Embracing Global Talent of the Future Key to Business Success
Authenticity, accountability and accessibility are among the X factors that organisations must embrace if they are to attract the globalised talent of the future and drive forward successful, sustainable businesses.
That was the message from Scottish business leaders across the technology and data industries who shared their insights to how organisations can capitalise on new ways of working while truly integrating diversity and inclusiveness (D&I) into their workforces.
All agreed that organisations which don’t embrace these qualities now risk not only lagging behind but are likely to be forced to change to address the skills and talent shortage.
Watch the Panel
The business leaders were speaking at a virtual roundtable focused on Exploring the Future of Talent.
Hosted by MBN Solutions, panellists included:
- Elizabeth Hollinger, Director of Insight at Aggreko;
- The Data Lab’s Chief Executive Officer, Gillian Docherty OBE;
- Samantha Bedford, Chair of Scotland Women in Technology and a transformation leader in tech and digital.
They were joined by MBN Solutions’ director of client services and the company’s academy, Rob Huggins, and non-executive director, Paul Forrest, an industry-respected business mentor who works with a diverse range of organisations across the tech and data sector.
Preparing for the Future
All panellists agreed that stronger commitments to D&I were integral to overcoming future challenges for the tech and data industry.
“We are denying ourselves access to the talent that is out there and the great value they can bring to organisations,” said Gillian. “What we have to ask ourselves is are we doing the most we can, such as through staff retention, values, images in brochures and who features in events we run.”
Rob added: “Scotland has become such an amazing place of talent but the challenge is keeping up with the global workforce and ensuring we continue to attract talent. While many innovative and enlightened employers are actively addressing this, the scarcity of skills, resource and talent may force change among other leaders. The hunter has become the hunted as talented individuals have a huge amount of choice when it comes to where they want to work.”
Talking about Brexit, Paul said: “Pre-pandemic, people were thinking about how they were going to get talented people from Europe and the thought was that we would go down the visa scheme route. But the pandemic has shown there is so much more trust, allowing people to work anywhere, while technology has made remote working much easier.
“We have now opened the door not just to Europe but around the world, and that applies to people in the UK as well.”