PHILADELPHIA, PA — May 10, 2011 — Human resources and talent management executives give mixed grades for the quality of their own organizations’ leadership pipelines, according to a survey by Right Management. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within ManpowerGroup, the world leader in innovative workforce solutions.
Right Management surveyed the 1,262 executives via an online poll and found that there are gaps in the leadership cadres at most companies in North America. In fact, only 6% of organizations were reported to have future leaders identified for all critical roles.
Do you have future leaders identified for critical roles in your organization?
Yes, for all critical roles 6%
Yes, for most but not all critical roles 17%
Yes, for some critical roles 55%
No, not for any critical roles 22%
“We learned that organizations are all over the map when it comes to implementing a coherent leadership development program,” said Michael Haid, Right Management’s Senior Vice President for Talent Management. “A majority of organizations seem to have `some’ critical roles covered, but that’s barely reassuring. What’s really striking is that fewer than one in five has no one slated to take over any key positions. And we’re not talking about small companies.”
As executives rated their leadership pipelines, they were also asked if there had been any recent change in their organizations’ approach to succession planning. A majority (57%) said succession planning had become a higher priority in the past year, while 17% said it was made a lower priority. For the rest there was no change in priority. Haid advised that combining these results suggests that the need for succession planning is becoming more evident, but actual succession management strategies and implementation plans are lagging behind.
“There’s a growing recognition that management succession is no luxury. Board members, executives and business leaders are now openly acknowledging that talent management plans —which include succession management — are absolutely essential for sustained performance in today’s organizations, as talent is now seen as one of the only competitive differentiators left,” said Haid. “The world is chaotic and unforeseen events can change a company’s situation overnight, so having a depth of leadership talent as well as a genuine plan for all eventualities are more important than ever. In fact, weak bench strength throughout the company can erode employee engagement and reduce overall performance.”
According to Haid, managing succession insures business continuity as well as retention of high-value talent. “Corporate health depends on the effectiveness, depth and breadth of succession management planning.”
The online poll was conducted March 30. Among respondents were executives from more than 28 industry segments.
About Right Management
Right Management is the talent and career management expert within ManpowerGroup, the world leader in innovative workforce solutions. Right Management helps clients win in the changing world of work by designing and executing workforce solutions that align talent strategy with business strategy. Our expertise spans Talent Assessment, Leader Development, Organizational Effectiveness, Employee Engagement, and Workforce Transition and Outplacement. With offices in over 50 countries, Right Management partners with companies of all sizes. More than 80% of Fortune 500 companies are currently working with us to help them grow talent, reduce costs and accelerate performance.
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