talent attraction in 2017: attracting the young corporate manager.

According to a NASSCOM report, the total funding received by Indian tech startups, yet, reached close to $4 billion in 2016. The report also states that these startups will employ over 210,000 people by 2020. As the startup ecosystem matures in India, homegrown entrepreneurs see a huge advantage in starting now. The interesting part - 53% of the current founders fall in the age group of 26 to 35 years, and another 22% in the age bracket of 36 to 45 years.

This stat is interesting because the India Inc 2016-17 workforce demographic profile shows an increasing number of managers in the 25-44 years age bracket – where, perhaps, the lure of entrepreneurship is the highest.

With new age India ready to break away from typical career paths, and follow their hearts, where will the next wave of corporate leaders come from?

An opportunity for HR

Losing talent with experience, skills and potential to lead the organisation, tomorrow, can be daunting for any HR department. Hiring laterals from external sources involves significant time and effort - after all, finding right talent is not easy.

On the other hand, this is an opportunity for HR teams to step up the game and develop meaningful employer branding programs to attract right talent.

What does the young corporate manager want?

While the war for better salary and benefits seems perennial, there are 4 key factors that separate the needs of a young corporate manager from that of others. These are -

• a good work-life balance
• global opportunities
• use of latest technologies
• meaningful learning

Want to know more about what the young corporate managers in India want? Download our report on employer branding insights.

The cue for organisations is to combine the needs of the young corporate managers with their own brand identity to develop a strong employee value proposition.

In retaining such talent, organizations will have to redefine how performance is managed and offer appropriate rewards, recognition and benefits. Training programs that meet diverse employee desires while developing the skills needed to achieve business goals are critical imperatives.

Building future ready organisations

However organizations will also need to accept that there will be churn and build this into their workforce planning. This involves leveraging HR Analytics to proactively assess organisational talent and identify leadership potential. Skills and knowledge need to be transferred through mentorship and succession planning programs from the experienced to emerging stars. Adding coaching and mentoring roles to experienced managers will help in motivating both generations.

Perhaps the most important need is to find engaging ways of encouraging multi-generational collaboration. This gives employees the all-important message that talent and skills are acknowledged and ensures that potential outgoing knowledge and talent is retained much longer.