Growth jeopardised by failure to adjust to 21stC workforce

14 March 2014

Business growth jeopardised by failure to adjust to 21st century workforce

Deloitte survey reveals that organisations are not ready to address the striking shift in employee expectations

A significant gap exists between the talent and leadership issues organisations face and their readiness to respond, jeopardising potential business growth in the wake of the global financial crisis, according to a new Deloitte survey.

Released this week, Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2014 survey draws on the opinions of over 2,500 business and Human Resource (HR) leaders around the world. Respondents overwhelmingly recognised the need to take action on critical issues including leadership, retention and engagement, and reskilling the HR function. However, many express reservations about their teams’ ability to address the issues.

Deloitte partner Hamish Wilson, who leads the Human Capital practice for the firm in New Zealand, says the trends emerging from the survey are very relevant to New Zealand and follow on from Deloitte’s local research.

“Deloitte’s 2013 Talent Edge New Zealand survey told us that an overwhelming number of organisations (83%) are experiencing talent shortages that are impacting on business results, yet very few have programmes in place to promote the attraction, retention or engagement of employees, ” says Mr Wilson.

“Furthermore, we have observed that New Zealand organisations have few answers in response to the demands and expectations that Millennials (Generation Y) have of their employers, which is particularly worrying for the future of our workforce.”

Mr Wilson says the report highlights four trends that are particularly relevant to New Zealand workplaces:

• Reinventing talent acquisition. Even as the majority of organisations (62 percent) rely on social media channels for sourcing and advertising positions, when it comes to fully utilising analytics for recruitment and staffing, more than half (54 percent) indicate that their practices are “weak.”
• Engaging the 21st century employee. Millennials will make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2025, yet 58 percent of executives indicate that their companies are not ready to attract and retain Millennials.
• Delivering on big data. Big data is increasingly enabling HR departments to make informed talent decisions, predict employee performance, and conduct advanced workforce planning. However, only seven percent of organizations today believe they have the capability to use data analytically.
• Racing to the cloud. Two thirds of business leaders believe that HR technologies are urgent and important and yet 56 percent report no definitive plans for their HR systems.

“The time is now for human capital practices to do things differently and take advantage of evolving technologies, such as cloud and big data, to apply them to attracting, retaining and developing talent,” concludes Mr Wilson.

“There is a great opportunity in all of this for proactive employers that get it right.”

To read the full report, go to www.deloitte.com/hctrends2014.

About Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2014 Report
The Deloitte Global Human Capital Trends 2014 report is one of the largest talent management surveys to-date, bringing together 15 years of research, incorporating the views of more than 2,500 business and HR leaders in 90 countries around the world.

About Deloitte in New Zealand
Deloitte New Zealand brings together more than 1000 specialist professionals providing audit, tax, technology and systems, strategy and performance improvement, risk management, corporate finance, business recovery, forensic and accounting services. Our people are based in Auckland, Hamilton, Rotorua, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, serving clients that range from New Zealand’s largest companies and public sector organisations to smaller businesses with ambition to grow.

Deloitte provides audit, tax, consulting and financial advisory services to public and private clients spanning multiple industries. With a globally connected network of member firms in more than 150 countries, Deloitte brings world-class capabilities and high-quality service to clients, delivering the insights they need to address their most complex business challenges. Deloitte has in the region of 200,000 professionals, all committed to becoming the standard of excellence.

For more information about Deloitte in New Zealand, go to our website www.deloitte.co.nz.

About Deloitte
Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee, and its network of member firms, each of which is a legally separate and independent entity. Please see www.deloitte.com/nz/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu and its member firms.

ENDS

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