A Pulse On Talent Management In The Year Ahead

© Right Management 2012. All Rights Reserved.

1818 Market Street, 33rd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103-3614

www.right.com

A Pulse on Talent Management in the Year Ahead

U.S. Companies Leverage

Talent to Achieve Growth Under

Pressure

2 © Right Management 2012. All Rights Reserved.

A WORD FROM THE HEAD OF TALENT MANAGEMENT

As we enter the Human Age, the spotlight is on

the Human Resources team. Why? Because these

are the people now responsible for creating and

sustaining their organization’s most important

competitive asset – its talent! HR is in the driver’s

seat for unleashing what is humanly possible. The

changing world of work is forcing HR leaders to

rethink work models, people practices and talent

sources. Never before has there been such an

important time to focus on talent.

Our latest body of research unveils trends related

to talent management practices anticipated in the

year ahead. We trust these findings provide a

barometer to compare recent trends to the

dynamics within your organizations, and to better understand the implications

and subsequent actions required to achieve growth in an increasingly

pressurized business environment.

New market complexities and client demands call for new solutions, grounded

in solid research and backed by proven expertise. We at Right Management

and ManpowerGroup are uniquely positioned to help you address these talent

challenges. We encourage you to read on to learn more from our fresh and

thought-provoking insights.

Michael Haid

Senior Vice President Talent Management

Right Management


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Managing Talent in the Human Age 4

About this Study 5

Key Findings and Implications

Employers Worry About Scarcity of Talent and

Leader Readiness 6

More Employers Find it Hard to Fill Key Jobs 9

Few Employers See Staff Cutbacks 11

Employers See Continued Slow Hiring 14

It Takes Talent to Win in 2012 16

About Right Management 17

Contact for More Information 17


MANAGING TALENT IN THE HUMAN AGE

The world is experiencing an era of great transformation. Organizations are

racing to accelerate growth in the competitive and rapidly changing world of

work. These organizations face new risks… dated business models, traditional

organizational structures and uninspired people practices that are standing in

the way of successfully executing business strategies.

In this Human Age, talent is emerging as the key differentiator — the New It!

To drive your business forward, you need to unleash the potential of your

greatest asset — your people. Last decade’s rulebook, management

practices and tools no longer lead to success in 2012.

In the Human Age, the shift in strategic focus from capital to talent is putting

business performance results at the door of HR leaders. Success will be

measured by their ability to work with the business leadership to help unleash

the human potential in their organizations and to leverage talent as a

competitive advantage. Understanding individual motivations, the skill

complexity required to keep pace with your customer demands, and the

competitive forces fighting for the talent you need now and in the future, is

only the beginning of the race.

Today virtually every organization faces the same combination of business

challenges…competing in the face of a slow economic recovery, the

imperative for growth, and a workforce that is not as engaged as before. Our

latest study of trends in talent management looks at how employers are

focusing on their people and their skills and engagement.

What we found is that employers will almost certainly cut fewer employees in

the year ahead and may even boost hiring, at least to some degree. They will

also be challenged to identify, retain and engage their much needed best

performers to deliver on their organization’s growth targets.

For most management this all comes down to an agenda of growth under

pressure. Management by itself will not be able to generate the robust

recovery that is needed. HR leaders can support the business strategy by

focusing on the urgent talent management issues discussed in this paper.

Translating these trends and forces into an actionable workforce strategy is

what it will take to win. Right Management stands ready to help you.


ABOUT THIS STUDY

Right Management surveyed 631 senior managers and human resource

professionals to learn more about the pressure points and issues they face

related to talent management practices in the year ahead. The online survey

was conducted between November and December 2011 throughout the

United States.

Responses by region:

27% North Central

26% East

14% Florida/Caribbean

11% Northeast

8% West

8% Great Lakes

5% Gulf


KEY FINDINGS AND IMPLICATIONS

Employers Worry about Scarcity of Talent and Leader Readiness

Lack of potential leaders is the most pressing human resource challenge

organizations expect to face in 2012. Thirty-one percent of respondents cited

their organization’s lack of high-potential leaders, while 23% indicated a

shortage of talent at all levels.

After three years of organizational contraction and less internal investment

companies are taking a hard look at their onboard talent and are challenged

with what they find.

26%

23%

19%

31%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

What do you expect to be the most pressing HR challenge faced by your

organization?

Low engagement and

lagging productivity

Shortage of talent at

all levels

Loss of top talent to

other organizations

Lack of high-potential

leaders in the

organization


Lean times make it hard for organizations seeking to recruit, retain or develop

future leaders. And they are keenly aware of the tough competitive

environment they are in and the need to hold onto and build leadership bench

strength.

Employees are also feeling the pain. Recent Right Management research

found nearly all employees are burdened with heavier workloads, disengaged

from everyday responsibilities, anxious about job security and yet more open

to prospective opportunities elsewhere.

Retention of top talent is also a ranking concern of many employers. In fact,

for nearly one-in-five of our respondents it is the main worry, losing strong

performers to other companies which may be enticing to individuals who may

feel stifled with their present employer. This is the kind of concern that HR

leaders must bring to the forefront with senior leaders and create strategies

to address individual motivators and career plans to foster engagement and

retention. HR again has an opportunity to demonstrate how they can help

their organizations to win in the war for talent.

Employers tend to have doubts about their management succession pipeline,

with as few as 4% able to confirm they have an ample leadership pipeline.

4%

77%

19%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

How are you able to fill critical roles in your organization?

We have an ample

leadership pipeline

that will cover most

of our needs.

We rely on a

combination of

internal talent

development and

external hiring.

We routinely look

externally before

filling critical roles in

our organization


They surely know their workforce is lean and internal development resources

have generally been limited for some time. But now organizations must

address how not to be caught short in terms of leadership and to minimize

loss of top performers to other companies. It’s time to rethink outdated work

models, people practices and talent sources to win in the changing world of

work.

Implications

Organizations with scarce talent management resources need a different

strategy to secure the right talent for key contributors and pivotal leadership

positions within the firm. Doing so will help the organization to retain top

performers who are often in pivotal roles which typically have greater scope

and influence over other positions within the firm.

With a well-constructed succession planning system in place for rapid

replacement of key roles, and more broadly, a well-aligned succession

management plan to ensure firm-wide talent progression, organizations will

be well-positioned to avoid the exposure and risks of underperformance and

further loss of talent.

Those organizations that can evaluate what drives workforce engagement –

and the lack of it – are in a much better position to mitigate the risks of top

talent flight to competitors. Simply understanding what the current workforce

engagement levels are is no longer a sufficient strategy to stem the tide of

potential attrition. Organizations that can identify what drives engagement in

actionable terms, so that those drivers can be leveraged in an overall

retention strategy, will be the winners of the emerging talent migrations.


More Employers Find It Hard to Fill Key Jobs

Despite continued high unemployment nine out of 10 U.S. employers find it

difficult to fill key positions. Twenty-seven percent of respondents reported

difficulty filling certain jobs, and 61% indicated they have such difficulty on

occasion.

We found an uptick in employers who report difficulty filling key positions.

This year it is 27%, up from 23% last year. And there is a corresponding drop

among those who say they seldom face such a problem. Perhaps this is a sign

of a strengthening job market.

HR professionals know that it is usually a challenge to find and recruit people

whether in a weak or strong job market. And it varies by level, industry,

requisite skills and so on. Also, the findings suggest some shortfall among

internal candidates who might be qualified.

27%

61%

13%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

With respect to the availability of top talent what has been the experience of

your organization?

We often find it hard

to fill key positions.

We occasionally find

it hard to fill key

positions.

We seldom if ever

find it hard to fill key

positions.


Implications

HR leaders need to adapt and embrace what ManpowerGroup calls the human

dynamics at play that are resulting in a scarcity and abundance inversion.

In the Human Age, resources that were once plentiful are now limited, while

others that were limited are no longer so. Chastened by declining revenues,

companies have had to adjust their philosophies about the use of resources –

natural, financial and human. They’ve switched to smaller staffs and have

been exceedingly cautious about adding employees at greater expense or

without proof that additional talent would add benefits.

HR leaders can address the challenges associated with today’s talent

shortages by increasing supply – finding new sources of talent and

reinventing existing workers. This will enable a greater range of workers,

often marginalized from opportunities (such as young people, women, older

workers and people with disabilities) to join the workforce.

Demand for training, that will enable workers to develop broad and

specialized skills is growing exponentially due to demand. Comprehensive

solutions providers such as Right Management and ManpowerGroup are best

positioned to meet this surging demand. Yet, balancing the push and pull

management approach to employee development is a challenge, as

employees expect greater autonomy and employers struggle to forecast in-

demand skills needed in the future.


Few Employers See Staff Cutbacks

Few U.S. employers predict significant staff cutbacks in the year ahead. Just

three percent of respondents anticipate significant cutbacks or restructurings,

and two- thirds expect almost none.

Layoffs had already begun to decline during 2011, a development most

employers saw coming a year ago and which was reflected in Right

Management’s 2010 trends survey. A year ago 52% of employers predicted

virtually no restructurings in 2011. Nevertheless, lean staffing is now the

norm at most organizations.

Asked about expected hiring in 2012, respondents were slightly optimistic. In

the latest findings one-in-five employers predict stepped-up hiring in order to

drive strategic growth. The majority, 58%, predicts just nominal hiring on an

as needed basis and 21% predict more hiring in order to fill existing gaps in

the organization.

3%

32%

65%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

With respect to restructurings and cutbacks what do you anticipate for your

organization in 2012?

Significant staff

cutbacks

Modest number of

staff cutbacks

Practically no staff

cutbacks


Organizational staffing trends will mirror overall U.S. economic trends. We will

see employers push for growth, but with fewer resources, trying to make do

with what they have. This will continue to be a pressurized workplace, and

management has to take into account the stress all this creates.

Organizations will need to be effective with their talent strategies to nurture

employee engagement, productivity and performance with their streamlined

workforces.

Implications

Businesses across the board have successfully taken costs out of their

structure through a variety of methods. The opportunity now is to rebuild and

grow the business with the talent left after the wake of cost cutting efforts.

Engagement and motivation levels are not the only challenges firms face

when re-focusing the business on the future. The skill sets and abilities of the

remaining workforce may or may not be what is needed to take the business

forward. Organizations that evaluate what they need to achieve growth in

2012 – and how the mindsets, skills sets, motivations and abilities of the

workforce need to be developed, adapted and changed to meet the future –

dramatically increase their chances of winning in the changing world of work.

58%

21% 21%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

How would you describe the kind of hiring your organization is likely to do in 2012?

Just nominal hiring on

an as needed basis

More hiring than in

2011 in order to fill

existing gaps in the

organization

Stepped-up hiring to

drive strategic growth


Management in the Human Age will set the tone for organization’s to embrace

fresh thinking on recruiting, skills and career development, work

environments and the balance of full-, part-time employees, as well as

outside contributors connected by virtual networks. Human Age leaders will

understand the business’s obligation to nurture workers, leading more on the

pull side of push-pull management, asking more questions to understand

what their people need, instead of ruling by decree. This requires

organizations to engage people more personally to understand their needs.

Such an environment is what ManpowerGroup calls the recommendations for

a changed ecosystem – founded on an era that requires new ways of doing

business and creating fresh strategies, processes and approaches to

leadership.


Employers See Continued Slow Hiring

A majority of U.S. employers expect corporate hiring to remain sluggish in the

year ahead. Fifty-five percent of respondents said the year ahead would be

similar to 2011 with both slow hiring and postponed HR initiatives. But one-

third predicts 2012 will be a year of growth and recovery.

Implications

The talent pool is flooded with people looking for work, making external hiring

a process of finding precise skills they need a much more complex and

challenging task. Organizations that have a clear set of selection criteria and a

highly efficient selection process will reduce the risk that so many face in

spending too much time and resources on finding the wrong person. An

accurate high-speed talent identification process can take the best talent off

the market before other firms even see them. Development dollars will be

more wisely spent if time and resources are put against people who have the

ability, drive and mindset to be developed. HR can help by implementing a

36%

53%

11%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

From your perspective as an HR executive what do you expect for 2012?

It will be a year of

growth and recovery

marked by increased

hiring and new talent

development

initiatives.It will be similar to

2011 with sluggish

hiring and postponed

HR initiatives.

It will be a year of

stagnation with more

cutbacks and

restructurings.


proper and efficient way of identifying who, internally, is worth development

investment is necessary if talent resource allocation is to be optimized.

Employers must minimize their reliance on in-demand workers and shift their

focus to transferring their knowledge and skills to others – preserving and

advancing precious skill sets, and utilizing virtual work models such as swarm

work and hyerspecialization.


IT TAKES TALENT TO WIN IN 2012

Growth and competitiveness are now so closely dependent on the strength

and commitment of an organization’s talent that our findings have bearing

well beyond the HR and talent management sectors. In the Human Age,

talent is the New It – the best source of competitive advantage.

The main findings of the study have noted a keen concern over the

availability of leadership talent, growing difficulty filling key positions, fewer

staff cutbacks and an uptick in hiring. Furthermore, the implications of the

findings are numerous, among them… talent will look elsewhere for new

opportunities as the job market improves, loss of key talent will become

increasingly common, and organizations will lack the very top performers and

leaders who are essential to achieve growth under pressure.

It’s time to think differently about your workforce. These challenges call for

the attention of senior management and HR leaders.

Leaders need to embrace diversity of workforces and create talent strategies

that account for diversities, varying expectations, motivations, training and

development, and cultural norms. Only in this way will organizations be able

to have the right talent in the right place at the right time and doing the right

things to insure the growth and competitiveness so crucial today. With a

human approach and with a solid understanding of the changing world of

work, leaders must quickly curate information, understand implications, and

adapt and share insight accordingly in order to empower and unleash human

potential.

Right Management has applied our knowledge and experience to be uniquely

positioned to help you to create strategies and solutions to deal with

succession planning, leadership development, identification of high potential

employees, specific and targeted recruitment and hiring processes and

selective retention efforts. This is how you can win in today’s complex work

ecosystem and succeed in the new era of the Human Age.


ABOUT RIGHT MANAGEMENT

Right Management is a global leader in talent and career management

workforce solutions within ManpowerGroup. The company designs and

delivers solutions to align talent strategy with business strategy. Expertise

spans Talent Assessment, Leader Development, Organizational Effectiveness,

Employee Engagement, and Workforce Transition and Outplacement. With

offices in over 50 countries, Right Management partners with companies of all

sizes – including more than 80% of the Fortune 500 – to help grow and engage their talent, increase productivity and optimize business performance.

©2012 Right Management. All Rights Reserved.

Contact for more information:

Jennifer L. Jones, Director of Marketing, Americas

Right Management, [email protected]

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A Pulse On Talent Management In The Year Ahead