The Boston Consulting Group in partnership with the World Federation of People Management Associations recently released a summary of their Creating People Advantage survey from 2014-2015. While there is plenty of great information in the report, I pulled these top five priorities. Around the globe organizations agree that these five elements deserve the biggest investment of human resources time, effort, and dollars:
- Leadership Development – This was number one around the globe, yet most HR departments invest only a median amount of time and effort on this top priority.
- Talent Management – Was considered highly urgent both for current and future organizatioal needs.
- Behavior and Organizational Culture – Continue to be a challenge in a world filled with uncertainty and constant change.
- HR and People Strategy – Too many HR departments are still not involved in setting corporate strategy or aligning people with strategy.
- Employee Engagement – I believe this one goes hand-in-hand with strategy and culture.
The report goes on to suggest three major human resources functions separate top performing companies from average companies. They suggest that human resources needs to be at the forefront in connecting the internal clients they serve with the strategies of the business. To do that, HR needs to not only be involved with developing organization-wide strategy, but also with leading strategic planning efforts and ensuring all human resources activities are aligned with strategic priorities. Second, HR needs to prioritize the most important and urgent actions, and stop expending so much effort, time and money on low-priority functions. Finally, human resources needs to measure, analyze, and report on key performance indicators that show which functions and activities impact the organization’s bottom line, especially in the areas of strategic workforce planning, organizational culture, talent management, and leadership impact.