A study by IBM and the Human Capital Institute (HCI) found that although businesses know that good management boosts results, less than half of those surveyed say managers devote sufficient time to people management.
The study, Integrated Talent Management, was based on research with 1,900 people from more than 1,000 public and private sector organizations around the world. Among the findings:
- Organizations that apply talent management practices demonstrate higher financial performance compared to their industry peers.
- Organizations between 1,000 and 10,000 employees are less likely to apply leading talent management practices compared to other organizations. These "corporate adolescents" appear to be too large to be able to manage informally and too small to have the necessary managerial focus or human capital infrastructure.
- While organizations recognize the value of talent management practices, they find it difficult to apply them.
- Knowledge and service-intensive industries, such as electronics, technology and professional service firms, are more likely to apply talent management practices, while the public sector significantly lags in their use.
"The IBM/HCI study clearly calls for the same rigor in talent analytics and management that CEOs and CIOs require to make the strategic decisions their companies depend on," said Tim Ringo, vice president Human Capital Management, IBM. "The challenge laid out for IBM's clients is to treat their most valuable asset—their people—as their most competitive edge."
"The long-term payoffs of strong talent management far outweigh the costs and complexities associated with upfront investments," said Allan Schweyer, Executive Director of HCI.
Learn more:
New Research from IBM & the Human Capital Institute Demonstrates ROI of Talent Management (press release)