It’s hard to imagine a more pressing concern in our current organizational climate than talent management, so the initial findings from the Brandon Hall Group Talent Management survey make interesting reading.

The survey has unearthed ten key trends that they believe separate the best performing organizations from the laggards.  Some will be familiar to readers of this blog, others may be somewhat newer.

1. Leadership development is critical – the survey revealed that the best organizations make leadership development a constant and ongoing concern.  Some of the more innovative are utilizing enterprise social networks to form leadership ‘labs’, whereby leaders can network and share knowledge with fellow leaders within the organization.
2. Social and mobile will play a big part – leadership development is increasingly delivered via just in time style channels, with social and mobile key to providing learning when and where it’s required.
3. Talent retention is not on the radar – surprisingly, 64% of organizations did not have a talent retention strategy.  The results revealed how those that did, were typically using tailored strategies to specific target groups.  For instance, millennials may be offered career advancement opportunities, whilst baby boomers are offered flexible working arrangements.
4. The talent shortage persists – despite high unemployment, respondents revealed continuing difficulties recruiting the right talent for their needs.  This fits with my recent post on the skills gap that exists between what universities are providing and what employers require.
5. The career ladder is falling apart – whilst climbing the career ladder may have traditionally been the measure of success, it is increasingly common that employees move throughout the organization on project work.  As a result, responsibility, adaptability, productivity, and performance depend, to a high degree, on a workforce with deep and diverse skills across a variety of critical functions and geographies.
6. Everyone wants feedback – the survey also revealed the crucial role feedback played in retaining talent.  As with the i4cp report from last month, people were very clear in their desire for coaching and mentoring whilst at work, with frequent and ongoing support and feedback on their performance.
7. Organizations need to put their money where their mouth is – despite the undoubted importance of talent retention, few organizations it seems are willing to provide much in the way of budget towards the task.  Just 1/4 revealed that they planned to increase their talent budget for the coming year.