A report by the Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA), Talent pipeline draining growth: Connecting human capital to the growth agenda has found that failing to draw on the talent and expertise of employees can result in significant difficulties with growing the business and reaching financial targets.
CGMA surveyed over 300 CEO’s, CFO’s and HR Directors and found that almost half (43%) of respondents thought that ineffective people management had contributed to difficulties achieving financial goals in their organisations, while two-fifths (40%) claimed it had reduced their ability to innovate.
In the context of the global financial crisis, the skills, experience, development and job satisfaction levels of employees are emerging as major sources of competitive advantage or disadvantage. Companies with highly skilled HR practices achieve up to 3.5 times the revenue growth and twice the profit margins of companies less skilled in talent management.
The survey revealed that disconnection between executive and HR management, differing priorities between HR directors and CEO’s/CFO’s, lack of agreement regarding responsibility for talent development and cuts in investment in workforce skills, training and qualifications had contributed to the lack of investment in people. Another key concern raised related to the quality and amount of information that business leaders receive on human capital.
Arleen Thomas, CGMA’s senior vice president, management accounting, said the research revealed many companies are falling short of their potential because “they lack thorough, relevant information about their people to support effective strategy, hiring and training decisions”.
Organisations require accurate, timely data on key metrics to be able to make appropriate talent management decisions and investments, and critically, need data translated into actionable items. If this is weak, it is likely that decision making around people issues will not be effective.
Only 12% of CEOs were confident about the quality of metrics that senior management receives on human capital and 38% of HR directors claimed that their organisation has difficulty obtaining accurate data and metrics on human capital costs, productivity, value and ROI.
For many organisations, gathering data about key employee metrics, analysing that data and translating it into action can be time-consuming, complex and is secondary to their core business. Which is where we come in.
RightPeople has over 35 years of employment testing and employee data gathering experience. Our PeopleMetrics survey tool not only collects workforce data but identifies underlying organisational trends. We can deliver a survey in less time, with less disruption, whilst avoiding the common pitfalls of do-it-yourself surveys, with end to end project management, in-depth analysis of results and detailed recommendations.
Our surveys and assessments are theory-based, providing the highest levels of accuracy, are developed locally, administered online and support is available 7 days a week. We tailor and design specific products for specific organisational requirements and our standardised test results, including recommendations for further actions, are available within a short turnaround time.
To find out more about how we can help you to avoid the pitfalls of properly managing your talent, contact us today.
