Organizations will be facing problems finding the right employees and leadership in the years ahead, according to a new report from Deloitte.
The
In addition, 66 percent of the survey respondents believe they are “weak” in their ability to develop leaders in the Millennial generation.
“Doubling down on human capital practices of the past will not be enough to address the scarcity of talent in today’s workforce,” said Josh Bersin, a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP. “Organizations must reimagine, reinvent and reinvigorate their talent development strategies and implement programs that develop deep, specialized skills on the job.”
The Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2014 report draws on 15 years of research, incorporating the views of more than 2,500 business and HR leaders in 94 countries. According to the report, the single biggest challenge cited by 86 percent of respondents is leadership development, followed by retention and engagement (79 percent), and reskilling the HR function (77 percent). Most respondents indicated that their organizations are not ready to address these challenges.
Developing global leaders is the top issue facing organizations, yet only 13 percent of respondents believe they do an excellent job in providing leadership programs across all levels. Fifty-one percent of the survey respondents indicated they have little confidence in their ability to maintain clear and consistent succession programs.
The second biggest challenge cited by respondents— retention and engagement of employees—is an area where executives rate themselves as either “weak” or just “adequate.” Thirty-eight percent reported they are “weak” at integrating social, community, and corporate programs and aligning employee and corporate goals. Forty percent said their organization is “weak” in helping employees balance their personal and professional lives, and only 8 percent said they believe they have a strategy to help employees manage the barrage of information they receive every day.
Another major issue is the need to reskill the HR function. Thirty-four percent of the survey respondents reported that their HR and talent programs are just “getting by” or even “underperforming.” Less than 8 percent of HR leaders have confidence that their teams have the skills needed to meet the challenge of today’s global environment and deliver innovative programs that drive business impact.
“There’s no doubt that human capital strategies are now a major factor in business growth,” says Jason Geller, national managing director for U.S. human capital consulting at Deloitte Consulting LLP, in a statement. “Yet, today’s HR departments are not equipped to face the challenges of this new role. When you add to this the rapidly changing landscape of HR technologies, such as cloud and big data, and their impact on attracting, retaining, and developing talent, it becomes clear that reskilling HR teams is arguably the most critical mission for organizations today.”
In addition, 43 percent of respondents to Deloitte’s survey indicated that their organizations are “weak” when it comes to providing HR with appropriate training and experiences, and 47 percent rank their organizations “weak” on preparing HR to deliver programs aligned with business needs.
For more information, including details on specific countries and industries,
