This issue is among several that take the spotlight in the first report of Deloitte’s new survey series Talent Edge 2020.
The report features results from a survey conducted by Forbes Insights for Deloitte that polled more than 300 global business executives worldwide, including a sample from the Middle East, across numerous industries.
“Success for companies in the next decade will be determined by how well they manage to balance the economic realities with the need to invest in new talent,” said Rana Ghandour Salhab, Partner in Charge of Talent and Communications at Deloitte in the Middle East.
“Certainly in the Middle East the demographics have created a large pool of young graduates and experienced talent in search of opportunities. Job creation and retention are crucial to economic growth and stability in Middle East countries. It is only the companies that describe their talent programs as “world class” that have a clear sense of the pressing talent issue and are therefore more likely to invest in creating career paths and challenging opportunities for employees.”
In Deloitte’s Talent Edge 2020, only 20% of respondents said their talent management programs as “world class”.
Most senior executives and talent managers who participated in the survey agree their companies need a proactive plan to keep their talent intact. However, according to the survey, only those companies with retention plans in place are moving beyond anxiety and taking action; 69% of those companies surveyed with a retention plan said they would “significantly increase” or “increase” their focus on compensation in the year ahead, compared to 48 percent of those without a retention plan.
Additionally, 76 percent of those with a retention plan will expand benefits and 70 percent will boost non financial incentives, compared to 55 percent and 52 percent respectively of those without a retention plan.
“Nearly six in 10 executives surveyed reported that their company’s voluntary turnover had increased in the past year and a slightly higher percentage believe it will increase in the coming 12 months,” added Salhab.
“Perhaps even more worrying is that few companies surveyed had a clear idea of what is driving turnover.
A retention plan is essential for any company that wishes to optimize the value of its investment in talent.
At Deloitte in the Middle we consider retention of talent as a direct result of our talent strategy and is gauged by continuously reviewing our employee satisfaction through our “people survey,” listening and responding to feedback, and providing rewarding careers with opportunity for growth.”
In 2009, Deloitte was named a Hewitt Best Employer in the Middle East, the only professional advisory firm to receive this accolade.
* The talent paradox is already creating key shortages: High unemployment rates have not created the talent surplus as predicted. On the contrary, many executives predict talent shortages across key business units.
* Companies are increasingly challenged to develop the next generation of leaders: With the retirement of Baby Boomers, many executives are concerned over their companies’ leadership development programs and pipelines.
* The race for talent is global: Once-emerging markets of the pre-recession days have become the catalyst for future growth, placing tremendous demands on talent managers to get the new people in new jobs at new locations.
Deloitte’s Talent Edge 2020 longitudinal survey series will continue to track the shifts in talent strategies, trends and priorities in the months ahead. The next edition of the study will focus on exploring talent strategies, trends, and concerns from the employee perspective and will be published this coming spring.
