Like most of you, I am so eager to get to put 2020 behind me. The disease, the division and the separation have made for a year unlike any other in most of our lifetimes. But as we hit the closing weeks on this year, most of us are thinking about what comes next. And what comes next could be really exciting!
Consider this, after the 1918 Pandemic and the end of WW1, we had the Roaring 20s. The Roaring 20’s were brought on by the unleashing of pent up demand. Sound familiar? Think of all the missed vacations, trips to restaurants, and other adventures that were missed out on in 2020. Think of all the things that we didn’t purchase, tickets to sporting events, dress clothing, gym memberships and more. Think of all the elective surgical procedures delayed due to Covid restrictions. One MedTech industry research group anticipates a growth in surgical procedures of 28%.
As a result of this pent-up demand, Morgan Stanley forecasts US GDP growth for 2021 to come in at a whopping 5.9%!
This means that as the economy improves once again the war for talent is going to be back on. And this time companies will not have the luxury of a relatively slow recovery to mask the shortage of top talent as they did in 2008. In addition, we have Boomers eager to retire with healthy 401ks which was decidedly not the case after the Great Recession.
So make your personnel plans now for what is likely to be a very busy second half of 2021. Those that wait too long will not only have difficulty attracting talent when they need it but they will also risk losing their top talent as they find better opportunities elsewhere.
After all, the darkness will pass, a new day will come, and it will shine out the clearer!