Future talent is now
As the complex challenges facing organisations intensifies and the pace of change accelerates, the only certainty is that nothing can be certain. In this ever-changing world of work, forward-thinking organisations are obliged to evolve.
Alongside addressing current issues, organisations must explore actionable future talent strategies. To gain perspective on the reality of future talent issues for HR leaders in the UK, ManpowerGroup Solutions surveyed a number of senior HR professionals[i] .
We asked respondents their views on the significance of future talent, future leadership skill requirements, and the extent to which collaboration is part of their organisation’s culture.
Our results confirmed future talent is an issue for today.
The importance of future talent
Respondents were asked to rate the significance of several future talent issues in comparison to current issues. 71% confirmed the high importance of understanding their organisation’s future talent requirements. This view was felt even more strongly by HR leaders, climbing to 86% for HR Directors and Heads of HR.
Our audience was asked to rate the importance of developing talent internally within their organisations. 68% of respondents felt that developing talent is important, rating between 8 and 10 on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is extremely significant and 1 extremely insignificant. At the same time, resourcing talent externally also proved a noteworthy consideration, with 42% rating the importance of external talent sources between 8 and 10.
Combining the benefits of external talent sources alongside providing ongoing development for existing talent can ensure an organisation’s entire workforce is job ready and effectively skilled to meet the diverse challenges and opportunities facing businesses today.
Future leadership skills
A balanced future talent viewpoint includes consideration of future leaders, in particular the skills they will need. 79% of respondents believed the skills required of leaders in 2020 would be noticeably different to that of today’s leaders. This expectancy was shared by 70% of the CEO’s we surveyed.
The need for future leaders to demonstrate resilience, agility and innovation, balanced with technical and softer skills, will likely increase as the world of work evolves. Underpinning all the requirements, however, is the elusive, yet critical, skill of understanding people; including effective engagement, motivation, and leadership.
Organisations are encouraged to consider the approach they are taking to developing their own high potential talent and building a talent pipeline that will create measurable business results and sustained market leadership. If organisations wish to build confidence in their leadership pipeline, they do well to harness adequate bench strength at middle and higher management levels and develop high potentials within their organisation.
Collaborative culture
The need for leaders to be able to connect with and effectively engage employees continues to be widely acknowledged. With technology revolutionising working practices, we explored the current state of collaboration within organisations. Respondents were asked whether their leadership team is supportive in building such a culture.
Despite recognising collaboration as critical for future success, the majority (47%) were only moderately positive that their organisation is collaborative. Change led by senior leadership is vital to the successful roll out of collaborative initiatives. Interestingly, 87% of those who strongly believed their organisation is collaborative also confirmed their leadership team is extremely supportive of building such a culture.
Progressive organisations and future leaders must, not only keep pace with collaborative trends, but understand the impact of not integrating collaboration into their culture. Despite the risks involved, leaders of the future must be aware of the greater risks of not moving forward and embracing collaboration and relevant technological advances.
A now issue
Competitive organisations do not view future talent as a future issue but rather as a now issue. For organisations to secure their future existence, they cannot ignore the need for a responsive, forward-looking talent strategy, strongly aligned with business strategy. To attract, develop, and retain the skilled talent to meet business objectives, traditional strategies can no longer be relied upon – an agile, robust talent strategy is essential.
[i] In April/May 2015, ManpowerGroup Solutions UK surveyed a selection of HR leaders attending the 2015 Changeboard Future Talent Conference, and subscribers to Changeboard’s quarterly print magazine.
Findings are based on 246 responses from HR professionals holding positions of seniority within their organisations, including: HR Directors, Heads of HR, Heads of Learning and Development, and Heads of Talent.
[i] In April/May 2015, ManpowerGroup Solutions UK surveyed a selection of HR leaders attending the 2015 Changeboard Future Talent Conference, and subscribers to Changeboard’s quarterly print magazine.
Findings are based on 246 responses from HR professionals holding positions of seniority within their organisations, including: HR Directors, Heads of HR, Heads of Learning and Development, and Heads of Talent.
