C-Suite Executives consider HR a top priority
A new study by HR Certification Institute and Dow Jones Customer Intelligence has found that Executives rank talent management among the top priorities that link to the bottom line. Similarly, Dow Jones Customer Intelligence, the research arm of the Wall Street Journal, found that finding and keeping the right talent is critical to financial success yet remains a challenge.
Of the 300 C-suite executives who participated in the study, 95% say that hiring and retention directly affect the bottom line. And 8 out of 10 executives consider human resource management to be a strategic partner to help drive talent strategies across their organisations.
"Finding the right people, keeping them motivated and creating cultures of high performance are among the toughest challenges facing business leaders today," Amy Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE, CEO, HRCI "To stay competitive, companies must increasingly rely on competent HR teams and work harder to redefine HR as a strategic driver of people, innovation and business performance."
Executives agree that there is room for talent management improvement. While 70% or more of executives described their companies as "above average" or "industry leaders" in customer satisfaction, profitability, revenue growth and innovation, only 59% rank their companies as "above average" or "industry leaders" for attracting and retaining talent. In fact, 41% said their organisations were either "average" or "below average" for attracting and retaining talent.
Overall, executives rank "talent strategy and employee engagement" fourth as a top business concern, only behind "financial growth," "customer experience" and "new technology adoption." "Cybersecurity ranked" fifth.
Improving HR skills and knowledge within the organization is also critical. 7 out of 10 executives say their organizations would benefit from having HR departments with HR certifications.
"There are many talent and leadership concerns that keep executives up at night—from lack of candidates with the right skills and experience, to succession planning, anticipating future work skills and managing a multigenerational workforce," Dufrane said. "The opportunity is for HR to provide expertise and strategic guidance in each of these areas."
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
