Talent Management Facts #21

Statistics are like bikinis.  What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital. 

Aaron Levenstein

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

1. According to a late 2010 survey by CareerBuilder.com (2,482 U.S. managers and 3,910 full-time employees in the private sector), only 58 percent of managers said they ever received any formal management training to help them make the transition into leadership roles but nearly 60 percent think they are doing just fine. The most common problems they experienced included:

• Handling employee conflicts (25%)
• Motivating teams (22%)
• Performance reviews (15%)
• Finding resources for staff (15%)
• Creating career paths (12%)

2. In this same Careerbuilder.com survey, regardless of age or experience, 20 percent of the managers were rated as having poor leadership skills. The biggest complaints included:

• Doesn’t listen to employees or address morale issues (40%)
• Not enough transparency (33%)
• Major changes without warning (30%) and unreasonable workloads/demands (27%)

3. Based on the Global Information Technology Report 2010-2011, Transformations 2.0, World Economic Forum the U.S. is ranked fifth out of 138 countries for its use of communications technology and computers.  The top countries included Sweden, Singapore, Finland and Switzerland.

4. A July 2010 Pew Internet & American Life Project study found that 55 percent of U.S. mobile web users go online from their phones and mobile devices on a daily basis (up from 24 percent in 2009). 

5. According to the Thomson Reuters Workforce Wellness Index (March 2011), unhealthy behaviors of U.S. workers cost employers an average of $670 per employee annually. High body mass indices contributed to $400 of the overall per-employee cost.

6. A 2010 Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) survey found that 44% of employers offered telecommuting options on an ad hoc basis, 34% on a part-time basis and only 17% on a full-time basis. 

7. A May 2011 SHRM poll asking about whether one’s organization had a formal succession planning in place.  Results suggested that 38 percent had no formal succession plan in place and 17 percent don’t with no plan by leaders in the organization to develop a plan.

8.  Some findings from the DDI Global Leadership Forecast 2011 of 12,423 leaders and 1,897 HR professional representing 74 countries:

• Organizations whose employees rate their current leadership as high were 13 times more likely to outperform their competition on key metrics such as financial performance
• Only 38 percent of the 12,423 leaders in the study were rated as good or excellent with nearly 25 percent rated as poor or fair
• Both leaders and HR rated leadership quality highest in North America (52% rated it highly) and lowest in Europe and Asia (33% rated it highly)
• Approximately 33 percent of HR and leaders rated their leadership development programs as being effective
• The most critical skills required from leaders included driving change (48%), Identifying and coaching talent (36%), Fostering innovation/creativity (35%), Coaching and developing talent (32%) and executing strategy (32%).  When asked to rate the ineffectiveness of leaders in these areas, the ranges were from 40% to 50% on each
• 68 percent of organizations use managers as coaches (63% rate it as effective) and 27% use external coaches often (37% rate it as effective)
• The iPad generation desire to learn from others and coaching and the older generation appears to favor classroom training and special projects
• The range of effectiveness for leadership selection, succession planning, performance management and development programs ranged from 22 percent to 33 percent by HR respondents

9. According to an online survey of more than 500 senior managers and executives conducted by AMA Enterprise, one-quarter of employees in the U.S. and Canada tend to regard talent development programs as less than equitable.  Participants were asked, “How is the high potential program perceived by your organization’s employees?” They responded:

• Impartial and even-handed (12 percent)
• Flawed, but well-intentioned (27 percent)
• Unfair and political (24 percent)
• Don’t know (37 percent)

10. A 2011 survey by Addeco (“Workplace Outlook Study”) found that the most important thing(s) to job seekers now are:

• Job security (21%)
• Health benefits (20%)
• Salary/compensation (14%)
• Work/life balance (14%)
• Retirement benefits (11%)
• Vacation/days off (5%)
• Company culture (4%)
• Company perks (1%)

The largest fraction of Americans looking for jobs consisted of 18-34 year-olds.  And 28% of Americans are starting a new job in 2011 compared to only 14% in 2010.

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)