Tomorrow I will be supporting one of our clients at their premier annual career conference for Hispanic talent. Given the current economic climate they are expecting a solid turnout of professionals with mid to senior level experience in every major functional area. Turnout on the exhibitor side remains weak, however, reflecting the restricted levels of hiring going on in general.

While these are obviously extraordinary times I am not so sure there isn’t a wider, more fundamental, and longer term, disconnect between organizations looking for talent and the pool of talent available.

As President of a small, privately owned, commercial contractor I was a member of a professionally moderated advisory council of other owners/C-level executives. We met on a monthly basis to review strategy, discuss issues and hold each other accountable. What I remember most about each meeting however was the inevitable discussion around the following universal dilemma – “there is all this talent out looking for a job and yet I cannot seem to find the people I need for my organization…”

Based on that experience, and my involvement with a non-profit organization assisting Fortune 500 clients with their diversity hiring needs, I am convinced that the Global War for Talent is often an internal civil war pitting recruiters vs. hiring managers, strategy vs. cost containment, comfort zones vs. risk taking, etc.

True talent always succeeds (either at your organization or elsewhere). Organizations focused on the critical success factors in their business will always find the necessary talent.

The talent is out there…are you man enough to find it?

Apparently it does on our blog site…

After revamping The Reilly Company website to better leverage the web 2.0 reality, we have been at a stand still in terms of updates, etc.

Our intention here is to share our experience with other committed professionals that understand, appreciate and accept the premise that doing business internationally is not just about cultural sensitivity, geographic expertise or language skills. In fact a short story may best illustrate the point:

You will note that the partners in this firm are both graduates of the global MBA program at Thunderbird. Like many T-birds we have often tapped into the resource that is Thunderbird, and its global network, to make the necessary connections, build key relationships, open doors and staff our businesses for success. Hiring T-birds certainly has its advantages given the diverse talent of its student body but, as with any business, there are few substitutes for real world experience coupled with a feel for universal business truths (growth and profitability). Back to the story…

I once hired a recent T-bird as a marketing coordinator in our Latin American division. Within two weeks of his being hired we were in Buenos Aires for a two day strategic planning session with our entire South American distributor network. His head was literally spinning as he soaked up the ambiance and the realization that he was “living the T-bird experience” so quickly. This soon led him to demonstrate his “textbook” T-bird knowledge. “You know, it’s important to get to know these Latin Americans personally before you focus only on business”, he said with the wisdom of the classroom and two weeks on the job. “True”, I replied. “However, if you can’t demonstrate very quickly that you can add value, and help them move their business forward and be a success, they will still ask about your family and be happy to socialize with you, but they will not invest more than that in the relationship.”

Just as our new marketing coordinator learned a valuable lesson, so too will we remember that global business never rests…and neither will we when it comes to this blog site.

Enjoy.

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