New Research Part II – Key Talent Changes
posted by leah.walling
As I discussed on June 4th, the Bersin & Associates report (http://www.bersin.com/) TalentWatch® - Entering the Recovery, First Half 2010 shows that business leaders are becoming increasingly optimistic about growth and are focusing on new people development priorities. In particular, the report shows that there are some key talent challenges businesses must face in the near term. The shift in focus is toward the topics of employee engagement, diversity, globalization, and employee retirement.
Engagement:
More than any time in the last five years, employees feel dissatisfied with their work environments. Wages have been flat and people have been staying put, afraid to jump ship in the volatile market. But with growing optimism about recovery, employees are getting itchy to move, and employers need to focus on building engagement at all levels of the organization.
Diversity:
The U.S. work force continues to evolve into a highly diverse environment, with the percent who are Latino increasing 35 percent, while the percent who are Caucasian declining. Additionally, even more women are entering the work force and at twice the rate of men. As one survey respondent states, “Eighty-five percent of our customers are women and many are minorities, yet only three percent of our top executive team are non-white males. How can we understand and reflect our customers if we don’t look like them?”
Globalization:
The pressure on major businesses to become global organizations has intensified, and the move is away from a “multinational” business model and toward one that is truly global. This means local leadership, product design, manufacturing, and marketing in different markets.
Employee Retirement:
Though postponed for a bit, the foreshadowed baby boomer retirement will eventually happen. And organizations in government, energy, manufacturing, defense, aerospace and other older industries must soon ramp up programs to transfer skills, find jobs for older workers, and change working environments to accommodate the new guard.
BERSIN’S RECOMMENDED ACTION
“Now that most layoffs are over, organizations must take time to look at the engagement levels of their key employees. Many organizations tell us that their employees are ‘burned out’ and have spent the last two years hiding to save their jobs. In this turnaround economy, we must focus on rebuilding employee commitment and engagement, and adapting to a globalized workforce which is far more diverse.
The retirement of baby boomers continues to be a major challenge in many industries. Organizations are now refocusing their plans on skills transfer, mentoring and emerging leadership development to meet these impending talent gaps.”
