Survey Shows Lack of Consensus on Talent Management Strategy

The results of a Right Management survey of 537 U.S. companies found that just 12 percent have a talent management strategy fully implemented into their organization. Very little consensus developed on the issue with 25 percent of respondents reporting that they have created a strategy but face obstacles with implementation and 7 percent reporting their strategy of consisting of only a list of objectives or a statement of philosophy. The largest single portion of the group (44 percent) said that they have non-integrated HR processes that function as a talent management strategy while 12 percent reported no strategy at all.

“While 12 percent of organizations have no talent management strategy at all, it is of equal concern that 76 percent of organizations face many obstacles preventing them from implementing a talent management strategy,” said Owen J. Sullivan, Right Management CEO. “There is a need for companies to commit to a systemic effort to assess and align their talent management strategies in the context of their business strategies and build a pipeline of necessary talent required to succeed. The findings suggest that organizations of all types are struggling with how to address the critical challenge of attracting, developing, and retaining the necessary talent required to meet and execute their business strategy.”

The greatest single obstacles to the implementation of a company’s talent management strategy were found to be: insufficient budget or resources (18 percent), not enough clarity (17 percent), the need for a balance between short-term/long-term needs (17 percent), lack of support from senior management (10 percent), other (10 percent), lack of HR resources (9 percent), an unsupportive corporate culture (9 percent), a rapidly changing business environment (5 percent), and a lack of technology (4 percent).