This report is a monthly compilation of findings from various print and online resources, intended to keep you abreast of trends and new developments in the field of people development. The report includes article summaries and key data points to increase knowledge and aid in improving organizational performance.

Bridging the Skills Gap: New Factors Compound the Growing Skills Shortage

While recent economic challenges have forced public- and private-sector organizations to execute their strategies with more precision than ever before and do it with fewer resources—especially people—many still struggle with a skills gap within their existing employee base. And, some experts predict that skills shortages will intensify in the coming years as employers find the need to hire more knowledge workers for high-skilled jobs that will help their organizations grow as the economy rebounds.

ASTD research in 2009 identified two underlying causes of the skills gap: jobs are changing and education attainment is lagging. The research also indicated that:

• 79% of organizations have a skills gap in their organization now.
• 59% say that the number one reason for a skills gap in their organizations was that the skills of the organization's current workforce did not match changes in strategy.
• The skills most lacking among the responding companies were leadership and executive-level skills, reported lacking by 50% of respondents. Following closely were basic skills at 46%, professional or industry-specific skills at 41%, and managerial and supervisory skills at 31%.

Organizational leaders should look to their learning professionals to help identify skills and competencies needed now and in the future and to align their development to key drivers for the organization. The following action plan identifies six steps for taking charge of the skills gap.

1. Understand the organization or unit's key strategies, goals, and performance.
2. Identify competencies that map to strategies and performance metrics.
3. Assess the skills gap.
4. Set goals and prioritize the path to filling gaps.
5. Implement solutions.
6. Monitor and measure results and communicate the impact.

By addressing these skills gaps in the current workforce, organizations will equip themselves for better performance and increased effectiveness in the short term. If the whole workforce development system addresses them, long-term success will be within reach of most organizations in the future.

—T+D, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.astd.org/TD/Archives/2010/Feb/Free/1002_BridgingSkillsGap.htm

HR Confidence on the Rise

After two years of recession, human resources leaders believe their work during the recession has heightened their value in the eyes of executive leadership, and they are looking toward increasing their impact this year.

Based on answers from 400 survey respondents across multiple levels of HR and companies of varying sizes, the general consensus is that cause exists for optimism. After cuts in jobs, benefits, and wages during the past two years, HR professionals across the board are anticipating brighter days ahead.

Here are some survey highlights:

• 74% of respondents said they are highly likely or likely to be engaged in helping managers define and communicate performance expectations to employees.
• 48% of all respondents believe HR's role in their organizations will be stronger after the recession. The same number believe front-line managers have come to rely more on HR than before, and more than a third of respondents believe the current recession has led executives to view HR as a more important business partner.
• Performance management will be a significant focus in 2010 and workforce retention and development will gain in priority in 2010.
• HR professionals in general are anticipating a rebuilding year for training in 2010.
• 69% expect to make the performance management process more ongoing and collaborative, and also want to align individual employee performance goals with the broader strategic objectives of their organizations.
• 52% are highly likely or likely to implement career path planning as a retention device.
• 70% are highly likely or likely to focus on defining the talent needs and skill levels required to execute on their organization's planned business strategies in 2010.
• 63% are highly likely or likely to be focused on developing the current talent within their organization.
• 45% are highly likely or likely to identify the competency levels and skill gaps of current employees as a basis for establishing training priorities.

—Talent Management, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/mediatec/tm0210/index.php?startid=42#/44

Managing with the Power of Purpose

A manager must play many roles to engage employees—resource allocator, opportunity creator, talent manager, and goal setter among them. But one role often gets overlooked: torchbearer of purpose.

If organizations can genuinely fulfill a purpose employees believe in, employees will be inspired. So what exactly is purpose? Purpose is the definitive statement about the difference you are trying to make in the world. Purpose:

• Will drive all major decision-making and become the determining factor in how you allocate resources, hire employees, plan for the future and judge success.
• Is a path to high performance. It fulfills a deep-seated need and will drive preference for your company.
• Fosters visionary ideas and meaningful innovation.
• Rallies troops to overcome seemingly insurmountable odds.
• Holds you steady in a turbulent marketplace when times get tough and the road seems unclear.
• Injects your brand with reality.
• Creates a competitive advantage in attracting talented, passionate people.
• Brings energy and vitality to work. It provides sustainable motivation.
• Contributes to a life well-lived. Work is no longer a 9-to-5 job to be endured, but a meaningful source of fulfillment.

Before any high-performing culture can exist, a manger must articulate the fundamental purpose. Why does the organization exist? How does the organization achieve goals differently from competitors? What difference is the organization trying to make in people's lives? What are you asking your employees to strive for? Purpose is an animating force. As a manager, you will see the power of purpose at work in a variety of dimensions.

—HR Magazine, February 2010

Visit http://www.shrm.org to learn more.

Recession Stifling Managers' Communication?

The global economic crisis has impacted employees' relationships with their supervisors and employers.

A Leadership IQ study found:

• 66% of employees have too little interaction with their bosses. This figure is up from 53% in May 2008, leading to speculation that the recession is to blame.
• 67% of respondents get too little positive feedback from their bosses, and more than half say they get too little constructive criticism.
• 53% of employees said that when their bosses do praise excellent performance, the feedback is too vague to encourage repeat performance. And 65% said that when their bosses criticize poor performance, they don't provide enough useful information to correct the issue.

These findings might be particularly troubling as the economy improves and recruiters return to their pre-recession battles for talent, because those who said they don't get enough feedback are 43% less likely to recommend their company to others.

—HR Magazine, February 2010

Visit http://www.shrm.org to learn more.

Getting to the Foundation of Talent Management

While the threatening dark clouds promising a baby boomer exodus have been far-reaching and frequent over the past decade, companies have done little to prepare for the implications of it, unless fretting counts.

According to a report titled "The Pressures of Talent Management" released by the Sloan Center for Aging and Work at Boston College:

• 77% of employers have not analyzed projected employee retirement rates, and 69% have not analyzed the demographics of their workforce.
• 56% of companies have not assessed the skills their organizations need, both today and in the future.
• 40% of employers anticipated that the aging of the workforce will have a negative or very negative impact on their business over the next three years.

Employer Readiness for Aging-Related Business Factors

In your opinions, to what extent has your company/organization analyzed its workforce demographics to ensure that it will have the people it needs, today and in the future?

—T+D, February 2010

Visit http://www.astd.org/TD to learn more.

Ready, Set, Rebuild

Rebuilding anything, let alone your business function, sounds scary. But it doesn't have to be that way. With the right approach and resources, rebuilding an organizations' training department can result in improvements your C-suite will thank you for. Here are tips from top companies on training rebuilds done right:

• "First determine if and why there is a need to revamp," former Vice President, Training at Alltel Wireless, Mindy Lane recommends. "I would do that by interviewing and surveying your customers and internal employees. Ask them what your training department is doing well and what areas could be improved. I would also analyze any data you have from Jack and Patti Phillips' [ROI calculation] or Kirkpatrick's levels of evaluation.
• "Determine whether you are delivering effective training that meets the needs of learners and is impacting business objectives," says Lane. "Once both of those data points are collected, I would define my top three to five objectives and tackle those first."
• "You must answer this question: How does training need to be structured to align with what needs to be done to support the business?" says Rebecca Ray, former senior vice president, global talent management and development at MasterCard. "Once that is done, you can organize so the department is easy to do business with. Then you can determine what skills, strengths, or areas of expertise are needed to support the business so you can do a gap analysis of your talent."
• "Leveraging a wide variety of training delivery options will help you create lower-cost solutions in others," says Vice President, Capital One University, Lane Hopkins. "Clearly understanding business goals and strategy will allow you to make these decisions appropriately and drive your client to the best outcome.
• "Know what your high-impact programs are and heavily invest in those," Hopkins advises, "then balance that with day-to-day development knowledge-building opportunities."

—Training, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/training_201002/index.php?startid=Cover1&WidgetId=null&#/110

If I Could Get More Training at Work...

Roughly 1,000 specialists and professionals in non-leadership positions were asked how they feel about their jobs, their opportunities for growth, engagement levels, and skills they desired to develop.

If I could get more training at work, what classes would I take?

—T+D, February 2010

Visit http://www.astd.org/TD to learn more.

Managing Through the Tipping Point

2010 promises to be an exciting and demanding year for learning and development professionals.

Overall L&D spending dropped precipitously in 2009, leading to much leaner budgets and staffs. However, our research shows

• Marked uptick in hiring plans this quarter. You can now plan for some growth as the economy improves.
• Spending on leadership development continues to stay strong and grow. Despite cuts in total L&D budgets, leadership development spending has remained the same and actually increased to 18% of all L&D budgets.
• Midlevel and first-level leaders are still lagging in readiness. If leadership development falls into your area of responsibility, consider this a wake-up call to continue this important investment.
• Leadership will remain an important priority as the economy recovers. Most companies have a leadership gap. In 2010, we will find tremendous interest in rebuilding programs that move younger people up the leadership pipeline.
• Virtual training is now mainstream In 2009, 59% of organizations used virtual classrooms as a mainstream delivery method—up 45% from two years earlier. All major training programs should incorporate virtual elements in 2010.
• Collaboration, social learning, and content management are top of mind. One major impact of a recession is that companies start adopting new technologies that replace travel and expensive, face-to-face training.
• Informal learning is a hot topic. But most companies have not yet formalized new tools and approaches. In 2010, we believe training professionals should rebuild a formal, structured approach that incorporates informal learning into every major program.
• There is a new focus on deep specialization and certification. More and more companies are now expanding their on-boarding programs to include basic financial and technical skills readiness.

Despite the belt-tightening in 2009, positive signs are on the horizon. Organizations are stabilizing and planning for the future. L&D can help organizations manage through this tipping point by planning programs to support growth, focusing on leadership and deep skills development and building informal learning strategies into every major program.

—Chief Learning Officer, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.clomedia.com/columnists/2010/February/2862/index.php

Job Satisfaction: Just How Bad?

A recent survey of 5,000 U.S. Workers by The Conference Board found job satisfaction to be the lowest in two decades. However, worker dissatisfaction was sliding long before the worst economy since the Great Depression, The Conference Board reports.

Researchers at The Conference Board offer some possibilities in the report for dissatisfaction:

• Real average household incomes have declined 0.2% since 2000, vs. 2% growth in the 1980s and 2.1% growth in the 1990s.
• A downward trend in the percentage of workers receiving employer-provided health insurance persists.
• Three times as many workers receiving employer-provided health insurance have to contribute toward the costs of their coverage than did in 1980, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Conference Board also identified four key indicators of workers' growing dissatisfaction:

1. Interest in their work, down 18.9%
2. Job security, down 16.5%
3. Interest in the people at work, down 11.6%
4. Satisfaction with their supervisor, down 9.5%

—HR Magazine, February 2010

Visit www.shrm.org to learn more.

Recession Fatigue Prompts Negativity

The cut-to-the-bone mentality of corporate executives trying to weather slow economic growth has taken a toll on employees' perceptions of long-term career opportunities.

Pessimism also is prompting workers to view their leaders in a less-than-rosy light, according to findings from Towers Perrin released in late 2009. Data are from about 640,000 people working at 54 companies around the world between July and September 2009.

To retain high-potential, highly talented employees, be open in managing expectations without being discouraging or pessimistic. Deploy their talent though special or temporary assignments. This represents career advancement even though it doesn't result in promotions.

Other valued employees should receive small but meaningful tokens of recognition and continuous development. Professional development is a critical engagement driver.

—HR Magazine, February 2010

Visit www.shrm.org to learn more.

Trust Me: Credible Leadership Delivers Results

The volume and type of change occurring today has created a seemingly unstable and stressful work environment. Consider the far-reaching impact of the global financial crisis, resulting in organizational cutbacks, restructurings, mergers, alliances, and even bankruptcy.

It's up to leaders to guide employees through these times in ways that inspire optimum levels of worker productivity, performance, and commitment. And to do this, it takes credible leadership. Here are eight behaviors that foster credible leadership and subsequently higher levels of employee engagement and contribution:

1. Create a culture reflecting values with which employees can identify. Leaders can influence a culture in ways that will drive engagement. To maximize employee contribution, top management must be aligned and show employees that they really count. This includes their ideas, contributions, values and commitment.
2. Build trust and show you value employees. Credible leaders build trust through effective communications. They emulate appropriate behaviors and act as role models, and they utilize technology, communication, and social networking vehicles to stay connected with employees and other stakeholders in the organization.
3. Implement the organization's strategy effectively. Credible leaders execute strategic change by first understanding the complexities of change and facing the realities of the external forces putting pressure on their business. Once strategy has been clearly articulated and agreed upon, they clarify fit-for purpose structures and roles, deploy people, systems and processes, and assign capable leadership at all levels.
4. Communicate strategy to employees clearly. Credible leaders convey clear, consistent messaging that links every employee to strategy and drives engagement, productivity and success. They delivery messages in a clear and compelling manner and monitor the effectiveness of the delivery and its impact on strategic goals.
5. Put strategy to work. Credible leaders identify top priorities, gain team consensus around priorities, analyze gaps between the organization's current state and the state of benchmark organizations, and then build collaborative approaches with the workforce to get the job done.
6. Step up and be accountable. To view leaders as credible, all stakeholders need to know that the people expected to lead will accept responsibility and account for their actions, claiming ownership for results produced as a result of their efforts, regardless of success or failure.
7. Manage change effectively. Credible leaders need to take a greater role to ensure change is communicated and implemented effectively. They should communicate openly and honestly, keep employees informed, solicit feedback from those impacted by change and commit to meeting expectations set by leadership.
8. Develop leaders at all levels. Credible leaders invest in their own ongoing learning while also developing other leaders. Preparing a strong leadership pipeline of candidates who are ready now or will be ready in the future, ensures those leaders are capable of performing the highest levels and leading effectively through change.

With new challenges confronting leaders at a quickening pace, no organization can afford to overlook the need to develop credible leaders and instill a culture that fosters such growth. In a volatile economy, credible leadership is the foundation to demonstrate trust in employees and, in turn, inspire employees to place their trust in leaders.

—Chief Learning Officer, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.clomedia.com/features/2010/February/2852/index.php?pt=a&aid=2852&start=0&page=1

Bridging the Leadership Gap

A growing number of organizations are facing an unpleasant truth: They simply don't have the talent they need to lead them into the future. Fueled by real-world experiences, organizations around the globe are discovering their leadership pipeline is filled with people who are deficient in the skills and capacities needed for long-term success.

In order to bridge this gap, organizations must adapt and refocus. Here are five common-sense steps learning and development departments can use to bridge the chasm between current leadership talent and future leadership needs.

1. Perform a needs assessment for the organization. Evaluate the challenges an organization faces and identify the specific capabilities managers need to be able to meet them, both today and in the future.
2. Create a leadership strategy. Discuss and clarify strategy to identify, develop, and retain leaders with the capabilities the organization needs.
3. Develop specific goals and tactics for individual leadership development. After creating leadership strategy, determine how to bring that plan to life and target energies and investment.
4. Create systems. Determine whether the organization possesses the underlying systems and processes needed in order to excel at recruiting, identifying and developing talent, retaining top employees and managing performance management.
5. Evaluate. Routinely measure how efforts are paying off across the organization. What additional resources are needed? What metrics are in place to assess impact?

There is no doubt the leadership talent gap exists and there is no time to waste in bridging it. Knowledge is the first step. So take the time to identify the specific gaps in leadership capacity that the organization faces. Doing so can bring a new focus to hiring and development decisions, improve the return on talent investment and help to achieve breakthrough performance.

—Chief Learning Officer, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.clomedia.com/business-intelligence/2010/February/2857/index.php

What Happened to Your Future Leaders?

Maybe you scared them off, or maybe you offended them with low pay and too little demonstrated appreciation. Whatever the case, it looks like many companies now are suffering from a dearth of potential leaders. Even with a high unemployment rate, more than half of large and mid-sized companies report not having enough management successors currently on board, according to a survey by OI Partners. The study also revealed that

• 54% of companies do not have enough qualified successors now working for them to succeed their executives and managers.
• Only 32% of companies report having enough management successors in place today.
• 14% of companies are not sure whether they currently have enough future leaders.
• 72% of companies plan to internally develop their high-potential employees to become future top management, while 54% expect to promote their now-ready executives to become management successors.
• 40% plan to hire future leaders from their competitors, and 26% anticipate recruiting future leaders outside their industries.

—Training, February 2010

Read the full article:
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nielsen/training_201002/index.php?startid=11#/12