The Talent Challenge Report

THE TALENT CHALLENGE REPORT Inside the Leadership Challenges to Align People with Long-Term Growth

Introduction Through dozens of conversations with HR and talent leaders on Eastridge’s Workforce Navigator podcast, a consistent message emerged: sustainable business growth depends on people. The right talent—aligned, engaged, and prepared to lead—has never been more critical, or more difficult to find and keep. This report distills the most urgent insights shared in those interviews. Senior leaders from across industries reveal the top workforce challenges holding businesses back—and the practical strategies they’re using to move forward such as: ● Where talent leaders agree on the biggest barriers to growth ● Which emerging issues deserve more attention in the C-suite ● Practical steps your organization can take now to gain a competitive edge Listen to the Workforce Navigator Podcast

One key theme remained consistent across these interviews: people are the key to sustainable growth.

Main Findings After analyzing dozens of interviews, two dominant themes emerged: 1. Talent Lifecycle Dysfunction – encompassing recruitment, retention, onboarding, development, and eventual offboarding. 2. Organizational Alignment – how culture, leadership behavior, data, strategy, and adaptability connect people to long-term value creation. Talent Lifecycle Dysfunction Many leaders identified systematic gaps in the way organizations attract, evaluate, and retain talent. Several noted mismatches between hiring managers' expectations and the realities of today’s workforce—especially junior employees with limited business experience. “There’s just such a gap… a lack of professional acumen. And hiring managers still have expectations from the early 2000s.” — Director of Talent Acquisition, Consumer Cellular Recruitment issues are especially acute in manufacturing and industrial sectors where competing for labor can be limited by geography and payrates. “It’s so fiercely competitive. We’re in manufacturing —it’s not sexy—and even post-COVID, we’re still struggling to get talent through the door.” — CHRO, DS Smith Multiple respondents also pointed to the underinvestment in junior talent, especially in technical fields. One noted that when companies fail to bring in early-career developers, they threaten their future technical pipelines. “If you’re not willing to invest in junior developers now, you’re going to run out.” — Director of Talent Acquisition, Smart Data

Organizational Alignment & Strategic Disconnects Respondents highlighted a critical gap between what HR can do—and how it’s perceived or supported internally. Several emphasized the need for HR to be embedded as a strategic business partner, not just a support function. “HR is not a support function. If we’re doing our job, we’re driving business first.” — VP of HR, Genea Others called out executive complacency and resistance to self-development, creating misaligned leadership and undermining succession planning. “C-suite leaders think they’ve arrived. They’re not investing time into their own development—or the next band of leaders.” — SVP & CPO, Calibre Scientific Poor internal alignment also showed up in rapidly growing companies where leadership turnover or change fatigue had eroded trust. “Everyone is exhausted from transformation—reorgs, layoffs, leadership changes. People are doing two or three jobs.” — Global Director of TA, Duck Creek Technologies Still others described challenges in linking employee roles to long-term strategy, citing vague goals, lack of clarity, or failure to make the connection meaningful to individuals. “A lot of employees can’t tie what they do to any long-term strategy. It’s hard to quantify or even see the linkage.” — CISO, Freshworks

Expanded Observations & New Priorities for the C-Suite ● Misalignment around job expectations is creating hiring mismatches that hurt retention and increase short-term turnover. ● Burnout and fatigue from constant transformation are reducing employee engagement and increasing attrition, especially among top performers. ● Succession planning and leadership readiness are often overlooked or only approached superficially. ● Junior and nontraditional talent pipelines need strategic investment to ensure future-ready workforces. Post-hire engagement and HR-business partnerships are essential but often broken or missing entirely.

Key Takeaways for Executives: ● The hiring process must be informed—understanding the “why now?” behind every role is essential. ● Companies must integrate talent strategy into broader business planning, especially during rapid change. ● CHROs and TA leaders need real power and presence in strategic decision-making to champion talent innovation. ● Investing in learning, leadership development, and career growth—even in lean times—builds long-term advantage. ● Retention depends not just on perks but on trust, communication, inclusion, and transparency.

Other Unique Challenges 1. Recruiting for Industrial Roles “We’re not sexy—and when your job is second shift in a manufacturing plant, it’s a tough sell.” — CHRO, DS Smith Creative talent solutions like bilingual shift interpreters were highlighted as essential workarounds. 2. Leadership Support “Complacency within the C-suite leads to failures in recruiting, failures in retention, and a decreasing bottom line.” — CEO, Poseidon Consulting Without executive support, transformation stalls. Buy-in must be cultivated across the organization. 3. Role Fit and Cultural Nuance “You need to understand the person, not the resume. And the role, not just the description.” — Senior Director, Global TA, Vontier Proper role-to-candidate fit must consider team dynamics, growth stage, and industry trends. 4. Change Fatigue and Lack of Trust “Employees are fearful, exhausted… and they don’t trust leadership anymore.” — Global Director of TA, Duck Creek Technologies Leaders must communicate vision clearly and often to build trust through transparency. 5. Junior Talent Investment “It’s going to be rough. If nobody hires junior devs, they’ll leave the market.” — Director of Talent Acquisition, Smart Data Organizations must invest now to ensure skills availability later. 6. Intergenerational Workforce Friction “Gen Zs aren’t loyal. They’ll leave if they don’t get what they want—immediately.” — VP, Global HR, Genea Bridging generational differences requires communication and growth paths.

7. Pay Transparency Mismanagement “Candidates see the top of the posted range and think that’s what they’re worth.” — Director of Talent Acquisition, Consumer Cellular HR and recruiters need better tools and training for equitable compensation conversations. 8. Culture and Value Misalignment “People fall back into old habits and outdated management styles. That hurts our culture.” — VP of HR, Challenge Dairy Managers must be trained and coached to embody evolving company values. 9. Time Pressure “We release annually—so deadlines drive everything. That’s our biggest constraint.” — VP of Global TA, Visual Concepts Fast production cycles compress time for culture-building, leadership development, and innovation. 10. Lack of Strategic Role Mapping “If you don’t understand your organization deeply, you’ll never make the right hires.” — Corporate Counsel, PAFCO Deep organizational understanding is critical to align people with strategic vision. 11. Failure to Prioritize HR as a Strategic Function “If we’re just seen as the police or process people, we’ve failed.” — VP of HR, Genea HR’s evolution from compliance to strategic leadership is still incomplete in many firms. 12. Data Deficiency in People Strategy “You have to measure the right data. Most companies don’t.” — Senior Director, TA, Iron Bow Technologies Strategic HR must be driven by outcome-focused, relevant, and actionable people analytics. 13. Ideal Candidate Profile (ICP) “You can’t just post a job and hope it fits. What you’re not looking for is just as important.” — Deputy CISO, Digicert Deep role understanding must precede any hiring effort—and that means ICP clarity.

Conclusion One key theme remained consistent across these interviews: people are the key to sustainable growth. That said, differences in how these challenges manifest provide critical insight for prioritization. ● In technology, the challenge is speed and specialization. ● In manufacturing, hiring constraints are geographic and cultural. ● In PE-backed businesses, it's execution readiness and leadership alignment. ● In education or healthcare, it’s structural transformation and retention under pressure.

Recommended Priorities for Action: 1. Elevate HR to Strategic Leadership. If people are your differentiator, HR must be at the strategy table—not on the sidelines. 2. Redefine Hiring Processes. Prioritize ICP clarity, candidate experience, and contextual fit over outdated job descriptions. 3. Invest in Emerging Talent. Build programs that prepare junior employees for real-world performance and long-term loyalty. 4. Strengthen Internal Communication. Address transformation fatigue through transparency, context, and compassion. Operationalize Values. Culture isn’t static. It must be nurtured, enforced, and made visible daily through leadership actions. 5. Use Data to Drive People Strategy. Choose metrics that matter—ones that tie directly to business outcomes and retention risks. Get more Expert Insights on Talent Strategy and Workforce Efficiency Workforce Navigator explores the latest strategies and trends in cultivating talent and maximizing workforce efficiency, featuring insightful conversations with industry leaders. Learn more at www.eastridge.com/workforce-navigator Talent to Drive Success: Eastridge partners with industry leaders, fueling their success by connecting them with exceptional talent. Let’s build the team that drives your success. Learn more at www.eastridge.com.