The Business of Talent Newsletter
Impact 2012
In the February Edition



How Do You Make Your Organization More Agile? Is HR in the Way?

In today's fast-changing business environment, organizations tell us that their #1 goal is to improve their "business agility" – their ability to understand market changes, rapidly adapt, and operate as a globally integrated business. How can your HR, learning, and leadership programs help make this happen?

Well unfortunately, many existing HR and L&D programs are getting in the way. A recent Economist Intelligence Unit study (Fall of 2010) found that Human Resources is the "least agile" function in most businesses, less change-ready then even finance and administration. The old fashioned processes for training, performance management, succession, and compensation are just not keeping up.

And to make matters worse, HR teams are not always aware of modern solutions. Chief Human Resource Officers tell us that their #1 challenge, after partnering with their CEO, is modernizing the skills and capabilities of the HR team itself.

The whole topic of "building an agile organization" is our theme for our upcoming research conference, IMPACT 2012: The Business of Talent®. On April 10-13 we are bringing together 450 of the world's top HR, L&D, and leadership experts to share best-practices on the theme of how HR and L&D can help build an agile organization – and we would like you to join us.

Read on for more.


2012 Learning Leaders™ Focus on Business Alignment, Metrics, Social Networking, and Simplicity

2012 Learning LeadersBersin & Associates has just announced the 2012 Learning Leaders™. The 31 winners emerged from hundreds of applicants including industry leaders in management consulting, hospitality, business-process and document management, financial services, and wind power. Their winning programs focused on business alignment, measurement, social networking, and simplicity. You can meet this year's Learning Leaders in person at IMPACT 2012!

Read on for select examples of solutions from this year's award-winning organizations.


The Employment Brand: Critical for Attracting AND Retaining Employees

The employment brand can be such a powerful tool; however, many organizations don't leverage it to its fullest potential. Just as organizations use a company brand to convey a positive identity for customers, so, too, can employment branding convey a positive identity to potential and existing employees – reinforcing the image of the organization as a great place to work.

Join executives from Turner Broadcasting System and Royal Caribbean Cruises as they discuss the importance of employment branding at IMPACT 2012. In our April 12 panel session, Employment Branding: From Recruitment to Retention, panelists will share best practices and examples for: developing an employment brand to attract and keep top talent; designing processes that communicate corporate values and culture; differentiating messaging for internal versus external audiences; and establishing the right messaging and experiences to draw candidates and retain employees who are a cultural "fit."

As part of our Talent Acquisition Factbook study, we asked companies how much they are spending on employment branding services, including brochures, corporate career websites, and microsites. On average, organizations allocate 2% of their external talent acquisition spending on these services.

Read the conclusion of The Employment Brand.


The Roadmap to Effective Leadership Development

The Roadmap to Effective Leadership DevelopmentDelivering on business results and having skilled leaders to do so is at the heart of every organization and is the very reason for Bersin & Associates' Leadership Development Framework. If today's organizations wish to compete and thrive, act on what really matters to their customers, and involve the active participation of their business unit and senior leaders in how leadership development is planned, developed, delivered and evaluated, then a play book is essential.

This year's IMPACT 2012 conference has several exciting leadership development sessions designed to help you and your team adapt and respond to today's complex workplace and business challenges. Sessions include:

  • Research: Driving Business Alignment and Impact with Leadership Development
  • Case Study: A Mentoring Mindset: How Genentech Develops Leaders through Mentoring
  • Panel: Creating a Leadership Culture to Drive Global Business and Brand
  • High-Potential and Leadership Development Strategies for Measurable Business Impact

Read on for more.


New Frontiers in Employee Engagement

New Frontiers in Employee EngagementThis morning, some of us perked up at the sound of the alarm, hopping out of bed and into through the usual routine. While making coffee we mused about a work challenge; "maybe this would work," or "ooh, I could try that," our brains churning alongside the familiar happy hiss of brewing.

This lucky employee is engaged with their work. At Bersin & Associates, we define employee engagement as:

The passion and commitment that drives employees to devote their time and energy to work, proactively going above and beyond expectations to help their organization achieve its goals.

In her IMPACT 2012 session, Demystifying Employee Engagement, Dr. Brenda Kowske (Senior Analyst, Human Resources, Bersin & Associates) shares highlights from our 2012 employee engagement research and the best practices currently in use by successful organizations around the world.

Continue reading New Frontiers in Employee Engagement.


Coming Soon: New Development Planning Research

Coming Soon: New Development Planning ResearchAcross the last year, we've written extensively about performance management. A key trend in our research is the evolution within the majority of industries and geographies of performance management from a competitive assessment approach – whereby organizations improve through a process of "rigid individualism" where employees are ranked and rated against each other, driving performance on a comparative basis – to one that focuses much more on coaching and development, which assumes that people best perform through careful selection, then coaching, development, and continuous focus on job fit. A key tool organizations use to complete this evolution is development plans.

Read on for more.


In the News

Your Resume vs. OblivionYour Resume vs. Oblivion
By Lauren Weber
Wall Street Journal

A Microsoft Turnaround in the Making: Ballmer Gets ReligionA Microsoft Turnaround in the Making: Ballmer Gets Religion
By Josh Bersin
Forbes.com

Training Wheels Back in MotionTraining Wheels Back in Motion
By Garry Kranz
Workforce (Access available to subscribers only)



New Research Highlights

New Research Highlights

Next-Generation Leadership Development: The Changing Nature of Leadership Programs
This bulletin describes the evolution of leadership development solutions. It reviews three best-practice design approaches to modern day leadership development programs and discusses how the SkillSoft portfolio of leadership development solutions aligns with these best practices.
Members: Download today

The Employee Engagement Primer
This Primer report equips readers to assess their own definition of employee engagement against industry standards and then measure it accurately.
Members: Download today

Performance Consulting: UnitedHealth Group Takes a Holistic Approach to Maximizing Performance
This case study uncovers the processes and support mechanisms UnitedHealth Group uses in its highly effective performance consulting process.
Members: Download today

A Diversified Sourcing Strategy for the U.K.
Our recent study shows that U.K. organisations are spending more than twice the amount of U.S. firms to source and hire candidates, driven in part by their heavy reliance on agencies. This research bulletin describes how a more diversified sourcing strategy can help U.K. firms lower costs and reach high-quality candidates.
Members: Download today

The Corporate Learning Factbook 2012: Benchmarks, Trends and Analysis of the U.S. Training Market
The Corporate Learning Factbook is recognized as the industry's most trusted source of data on training budgets, staffing and resource allocations. This data provides valuable guidance to L&D managers in making investment decisions.
Members: Download today

The Leadership Development Framework: A Modern Approach to Leadership Development
In this report, we discuss the elements of leadership development and how they interact with each other, as well as with other talent management processes, through the lens of the Bersin & Associates High-Impact Leadership Development Framework.
Members: Download today

Supporting RESPECT: What Employees Want from Organizations
This research bulletin uses Bersin & Associates' research to help HR improve the elements of RESPECT in their organizations.
Members: Download today

Selection Assessments for Acquiring and Developing Talent in the Healthcare Industry
This report offers a review of the current state of selection assessments and, specifically, their use within the healthcare industry for improving the quality of selection and hire, and uncovering development opportunities.
Members: Download today

U.K. Talent Acquisition Factbook® 2011: Benchmarks and Trends in Spending, Staffing and Key Recruiting Metrics
Our first-ever U.K. Talent Acquisition Factbook provides data on recruiting budgets, staffing and resource allocations. These benchmarking metrics provide valuable guidance to HR and recruiting managers in determining the right investments for their organizations.
Members: Download today

The Art and Science of Building a High-Potential Strategy: Key Practices to Maximize the Performance of Top Talent
This report provides best practices, a maturity model, and points of failure and successes for defining and implementing a high-potential strategy.
Members: Download today

TalentWatch® Fourth Quarter 2011: Uncovering Realities for the Next Economy
This report describes how the job market is shifting, with most companies' priorities including quality of hire, retaining key employees, development leadership capability, building specialized skills and managing a contingent workforce.
Members: Download today

SAPs Acquisition of SuccessFactors: Implications for Talent Management and HR Software Buyers
This research bulletin is designed to answer questions that members may have regarding the SAP acquisition of SuccessFactors.
Members: Download today
What Works

Analyst Corner
Karen O'LeonardThe Changing World of L&D

Karen O'Leonard, Director and Principal Analyst, Research Methods & Analytics

After a few tough years, L&D spending has rebounded, with corporate training budgets up 9.5%. This is good news for L&D leaders and for business leaders in general.

This is a significant increase, bringing the average spending per learner to $800. (High-impact learning organizations spend considerably more – at $1,021 per learner.) The higher spending underscores the fact that companies are finding it harder than ever to source the right talent. There is a growing imbalance in skills, and employers now realize they can't just 'buy' talent from the jobs market, they have to build skills internally.

Training groups aren't using the extra cash to do more of the same. Our research demonstrates some key changes happening within L&D organizations, which are described in more detail in the Corporate Learning Factbook 2012®. A few of the key themes are:

The Shrinking Footprint of L&D. Although training groups added headcount over the last year, the growth has been outpaced by larger increases in the number of employees. This means that in most companies, the ratio of training staff to employees is shrinking. In 2006, companies employed 6.7 L&D staff for every 1000 learners. Today, that figure has declined to 5.2 staff-per-thousand. This has put pressure on training groups to find creative ways to extend their reach – by creating 'adjunct faculty' programs, for example, and empowering SMEs and managers to provide training and support.

A Continuous Learning Environment. Although employees received more development in 2011, much of the focus now is outside of the formal learning event. L&D organizations have realized that training must be reinforced to provide lasting benefits. As a result, L&D organizations are putting more effort into ensuring that employees are applying the skills they have learned through continual, reinforced learning environments. These efforts include formal training blended with coaching, mentoring, collaborative tools and experiential exercises. They also include implementing a cadenced approach to training in which the content is delivered over a longer period of time, with exercises and support in-between training sessions.

Social Learning Becomes Mainstream. To support this continual flow of learning, L&D leaders are incorporating more social, on-demand and experiential learning methods. Large businesses are leading the charge, doubling their investments in social learning tools and services in 2011. The trend toward social learning is scary to some traditional trainers, as coworkers, managers and SMEs assume some responsibilities once held solely by L&D staff. But it shouldn't be a threat – it just means that the roles of L&D staff will need to change to develop, implement and measure social and informal learning in their learning environments.

These trends underscore just how much L&D organizations are evolving. Today we have a whole new breed of training strategy taking form – one which builds a "continuous learning environment" – formal, informal, on-the-job, mobile, and social learning all blended together. It's a long way from the training departments of the last decade.

Join me at IMPACT 2012 for a special half-day workshop on Practical and Proven Approaches to Learning Measurement. You can also hear me as I discuss this topic in greater detail at our February 16 webinar, Training Budgets and Metrics: Where Should Organizations Spend their Money in 2012?

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