At a time when the general shortage of talent is recognized as one of the biggest challenges for entrepreneurs in the coming years, with no solution in sight, a study conducted by Cotec Portugal, in collaboration with Nova IMS, concludes that “talent is a the essential tool for innovation,” reveals Jorge Portugal. The general manager of Cotec Portugal spoke at another edition of Encontros Lusa, which took place yesterday in Lisbon. “Attracting and retaining the best talent – recipes for creating value in the Portuguese economy” was the theme chosen for the early morning debate that gathered with the head of the Business Association for Innovation and Joaquim Carreira, president of the board of Directors of Lusa.
With the study ‘Leadership Maturity and Change Management’ as a starting point, this first meeting of the day focused on the importance of innovation in organizations and the role that talent plays in its development. “Innovation is a key issue for the country’s economy and competitiveness,” assures Jorge Portugal, emphasizing, however, that without sufficient talent and effective management, it is not possible to innovate. Cotec’s general manager reminds that talent is currently global, making it difficult to attract and retain, but it is a fundamental issue for companies.
As one of the main conclusions of the study, Jorge Portugal highlights the widespread recognition of entrepreneurs regarding innovation and its impact in creating value for companies and the economy, but also for the development of new products. However, the research shows that the same entrepreneurs have the perception that there is still a lot to do in organizations to make innovation a reality. “We produce the best talent for Europe and the world, but we don’t value it,” warns the head of Cotec, also pointing out the organizational and institutional problems that sometimes still make it difficult to bring international talent to Portugal. Although the country scores high in terms of living conditions and quality of life, security or in relation to climate, cuisine or friendliness of the population, it continues to score lower when it comes to institutional, legislative or fiscal issues.
Appropriate government policy is needed!
On the business side, and in the eyes of entrepreneurs and managers, the conclusions are similar. Tax policies adapted to the context, which have changed a lot during and after the pandemic, predictability and speed of justice are crucial issues that need to be changed to attract talent, but also international investment that creates jobs and contributes to the competitiveness of the national economy. “Without fiscal and regulatory predictability, investments will not take place in the medium and long term,” argues Ana Figueiredo. The CEO of Altice Portugal took part in the debate that ended the “Lusa Encounters”, which also included António Rios de Amorim, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Corticeira Amorim, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Cotec Portugal, and Ana Lenz, general manager of Nestlé Portugal, share the same view. The talk was moderated by Shrikesh Laxmidas, editor-in-chief at Agência Lusa.
Still on the fiscal side, António Rios de Amorim sees the recently approved stock option regime as a positive step, which will no longer penalize employees who receive these premiums in companies, as has happened so far. However, it reinforces the importance of avoiding stray measures and the lack of vision of the whole. “In this new regime, members of governing bodies and business owners are still penalized and cannot benefit from this incentive,” he emphasizes.
Despite these difficulties, the three leaders present have strategies for attracting and retaining talent in the organizations they lead, including training and retraining in-house talent, using universities as a source of funding, or creating ecosystems that reinforcement of which they have no knowledge. “It is not possible to replicate talent, so we try to be ahead of the competition through what sets us apart,” explains Ana Figueiredo.
In a more traditional industry sector, António Rios de Amorim recognizes that before recruiting externally, he wants to use internal talent. “We do training programs for undifferentiated people who, with new skills, manage to keep their job and even improve their salary.” The cork sector has managed to evolve by training people to use the technology that is growing in this industry, he illustrates.
From Ana Lenz’s perspective, the big challenge for talent is organizational culture. “Access to talent is global for us, but so is the competition. In other words, the differentiation we want to make attractive should be through what people feel, the purpose and the bonds they create with the organization and the teams “, he defends.
Source: DN
