Competition is a major challenge in recruiting top talent. Companies must get aggressive in their planning and outreach strategy to stay ahead of the hiring game. In 2015, hiring was up in certain industries, and the competition was fierce within those categories. Staffing shortages has hampered growth and increased stress for many firms.

The biggest problem for business growth right now is too few skilled workers. The danger of staffing shortages is increased stress, burn-out and employee turnover, and that makes a bad situation worst.

"I'm hearing across the board, companies can't take advantage of business opportunities because they can't find people with the right skills," said Tiffany Thompson, President of DaMar Staffing.

With competition for top talent at an all-time high, the only way to find the quality employees needed is to hire them away from someone else. Or, hire someone without the necessary skills. Either way it increases cost and cuts productivity and growth.

In 2016, the healthcare and technology sectors will continue with robust hiring plans.

To win the war for quality talent, companies must work hard to out shine their competitors. To attract and keep top-shelf employees, companies must cultivate their human capital, communicate a vision for the future and foster a positive culture.

The primary driver of successful businesses is the acquisition and retention of quality talent. Get the right people on board, and all the other issues become manageable, fixable, and changeable—that leads to profits. In a talent shortage, you must become aggressive and savvy.

Ask yourself these two questions: 1) What makes this company stand out from the competition as the most desirable place to work? 2) What creative incentives are in place to assure that we are attracting top talent?

Your answers will tell you a lot about which direction you need to take. Read this article for more insight on how to attract talent: http://www.damarstaff.com/blog/2015/5/13/build-a-company-that-has-magnetism