Talent management has become a top priority for organizations, highlighting that the optimization of talent in the workforce directly affects everyday operations and in turn drives the bottom line. The ASTD-i4cp Talent Management Practices and Opportunities Study found that 19.9% of organizations reported that they manage talent effectively to a high or very high degree, with an additional one fifth admitting that their companies were effective users of talent to only a small extent or not at all. Talent management is anticipated to grow: over 80% of participants predict a growth in the next three years.

What does the talent management puzzle look like?

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Tags: talent management

Categories: Research

(The Wall Street Journal) -- Many employers and employees don't see eye to eye on what keeps workers happy, a disparity that could spell trouble for businesses as the economy recovers.

Employers consider management climate and workers' relationships with their bosses as most important, but employees cite pay and benefits, according to a survey last winter by Spherion Corp., a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., staffing firm. Respondents included 306 human-resources managers and 2,519 employees at firms of all sizes. Surveys conducted in 2007 and 2005 generated the same top results.

Tucker Callaway, a sales director at CA Inc., says compensation was a big factor in his decision to join the software maker in April. He also cites poor morale and a lack of leadership at his former employer, another technology company.

Mr. Callaway, 34, says CA gave him a 20% raise. "I have a mortgage and two kids, so pay is extremely important," he says.

Workplace experts say many workers have grown frustrated during the recession and might consider leaving as the labor market improves. Employees are less committed to their employers, according to an annual survey by consulting firm Watson Wyatt Worldwide Inc. and WorldatWork, an association of human-resource professionals. Results were based on responses by 1,300 workers at 235 large U.S. firms in May. Commitment dropped most among top performers, according to the survey.

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Tags: retention, morale, new economy, talent management

Categories: News | Research

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. (PRNewswire) -- With millions of Baby Boomers poised to age out of the workforce, U.S. companies remain unprepared for an imminent talent drain that threatens to alter the national economy, according to a new report by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College.

Nearly 70 percent of the almost 700 organizations surveyed do not yet know how old their workers are or how many are likely to retire. Forty percent reported that the aging of the workforce will have a detrimental impact on their businesses by 2012.

"The out-migration of a generation of workers will upset the entire balance of the workplace," said co-author Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, director of the Sloan Center on Aging & Work. "U.S. companies need to start planning strategically for workforce sustainability. The current abundance of older worker talent and experience is going to dry up, and businesses will very soon need to fill hundreds, if not thousands, of jobs."

The report -- The Pressures of Talent Management -- examined talent management practices at 696 organizations across the 10 leading sectors of the economy. The companies studied employ more than one million workers combined and represent businesses that account for roughly 85 percent of the jobs and payrolls in the U.S.

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Tags: baby boomers, generations, talent management, retention

Categories: News | Research

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Staffing levels in IT will remain the same in 2010 as they are now according to a recent survey conducted by Hay Group, the global management consulting firm. Sixty-nine percent of CIOs said their staffing levels will be unchanged in 2010, indicating a ‘bottoming out’ of staff reductions in IT. “Combined with the fact that IT operating budgets are stabilizing means we appear to be coming to the end of a very rough period for IT leadership” said Vincent Milich, Hay Group’s Director of IT Effectiveness.

The web-based survey was conducted in October 2009 with 41 CIOs and IT Executives which addressed business and human resource planning issues for 2010.

When asked what their greatest skills/knowledge gaps are in their organization, fully half of the CIOs cited ‘knowledge of the business’ followed by a third citing ‘technical skill.’ This is quite a turnaround from recent Hay Group surveys that cited project management and people management skills as the top two skill gaps.

“This signifies an ongoing and significant shift in the profession,” according to Milich. “As IT continues to get closer to the business, and packages and vendor solutions require less in-house support, the unique contribution that the IT professional needs to make will be based on their understanding of their industry and organization, and how IT can add value to their business.”

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Tags: it training, talent management, business news

Categories: News

(From CNN Money) "Talent Management in Healthcare," a recent study by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company (NYSE: HHS), reveals that although healthcare organizations are still struggling with the lack of qualified candidates in the talent market, the primary focus has been on developing and retaining talent. Performance management, engagement, and succession planning are the top strategic emphases for these organizations. Analysis showed that automation of talent management elements, specifically recruitment and learning management, leads the list of enablers that differentiate top performers from the rest of the sample. Utilizing assessments and defining competency profiles are earning organizations substantial gains in employee performance, retention and customer / patient satisfaction.

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Tags: talent management, business news, engagement, succession planning, healthcare

Categories: News

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) -- Senior management respect for worker contribution has been found to be the top leadership factor promoting engagement, according to a global survey of 28,000 employees in 15 countries by Right Management. Other senior leadership behaviors that correlate highest with employee engagement include implementing and communicating organization strategy. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

Right Management analyzed dozens of leadership practices and behaviors in order to determine which are most strongly related to employee engagement. Those with the highest correlations are:

1.    Senior leaders value employees
2.    Senior leaders have the capability to make my organization successful
3.    Senior leaders effectively implement my organization's strategy
4.    Senior leaders effectively communicate my organization's strategy to employees

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Tags: employee engagement, leadership, talent management, career development

Categories: News | Research

Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) -- With the economy cautiously turning the corner, senior leaders are focused on hiring and developing talent, according to a survey of more than 450 senior executives on LinkedIn® by Right Management. 94 percent of executives said talent management is a top priority for 2010. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

The findings present good news for employees and job seekers. Employers are preparing themselves for growth opportunities as the economy rebounds and are looking for ways to enhance performance and productivity. One-third of the senior executive respondents will be hiring new talent in 2010, while 36 percent will focus on developing current talent. Twenty percent reported that increasing employee engagement is a top priority. Career development opportunities and efforts to increase engagement typically improve retention, which may explain why only 4 percent of senior leaders indicated they would be focusing efforts on retention.

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Tags: talent management, employee retention, career development, executives, new economy

Categories: News | Research

Many organizations are being asked to sponsor employees for an Executive MBA. Benefits to employers include increased employee confidence, better bottom-line performance and deeper organizational knowledge. But smart organizations put a plan in place -- one that that grows employee responsibilities in tandem with his or her EMBA program. Such plans offer new and more challenging assignments, opportunities for promotion and increased remuneration. (Keep in mind that pursuing an EMBA can involve 25 to 30 hours of extra work a week.) Without a plan, employers risk losing the talent they've helped develop.

How quickly that talent begins to develop was clear to Holly Robinson-Colley, an EMBA student at Ivey who was sponsored by Bruce Power. "My confidence grew at a significant pace and courses such as Leading helped me to become a more effective leader. I became better equipped to make informed decisions." Robinson-Colley gained a much deeper understanding of Bruce Power. "I found myself speaking to senior executives within the organization not only to gain insight about their functional areas but also the company on a strategic level."

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Tags: talent management, c-suite, executive, leadership, canada

Categories: News

Despite the sluggish economy, the talent management software market has enjoyed an active summer and fall.

Leading vendors Taleo and SuccessFactors sought to broaden their horizons, while other software providers introduced new features as companies continued to purchase the products.

While growth rates are less than what was projected a year ago, the talent management market as a whole is growing by about 15 percent and should reach $2.5 billion this year, says Josh Bersin, head of research firm Bersin & Associates.

Far from shriveling amid the recession, the talent management software field is expanding as business-services giants IBM, Accenture, Mercer and Hewitt build strategies to deliver a combination of talent management software, consulting and outsourcing, Bersin says.

Talent management software refers to applications that help organizations with key HR tasks such as recruiting, employee performance management and compensation.

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Tags: talent management, software, recession, economic downturn

Categories: News | The Economy

Determined to retain your most talented executives? Well, here's some counterintuitive advice: The best way to keep them from leaving is to prepare them to do just that.

In tough economic times like these, retention becomes less of a priority for many companies as they focus on more-immediate business concerns. But companies that neglect this issue during a downturn may be in for a nasty surprise just as things start looking up: Historically, there is a significant increase in the number of executives leaving their companies as market conditions improve and more job opportunities open up.

That's why it's crucial that companies get serious about retention now. And that means giving executives opportunities to take on greater responsibility, broaden their skills and cultivate a network of relationships with their peers. These are the things that executives we have surveyed consistently say they want most from their jobs.

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Tags: talent management, executive, recession, economic downturn, retention

Categories: News | The Economy