaining talent? Morrissey suggests that employers need to create an environment in which their current and future employees can thrive.

“In recent years we’ve placed a significant emphasis on building supportive structures for different employee life stages. We have an active and highly engaged diversity and inclusion council comprising of representatives from various groups such as disability, Microsoft parents and guardians, women, GLEAM (gay and lesbian at Microsoft) and other minority groups. This helps to inform our internal policies – listening to our employees’ needs and responding to them.”

Clinton says that the long history of high-performing indigenous and multinational companies in Ireland demonstrates that it is an attractive country for people to come and work in, and that innovation is key in attracting the right person to the right role.

“While some organisations focus solely on remuneration, we have observed a trend towards the provision of a ‘total rewards package’,” Clinton says. “This is a situation where new hires are seeking an improved work/life balance, the freedom and environment that allows them to do what they do best, and opportunities to continually develop and learn from new experiences. Also, for many colleagues,being part of a multinational company that has a very strong purpose in researching and developing new breakthrough medicines is a key attraction.”

Walsh says that we need to tap into our existing talent pool, particularly drawing in groups, such as disabled and neurodiverse people, who have traditionally been under-represented in the workforce.

“A major focal point for us is how do we broaden the pool with a diversity and inclusion lens on. We need to make sure we are attracting, developing, and retaining people from under-represented groups, and work collectively as employers and with [the] government on what is a common challenge we all have.

“In acknowledgment of this we recognise and value differing educational pathways, because we know that one size does not fit all learners and that it is a lifelong journey which is integral to our culture and values at BT. If you look at gender specifically we need more women and girls in our sector, because we know diverse teams are better teams. We’ve seen first-hand, as organisers of the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition, that girls outnumber boys in terms of project entries into the competition. The question is how we get girls and women to join us for careers in Stem,” asks Walsh.

Morrissey adds that improving digital skills will be key.

“According to the 2021 DESI Index only 53 per cent of our population has basic digital skills. That’s why we, at Microsoft, have placed a particular focus on helping people gain the digital skills they need to participate fully in society, while also creating the next generation of digital leaders.

“Microsoft have launched a global skills initiative aimed at bringing more digital skills to 25 million people worldwide by the end of the year. Here in Ireland over 6,000 people have engaged in our StepIn2Tech programme, which has helped workers who lost their jobs during the pandemic in retail, hospitality, tourism and other sectors to reset their career aspirations and pursue new career opportunities in the digital economy,” she says.