42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.” 

Steven Wright

Another addition of leadership and talent management “facts” from all over the world.  Some intuitive and some not….what do you think?

1. Productivity levels wax early in the week, and wane quickly, according to a survey by staffing services company Accountemps.  Approximately 39% of all employees report they are most productive on Tuesdays from 10-12noon.

2. In a recent Gallup survey only 34 percent of respondents rate Internet-based college programs as excellent or good, versus 68 percent for traditional four-year programs.  This findings suggests that online education is perceived as less valuable than traditional learning venues.

3. A recent survey by BlessingWhite shows that perks may cause organizations to retain less productive employees: Disengaged employees are twice as likely to stay because of beneficial job conditions when compared with their engaged colleagues. “I like the work that I do” is the main reason engaged workers stay with their current employer (38 percent of “engaged” survey respondents listed this as their top reason). The second highest driver of retention for engaged employees is belief in the organization’s mission and culture (19 percent).

4. Cat hiccups, a disgruntled roommate and a governor’s phone call are among this year’s most unusual excuses employees gave for being tardy, according to a new CareerBuilder study. Sixteen percent of workers reported they arrive late to work once a week or more, up from 15 percent last year. Twenty-seven percent of workers arrive late to work at least once a month, up from 26 percent last year.

5. According to research from the University of Washington Foster School of Business, humble people are more likely to be high performers in individual and team settings and they also tend to make the most effective leaders. The research team defined humility as a three-part personality trait consisting of an accurate view of the self, teachability, and appreciation of others’ strengths.

6. Self-awareness—a characteristic essential to career success and improved executive leadership— also appears to correlate with overall company financial performance. The analysis of  6,977 self-assessments from professionals at 486 publicly traded companies demonstrated that, on average:

Poorly performing companies’ employees had 20 percent more blind spots than those working at financially strong companies; and 2) Poor-performing companies’ employees were 79 percent more likely to have low overall self-awareness than those at firms with robust ROR.

7. Nearly 80 percent of leaders have blind spots about their skills according to research by Korn/Ferry International and 40% have at least one hidden strength.

8. Research by Gallup finds that companies fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for the job 82% of the time  This is important because managers account for at least 70% of variance in employee engagement scores across business units.

9. In the 2014 Global Capital Trends report by Deloitte Consulting (2,532 business and HR leaders in 94 countries), the top areas of perceived urgency included: 1) Leadership (38% said it was urgent); Retention/engagement of talent; 3) Reskilling HR talent; and 4) Talent acquisition.  The lowest levels of “readiness” to respond to global trends included talent and HR analytics (46%), HR technology (45%), the overwhelmed employee (44%) and performance management (43%).

10. Studies show that people check their mobile devices up to 150 times every day. Yet despite employees being always on and constantly connected, most companies have not figured out how to make information easy to find. In fact, nearly three-quarters (72 percent) of employees report they still cannot find the information they need within their company’s information systems.

Back to research some new talent development facts….Be well….

Kenneth Nowack, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist (PSY13758) and President & Chief Research Officer/Co-Founder of Envisia Learning, is a member of the Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations. Ken also serves as the Associate Editor of Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research. His recent book Clueless: Coaching People Who Just Don’t Get It is available for free for a limited time by signing up for free blog updates (Learn more at our website)

Posted in 360 Degree Feedback, Engagement, Leadership Development, Relate, Selection, Talent Management

If You Enjoyed This Post...

You'll love getting updates when we post new articles on leadership development, 360 degree feedback and behavior change. Enter your email below to get a free copy of our book and get notified of new posts:

Follow Envisia Learning:

RSS Twitter linkedin Facebook

Are You Implementing a Leadership Development Program?

Call us to discuss how we can help you get more out of your leadership development program:

(800) 335-0779, x1