Your Talent Challenges

Survey Responses from Thought Leaders Participants

Critical Human Capital Challenges

Providing leaders with skills to be successful

Engaging and retaining talented employees

Recruiting and selecting talented

employees

Succession planning Other

“Other” Critical Challenges

Achieving a truly performance-driven culture

Innovation and strategic thinking.     Career development as a means to

engagement and retention Engaging employees who are brought into the

company via acquisition vs. recruited   Attracting key people when there is a

shortage of them, e.g., mid-level medical professionals, jobs in the construction industry

Most Crucial Challenge

Succession planning 34.5%

Providing leaders with skills to be successful 24.1%

Recruiting and selecting talented employees 20.7%

Engaging and retaining talented employees 20.7%

Why So Challenging?

As a small company in Silicon Valley, it is challenging to get the best and the brightest leaders in technology  

Lack of qualified candidates   We have 150 employees, with the

majority (2/3) working in entry-level positions in finance. "Promotions” are rare

Why Challenging? (Cont.)

Currently we are replacing our CEO of 17 years. In some areas we are prepared for this succession and in others we are not. We need continual focus and planning in this area.

 Our nine subsidiaries have not done a good job of putting in place a number two.

Changing leadership and lack of focus. Lack of accountability for performance.

As a result of long-term underinvestment in the fundamental skills required by managers and leaders, there is a systematic under-skilling in both cohorts at all levels.  

Why Challenging? (Cont.

  We are trying to change our culture to

engage employees  

We have been through 2 acquisitions in less than 2 years.

Biggest Barriers?

Finding the best and convincing them to come to our company over others in the bay area  

Pay differences based on geography

  How to keep very good employees motivated to stay

in their jobs for more than a year or so

Gen Y: Want more personal attention and immediate action than what the business model can often afford (time, money, mentoring, work/life balance)

Biggest Barriers?

Management buy-in and support of the succession plan

Must create an environment where management will discuss hi- and low- potentials; reward and recognize hi potentials; help low potentials improve or move out

   No succession process that the organization

can use. Existing leaders are young, so it’s not a high-profile issue  

Biggest Barriers?

Culture and skill sets

Lack of agreement on competencies required; lack of robust technology/metrics tools

  Communication of a new strategic plan

(employee alignment/engagement)

Building trust after an acquisition

What Might Your CEO Do? Sell the benefits that a small company

can provide a high- caliber technology leader

Build a culture where all employees are involved with the employee-referral program.

Endorse the culture of business units

building their pipelines.  

What Might Your CEO Do?

Encourage each level of management to address succession in their individual areas, and then come together as a team to roll up the plan.

Support decisions to help individuals leave the organization; provide stretch opportunities for high potentials  

What Might Your CEO Do?

Skills assessments of leaders and put in place a formal succession-planning process.  

Demonstrate by his actions that we really care about people and the business.  

Communicate and implement action items to begin the process of building trust. Provide more than lip service.  

Emphasize the importance of formal planning upfront and formal and informal execution.

Type of organization?

For-profit 77.8% Not-for-profit 22.2%

Government   0.0%

Employees in your organization?

1-99 3.8% 100-499 26.9%

500-999 11.5%

1000-2499 7.7% 2500-4999 11.5% 5000-9999 3.8% 10,000-24,999 15.4%

25,000 or more 19.2%