Every week, I review blogs that cover talent development to find the very best talent development posts. This week, you’ll find pointers to pieces about a survey of leadership and HR practices, new hire practices, growing the next generation of finance leaders, and a war for talent in manufacturing.
From Borderless Executive Search: Leadership and HR Practices 2011 Survey
“70% of executives describe the overall approach to leadership in their companies to be less than good.”
Wally’s Comment: This is a fairly small survey (only 300 respondents) but there are some findings that will spark your thinking. For example, three quarters of respondents say they’re not very good at “systematically” identifying people with leadership potential. And two thirds have been involved in a merger or acquisition in the last five years. Think about how those two things might affect the future of your company.
From Harold Jarche: New Hire Practices
“I know that there are no “best practices†in new hire development, also known as onboarding, as each organization is unique and often rather complex. However, there are some practices that could make onboarding better in certain contexts. I’ve looked at several examples and am very interested in unique practices (outliers) beyond the corporate norm.”
Wally’s Comment: Check out this post for some good ideas to improve your own onboarding process.
From Jeff Schwartz: How to Grow Your Next Generation of Finance Leaders
“The talent wars are back. Many companies are experiencing shortages in their leadership pipelines. A recent survey reported business leaders anticipating shortages in executive leadership in the coming year, with one of four executives anticipating severe shortages of senior and emerging leaders. This is certainly true for finance organizations, especially as the technical skill set required of finance executives continues to expand to meet the business challenges of increased globalization and financial regulation.”
Wally’s Comment: Jeff Schwartz is a principal with Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Human Capital practice. This post is directly concerned with the talent development pipeline for financial officers, but don’t let that cause you to pass it by.
From Mike Hoban at DDI: The Gray Matter Matters
“Wait – what? A war for talent in manufacturing? Yes, you read correctly. There’s a 9% unemployment rate and 1 in 10 manufacturing employees are out of work in the U.S. but because of several trends, the help wanted sign is out for many companies who sport smart machines on the “new†factory floor. In the last several weeks, two major business publications – Bloomberg/Business Week and the Wall Street Journal – had prominent articles about the reawakening in manufacturing and the huge challenge companies are having finding and keeping skilled workers.”
Wally’s Comment: Mike Hoban, a Senior Consultant with Development Dimensions International (DDI), highlights a war for talent that hasn’t gotten much attention. For more perspective on this, read “Crafting a Skilled Workforce” about how Blum, Inc. (a manufacturer of lift systems, concealed hinges and drawer runner systems for kitchen cabinets) is using a European-style apprentice program to grow its own skilled workforce.
