Find a competitive advantage in a market going through deep change

The recent publication of the report The New Labour Challenges in Spain prepared for the Barcelona Society of Economic and Social Studies of the Foment del Treball confirms a reality that those of us who work in the search for managers have been observing for some time: the labour market is changing much more due to demographic factors than to economic issues.

In recent years, Spain has continued to create jobs, but behind this growth there are trends that should be at the top of the agenda of any management committee.

The first is the ageing of the working population. In the next decade, retirements will far outnumber new entrants to the labor market. At the same time, a very significant part of job growth already depends on international talent. All this will force companies to compete in a market where the scarcest resource will not be capital, but people.

Added to this scenario is another equally relevant phenomenon: the growing mobility of talent. Professionals, especially those with higher qualifications, no longer make their decisions solely based on salary. Leadership, corporate culture, development opportunities and flexibility are increasingly important in the choice of a professional project.

Therefore, the real challenge for organizations will not only be to attract the best professionals, but to build environments where they want to stay and develop their career.

Perhaps the question that many companies should be asking themselves today is not how to fill their next vacancies, but whether they are preparing the necessary leadership to compete for talent over the next decade.

Because, in an increasingly demanding market, competitive advantage will not only come from having a good business strategy, but from having leaders capable of attracting, developing and retaining the people who will make that strategy possible.