75% of Irish HR leaders are experiencing talent constraints

Three-quarters (75%) of Irish HR leaders are currently experiencing talent constraints, up from 45% in 2017; This is one of the key findings from PwC’s 2019 HR Directors survey published today.

Eighty five per cent of Irish HR leaders stated that ‘attracting and retaining key talent’ is the top HR challenge for 2019. These findings are in line with views from Irish CEOs who said the skills challenge is at a 13-year high. Key skills gaps, according to the survey, are in areas of technology, engineering, finance and regulatory roles. The talent constraints are leading to significant impact on organisation’s with the majority reporting reduced innovation and falls in quality standards as the biggest impacts.

At the same time, over half (56%) of HR leaders are planning to expand their workforce in the year ahead, up from 45% in 2017. But just four out of ten (40%) are using strategic workforce planning to identify the specific skills and competencies required in their future workforce. A clear message from the survey is that organisation’s (and HR functions) need to build, develop and enhance their capability and output with regard to workforce planning and HR analytics.

Commenting on the results, Senior Manager, People & Organisation, PwC, Louise Shannon said, “The survey highlights that Irish businesses need to do more on strategic workforce planning. It is important as it gives organisations the ability to evaluate their current workforce and assess future requirements by looking at the projected gap between workforce demand and supply. Leveraging technology to deploy a systematic approach that matches the business strategy with the workforce needs is critical to ensure you can flex your resource model to have the right people, in the right place, at the right time.”

See the full survey here