Talent Attraction and Retention

Business and talent attraction and retention are inextricably linked.  Each is required to sustain and grow our economy.  Attract the right jobs and we will attract the talent, and equally true, attract top talent and we will attract the jobs.

With changing demographics at our door, and brain drain a reality, a priority of the Milwaukee 7 is to attract and retain world-class talent to the region.  

The statistics are daunting but not insurmountable.  Using Census data, U.S. employers can expect a 10 million worker shortage by 2008 as Baby Boomers begin to retire with a replacement pool of nearly half the size; and a workforce composition reaching 70% women and people of color by 2010 as the talent base diversifies.

The 2005 Young Professionals of Milwaukee/IDEAL Recruit-Ability study brought the reality home when 99 employers in the region were surveyed.  They reported they will need to hire nearly 26,000 workers by 2008 to fill vacant Boomer positions and grow their operations.  

The retiring talent pool will affect all levels within the workforce from the shop floor to the executive suite.  RHR International, a global performance consultant, is reporting America’s 500 biggest companies will lose half their senior managers in the next five years.  Locally, the recent Milwaukee 7 Business Call Program has identified skilled workers as a critical workforce challenge along with recruiting and retaining talent.

The region is also experiencing brain drain of its young, college educated.  According to the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, we currently add 1,800 young professionals annually, but need to add 5,300 annually to compete.

To address the priority of talent attraction and retention, a regional talent strategy has been developed that builds on the success of MMAC’s Young Professionals of Milwaukee (YPM) and Racine’s Young Professionals, along with foundational work from IDEAL – the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Institute for Diversity.

On February 1, 2007, YPM re-launched under the new name of FUEL Milwaukee.  
FUEL is the leading organization addressing the talent attraction and retention work of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce for the Milwaukee 7 regional effort.

Its new mission – to position and establish the Milwaukee Region as the region of choice for world-class talent – is being backed by executive human resource professionals and their employers from around the region.

With the image of Milwaukee cited as the number one barrier to attracting and retaining talent to the region in the Recuit-Abilty study, the strategies being developed will fuel a new reality locally, nationally and globally.  At a time when talent can go anywhere in the world, FUEL Milwaukee is positioning the region as a region of choice by:

• Developing a strategy and the resources to position and establish regional employers as the most diverse and flexible in the country.  The region can already claim being home to the most “best companies to work for” per capita.  A focus on diversity and flexibility strategically widens the available talent pool, attracting a larger share of people of color and young professionals, while retaining a larger share of the retiring Boomers.

• Developing a strategy and the resources to position and establish the regional talent pool as being the most engaged in the country.  The more involved our professionals are in their communities, the more likely they will stay and the more influence they can have on what the region becomes.  This strategy will improve our region and provide a creative outlet for professional and personal growth that is sought after by young professionals and those in retirement.

• Develop a strategy and the resources to help employers market a fresh and unified message about the Milwaukee Region to targeted talent pools.  

 
For more information about FUEL Milwaukee, logon to www.fuelmilwaukee.org.