Talent Development Remains an Elusive Concept, Study Shows

Lip Service: A corporate heavyweight packs a punch with a recent claim about the importance of developing people’s skills. In a joint study in August, IBM Corp. and the Human Capital Institute say 84 percent of organizations recognize the importance of having an effective workforce. Despite that realization, only 42 percent say their managers devote sufficient time helping people grow professionally. Although this alone isn’t groundbreaking, the study points out that companies with disciplined talent management practices, including taking steps to engage employees and match rewards to performance, produce better financial results than their industry peers. It also found that a mere 40 percent accurately forecast their skills needs and even fewer (38 percent) have sharpened their focus on developing people. Companies with 1,000 to 10,000 employees are less likely to consistently practice talent management. The research is based on feedback from nearly 2,000 people at 1,000 public- and private-sector organizations around the world.