“42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.”Â
Steven Wright
A New Collection of Talent Management Facts
Another addition of leadership and talent management “facts” from all over the world. Some intuitive and some not….what do you think?
1. Results from a recent research study by Dr. Christopher Mayhorn at NC State University (click on his research lab URL to find out more–or not) on spam emails that carry malicious malware found that 89% of the people studied were highly. However, only 7.5% were accurate and both women and those who reported being “introverted” were significantly worse in detecting such spam.
2. According to a new study conducted by the Center for Leadership Development and Research at Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University’s Rock Center for Corporate Governance, and The Miles Group, nearly two-thirds of CEOs do not receive coaching or leadership advice from outside consultants or coaches, and almost half of senior executives are not receiving any either, the survey reveals. 100% of them stated that they are receptive to making changes based on feedback
3. One-third of workers report they take all of their electronic devices on vacation, according to a survey by talent mobility consulting firm Lee Hecht Harrison. Only nine percent say they unplug completely and leave the devices behind.
4. When being considered for the same job, mothers were significantly less likely to be recommended for hire, and when they were, they were offered $11,000.00 less in starting salary, on average, then childless women (fathers were not penalized at all).
5. The latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show the biggest gaps in wages between men and women are in sales. Saleswomen make only 62.5% of what their male colleagues make, in retail just 64.3% and in real estate only 66.0%.
6. A trio of researchers (Monica Biernat from the University of Kansas, consultant M. J. Tocci, and Joan Williams from Hastings College of Law) found in their study of performance evaluations at a Wall Street law firm that women received significantly more positive comments than men did, but only 6% of women were mentioned as partnership material (compared to 15% of the men).
7. Consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkmnan analyzed leadership evaluations of more than 7,280 executives. Their analysis revealed that women were rated higher than men at every level (the higher the level, the greater the gap). Not only were women rated higher on competencies they are traditionally thought to excel (e.g., building relationships) but they were significantly higher on 12 of the 15 competencies as most important to overall leadership effectiveness such as drives for results, champions change, innovates, and develops a strategic perspective.
8. Nearly 40% of the country’s highest paid executives over the last two decades were either fired or forced to take government bailouts. An additional 8% of CEOs headed companies that paid big fraud-related fines and another 8% were just out righted fired for poor performance. The average fired CEO walked away with a $48 million dollar golden parachute.
8. A recent survey from Stanford University/The Miles Group survey released in September of 2013 asked 200 CEOs, board directors, and other senior executives questions about how they receive and view leadership advice. Only 23 percent of CEOs were working on their team-building skills, but only 13 percent of directors believed this was an area that needs improvement. The area or topic that most CEO’s say the area they want the most want to develop is conflict management/resolution.
9. How long are you able to work on a task without being interrupted? Research suggests that the average time you can work on a task and be interrupted is 11 minutes and it takes an average of 25 minutes to return to the original task after an interruption (Gonzalez & Mark, 2004). Research by Judy Wajcman and Emily Rose (Organizational Studies, 2011) suggest that the most common disruptions come from co-workers, as tempting as it is to blame email or instant messaging. Face-to-face interruptions account for one-third more intrusions than email or phone calls, which employees feel freer to defer or ignore.
Finally, additional research suggests that employees who work in cubicles are interrupted 29% more often than those in private offices. Intercubicle traffic at one telecommunications company peaked daily from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., when employees played music, talked over cubicle walls or walked among each other’s desks.
10. A key finding from the 2013 Aon worldwide engagement survey (2013 Trends in Global Employee Engagement) is that 40% of employees report being passively or actively disengaged on the job. Engagement drivers are not global–for example “pay” is globally rated as one of the top three engagement drivers but of least importance in Latin America compared to “recognition” there which was rated the most important factor. In general, “career opportunities” were rated as one of the most important drivers in North America, Europe and Asia (#3 for Latin America).
Back to research some new talent development facts….Be well….
Ken Nowack
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)
