OVER THE coming three years, organisations will continue to aggressively restructure, employees will need challenging work to excel at their jobs, and the competition for talent with global skills will become even more fierce, a recent study of senior HR professionals has found
OVER THE coming three years, organisations will continue to aggressively restructure, employees will need challenging work to excel at their jobs, and the competition for talent with global skills will become even more fierce, a recent study of senior HR professionals has found.
While organisations are cutting jobs or restructuring, they will still struggle to find talent. In fact, 91 per cent of HR professionals believe that competition for people with global skills will increase, and more organisations and countries will be competing for the same people to grow their businesses.
The study found that 85 per cent of leaders predict that India and China will become dominant players in world markets within the next three years. Borders will continue to blur as the trade of knowledge and intellectual capital across countries will increase, according to 86 per cent of respondents.
“Limited resources and expanding global markets make training and developing the right individuals crucial for organisations to thrive,” said Rich Wellins, senior vice-president of DDI, which conducted the study in conjunction with the Human Capital Institute.
“More and more organisations are filling leadership positions from the inside in response to the competition for global talent.”
In addition to trading knowledge internationally, he said teams themselves will be more geographically diverse. “Leaders’ roles will continue to expand with globalisation. They will have to manage more diverse teams and manage them over ‘long distance’.”
The study, took in more than 700 HR executives, directors and managers in the US and Canada, also found that 90 per cent said that leaders will be expected to encourage higher levels of innovation to foster economic growth.
“Leaders need to be agile as organisations and industries change shape, creating a more critical need to have the right talent onboard,” Wellins said.
Allan Schweyer, president of the Human Capital Institute, said the demand for leaders with global skills, perspectives and sensitivities continues to grow, underscoring the importance of identifying and developing a whole new breed of leader.
As the pace of business quickens with technology, product development and new business models, 72 per cent of respondents predicted that organisations will increase investments in training and development. In fact, 90 per cent said that talent will be a primary differentiator of business success.
This signals an ongoing pressure for companies and employees to continually adapt to the changing landscape and roles, especially when 74 per cent of leaders surveyed expect to see an increase in organisational structuring.
The study, Talent Management in Motion, also found that nearly 90 per cent of HR professionals believe that challenging work is more motivating than even monetary rewards. “As competition for people intensifies, organisations will need to do more to keep their best employees by providing interesting assignments and other opportunities,” Wellins said.
