10 Ways for Global Talent Managers to Answer the Call of the C-Suite

© 2016 Pearson English, a division of Pearson plc

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HR is changing fast.

And at a global scale, talent management is becoming an increasingly powerful driver of business success.

Earlier this year Deloitte interviewed more than 7,000 CEOs and HR leaders in 130 countries, in order to understand the talent challenges facing their organizations.

In this report we look at the top five trends identified by Deloitte, highlight the key take-aways for Global Talent Managers, and identify 10 ideas for action to answer the call of the C-suite.

Introduction

Top 5 Global Human Capital Trends for 2016

Organizational Design 92%

89%Leadership Development

87%Corporate Culture

85%Employee Engagement

84%Learning

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92%

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

Traditional hierarchies with matrix-organizations comprising functional leaders at HQ and local teams in the field are proving to be ill-equipped for today’s high-paced business environments.

Progressive organizations are taking a new approach, which Deloitte refers to as The Rise of Teams.

Instead of permanently working in a specialist department or local division, employees are assigned to temporary teams focused on a specific business, product, market, or customer need.

Employees move from team to team as needed—similar to the way different specialists come together to produce a Hollywood movie—and then return to their functional home before being selected for their next team.

How PEBS Can Help

PEBS clients use our One Assessment tool to identify proficiency in Business English as part of their global recruitment process. By using business-specific content, rather than generic questioning, they can accurately assess a candidate’s ability to communicate and collaborate across their organization.

80 percent of companies are either currently restructuring their organization or have recently completed the process

Only 38 percent of all companies are still organized by function

Ideas for Action

New recruits need to have the skills to communicate effectively with colleagues at different levels, from different disciplines, and increasingly located in different countries.

New recruits should be assessed on their ability, and potential, to collaborate across the organization rather than just having the skills for a specific position.

Companies are decentralizing authority, moving toward product- and customer-

centric organizations, and forming dynamic networks of highly empowered teams that communicate and coordinate activities in

unique and powerful ways.

80% 38%

Redesigning the organization is ranked as the number 1 overall issue, with 92 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

The Rise of TeamsORGANIZATIONAL

DESIGN

This new mode of organization, a network of teams with a high degree of empowerment, strong communication, and rapid information

flow, is now sweeping businesses and governments around the world.

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24%13%

89%

Only 13 percent of companies say they are “excellent” at building global leaders

24 percent believe that their current leadership programs yield little to no value

Organizations need to develop fundamental leadership capabilities

among critical individuals and teams—capabilities that include the ability to collaborate across boundaries,

conceptualize new solutions, motivate diverse teams, and develop the next

generation of diverse and global leaders.

Leadership development is ranked as the number 2 overall issue, with 89 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

Data-Driven DevelopmentLEADERSHIP

DEVELOPMENT

Too few leadership programs are designed on a foundation of research, clear priorities,

and assessments of needed leadership thinking and outcomes.

Ideas for Action

Expand the use of online tools to identify high-potential employees from around the world earlier in their careers, and provide opportunities for younger leaders to gain the skills, experiences, and insights they need to thrive in leadership roles.

Become more scientific about leadership development by identifying the skills that leaders need, and then rigorously evaluating progress as they develop.

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

As organizations become more team-centric, and business challenges become more global and diverse, fresh challenges in leadership development are emerging. There is a stronger demand for employees who can lead at all levels.

The nature of leadership is changing. Leaders must inspire teams that are increasingly multi-generational, cross-disciplined, and multi-cultured, which requires an inclusive attitude and strong communication skills, as well as strategic thinking skills and business knowledge.

Too many leadership programs are still evaluated on the feedback of participants rather than the assessment of participants.

How PEBS Can Help

By formalizing a common business language across their entire organization, PEBS clients are able to broaden the talent pool of potential leaders across geographies. Potential leaders can be given the personalized language training they need to succeed in leadership positions.

Our Global Scale of English (GSE) also helps companies to track the progress and precise abilities of employees at every stage of leadership development.

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Ideas for Action

Make cultural fit a key part of the recruitment strategy. Reduce the emphasis on specific skills, which can be taught on the job, and place more importance on matching a candidate’s behaviors and values with the desired corporate culture.

Ensure talent management strategies, like business strategies, are closely aligned with the organization’s culture. Actions and behaviors consistent with cultural values must be rewarded, while those that go against them should be challenged and corrected.

Few factors contribute more to business success than culture—the system of values, beliefs, and behaviors that shape how real

work gets done within an organization.

Culture can determine success or failure during times of change: mergers, acquisitions, growth, and product cycles can either succeed or fail depending on the alignment of culture

with the business’s direction.

How PEBS Can Help

Defining and developing a strong corporate culture means identifying shared beliefs, building trust, and driving accountability across the entire organization.

Clear communication and shared understanding are a vital part of the process. By promoting English skills across their global organizations, PEBS clients are ensuring that differences in diverse local cultures don’t derail efforts to build a strong and consistent corporate culture.

Only 19 percent believe they have the “right culture” >50%19%

Over 50 percent are currently attempting to change their culture in response to shifting talent markets and increased competition

87%Corporate culture is ranked as the number 3 overall issue, with 87 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

Leading companies are now consciously cultivating and managing their culture, turning it into a competitive advantage in the marketplace. As part of proactively defining their culture, many are issuing open “culture manifestos” available to audiences inside and outside the organization.

A strong culture needs to define who the company hires, who gets promoted, and what behaviors will be rewarded with compensation or promotion. In today’s competitive talent environment, culture is playing an increasing role in an organization’s ability to attract, hire, and retain top talent.

As organizations become more diverse and distributed, a strong guiding culture is becoming more important in guiding actions, binding people together and strengthening communication and collaboration.

CORPORATE CULTURE

Cultivating Competitive Advantage

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Free food and ping-pong tables are fun perks, but companies that succeed in having highly engaged employees focus intently on driving

meaning, purpose, and passion among workers.

When employees feel empowered and have a sense of ownership for their jobs, their

engagement is significantly higher.

4%64%

85%

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

Services such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and personal social media networks, are providing greater transparency than ever before into the workplace. Those consistently ranked as a great place to work are building significant advantages in the war for talent.

Today’s top talent is placing a higher premium on flexibility, creativity, and purpose at work, with culture and career growth being valued at almost twice the rate as compensation and benefits for talented Millennials.

With as many as five generations of workers, increasingly operating in dispersed global teams, often across diverse cultures and geographies, today’s workforce require a highly inclusive approach to build effective engagement.

In today’s ultra-competitive recruitment market, employers must provide their top talent with clear development plans, opportunities for promotion, and the tools to drive their own career progression.

How PEBS Can Help

64 percent of organizations still only measure employee engagement annually

Only 4 percent believe they are very good at engaging Millennials and other generations in the work environment

Many graduates in developing markets see the development of their English skills as the most important investment they can make in their careers. PEBS clients have been able to attract and retain top talent in global markets by offering on the job Business English learning as an integral part of their talent management strategy.

Employee engagement is ranked as the number 4 overall issue, with 85 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Ideas for Action

Make personal development plans a core part of your recruitment strategy.

While personal development programs are essential to attract top talent, the realities of today’s dynamic job make it equally essential that such development delivers immediate return to the organization, as well as the employee.

Engaged For Success

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Millennials and other young employees have grown up in this self-directed learning environment. They expect it as part of their

working lives and careers—and they will move elsewhere if employers fail to provide it.

61%30%

84%

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

In today’s dynamic and highly competitive global economy, organizations recognize that they are not developing skills fast enough or leaders quickly enough, and are increasingly turning to learning programs as the primary driver of employee development.

Learning programs are also seen as an essential tool for attracting top talent, engaging employees, and developing leaders. Employees appreciate the need to continuously develop and upgrade their skills, recognizing that the learning curve is the earning curve.

Advancements in technology, with powerful mobile devices, and ubiquitous connectivity make learning tools and materials available to everyone, everywhere. Employees are demanding access to dynamic learning opportunities that fit their personal needs and schedules.

How PEBS Can Help

PEBS is helping its clients around the globe to put their employees at the center of the learning experience. Instant access to Business English vocabulary libraries, productivity tools, email templates, and culture notes, can help employees address immediate workplace situations. Progressively developing English skills in their own time can improve their performance and broaden future career opportunities.

30 percent of executives see learning as the primary driver of employee development

61 percent of executives report challenges in moving their organizations toward external self-directed learning

In today’s highly competitive global economy and intensely competitive talent market, the C-suite clearly understands that companies

that do not constantly upgrade skills and rapidly build leaders will not be able to

execute their business plans.

Learning is ranked as the number 4 overall issue, with 84 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

LEARNING

Ideas for Action

Evolve learning programs from a content-centric to a learner-centric experience by driving a cultural shift from a company-push approach to an employee-pull approach. Give employees the freedom to engage and schedule learning on their time in their terms.

Support an employee-centric approach with mobile, social, and web-based platforms that can deliver on-demand learning content and a better user-experience return to the organization, as well as the employee.

Leading By Learning

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Letting Talent Speak For Itself

Pearson English Business SolutionsPearson English Business Solutions enables employees to seamlessly develop their Business English skills while continually enhancing organizational productivity.

You can find out more about our services at www.globalenglish.com

Global Human Capital Trends 2016This report is based on the findings delivered in the Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report from Deloitte University Press.

You can find the full report at Global Human Capital Trends 2016