10 Ways for Global Talent Managers

to Answer the Call of the C-Suite

2016 Pearson English, a division of Pearson plc

Introduction
HR is changing fast.
And at a global scale, talent management is becoming an increasingly
powerful driver of business success.
Earlier this year Deloitte interviewed more than 7,000 CEOs and HR leaders
in 130 countries, in order to understand the talent challenges facing their
organizations.
In this report we look at the top five trends identified by Deloitte, highlight
the key take-aways for Global Talent Managers, and identify 10 ideas for
action to answer the call of the C-suite.

Top 5 Global Human Capital Trends for 2016

Organizational Design

92%

Leadership Development
Corporate Culture

89%
87%

Employee Engagement

85%

Learning

84%

The Rise of Teams

Redesigning the organization is ranked as the number 1 overall issue,
with 92 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

80%

80 percent of companies
are either currently
restructuring their
organization or have
recently completed
the process

38%

ORGANIZATIONAL
DESIGN

92%

Only 38 percent of
all companies are still
organized by function

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

Traditional hierarchies with matrix-organizations comprising functional leaders
at HQ and local teams in the field are proving to be ill-equipped for todays
high-paced business environments.
Progressive organizations are taking a new approach, which Deloitte refers to
as The Rise of Teams.
Instead of permanently working in a specialist department or local division,
employees are assigned to temporary teams focused on a specific business,
product, market, or customer need.

This new mode of organization, a network

of teams with a high degree of empowerment,
strong communication, and rapid information
flow, is now sweeping businesses and
governments around the world.

Employees move from team to team as neededsimilar to the way different

specialists come together to produce a Hollywood movieand then return to
their functional home before being selected for their next team.

Ideas for Action

New recruits need to have the skills to communicate

effectively with colleagues at different levels, from different
disciplines, and increasingly located in different countries.

New recruits should be assessed on their ability, and

potential, to collaborate across the organization rather
than just having the skills for a specific position.

How PEBS Can Help

PEBS clients use our One Assessment tool to identify proficiency in Business
English as part of their global recruitment process. By using business-specific
content, rather than generic questioning, they can accurately assess a
candidates ability to communicate and collaborate across their organization.

Companies are decentralizing authority,

moving toward product- and customercentric organizations, and forming dynamic
networks of highly empowered teams that
communicate and coordinate activities in
unique and powerful ways.

Data-Driven Development
Leadership development is ranked as the number 2 overall issue,
with 89 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

13%

Only 13 percent of
companies say they are
excellent at building
global leaders

24%

LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT

89%

24 percent believe
that their current
leadership programs yield
little to no value

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

As organizations become more team-centric, and business challenges become
more global and diverse, fresh challenges in leadership development are emerging.
There is a stronger demand for employees who can lead at all levels.
The nature of leadership is changing. Leaders must inspire teams that are
increasingly multi-generational, cross-disciplined, and multi-cultured, which
requires an inclusive attitude and strong communication skills, as well as
strategic thinking skills and business knowledge.

Too few leadership programs are designed

on a foundation of research, clear priorities,
and assessments of needed leadership
thinking and outcomes.

Too many leadership programs are still evaluated on the feedback of participants
rather than the assessment of participants.

Ideas for Action

Expand the use of online tools to identify high-potential

employees from around the world earlier in their careers,
and provide opportunities for younger leaders to gain the
skills, experiences, and insights they need to thrive
in leadership roles.

Become more scientific about leadership development by

identifying the skills that leaders need, and then rigorously
evaluating progress as they develop.

How PEBS Can Help

By formalizing a common business language across their entire organization,
PEBS clients are able to broaden the talent pool of potential leaders across
geographies. Potential leaders can be given the personalized language training
they need to succeed in leadership positions.
Our Global Scale of English (GSE) also helps companies to track the progress
and precise abilities of employees at every stage of leadership development.

Organizations need to develop

fundamental leadership capabilities
among critical individuals and teams
capabilities that include the ability
to collaborate across boundaries,
conceptualize new solutions, motivate
diverse teams, and develop the next
generation of diverse and global leaders.

Cultivating Competitive Advantage

CORPORATE
CULTURE

Corporate culture is ranked as the number 3 overall issue,

with 87 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

19%

Only 19 percent
believe they have
the right culture

>50%

87%

Over 50 percent are

currently attempting to
change their culture in
response to shifting
talent markets and
increased competition

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

Leading companies are now consciously cultivating and managing their culture,
turning it into a competitive advantage in the marketplace. As part of proactively
defining their culture, many are issuing open culture manifestos available to
audiences inside and outside the organization.
A strong culture needs to define who the company hires, who gets promoted,
and what behaviors will be rewarded with compensation or promotion. In
todays competitive talent environment, culture is playing an increasing role in an
organizations ability to attract, hire, and retain top talent.

Culture can determine success or failure

during times of change: mergers, acquisitions,
growth, and product cycles can either succeed
or fail depending on the alignment of culture
with the businesss direction.

As organizations become more diverse and distributed, a strong guiding

culture is becoming more important in guiding actions, binding people
together and strengthening communication and collaboration.

Ideas for Action

Make cultural fit a key part of the recruitment strategy.

Reduce the emphasis on specific skills, which can be taught on
the job, and place more importance on matching a candidates
behaviors and values with the desired corporate culture.

Ensure talent management strategies, like business

strategies, are closely aligned with the organizations
culture. Actions and behaviors consistent with cultural
values must be rewarded, while those that go against
them should be challenged and corrected.

How PEBS Can Help

Defining and developing a strong corporate culture means identifying shared beliefs,
building trust, and driving accountability across the entire organization.
Clear communication and shared understanding are a vital part of the process.
By promoting English skills across their global organizations, PEBS clients are
ensuring that differences in diverse local cultures dont derail efforts to build a
strong and consistent corporate culture.

Few factors contribute more to business

success than culturethe system of values,
beliefs, and behaviors that shape how real
work gets done within an organization.

Engaged For Success

Employee engagement is ranked as the number 4 overall issue,
with 85 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

64%

64 percent of
organizations still only
measure employee
engagement annually

4%

EMPLOYEE
ENGAGEMENT

85%

Only 4 percent believe they

are very good at engaging
Millennials and other
generations in the work
environment

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

Services such as LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and personal social media networks,
are providing greater transparency than ever before into the workplace.
Those consistently ranked as a great place to work are building significant
advantages in the war for talent.
Todays top talent is placing a higher premium on flexibility, creativity, and
purpose at work, with culture and career growth being valued at almost
twice the rate as compensation and benefits for talented Millennials.

Free food and ping-pong tables are fun perks,

but companies that succeed in having highly
engaged employees focus intently on driving
meaning, purpose, and passion among workers.

With as many as five generations of workers, increasingly operating in

dispersed global teams, often across diverse cultures and geographies, todays
workforce require a highly inclusive approach to build effective engagement.
In todays ultra-competitive recruitment market, employers must provide their
top talent with clear development plans, opportunities for promotion, and the
tools to drive their own career progression.

Ideas for Action

Make personal development plans a core part of your

recruitment strategy.

While personal development programs are essential to

attract top talent, the realities of todays dynamic job make it
equally essential that such development delivers immediate
return to the organization, as well as the employee.

How PEBS Can Help

Many graduates in developing markets see the development of their English
skills as the most important investment they can make in their careers.
PEBS clients have been able to attract and retain top talent in global markets
by offering on the job Business English learning as an integral part of their
talent management strategy.

When employees feel empowered and have

a sense of ownership for their jobs, their
engagement is significantly higher.

Leading By Learning
LEARNING

Learning is ranked as the number 4 overall issue,

with 84 percent of companies rating it as very important or important

30%

30 percent of executives
see learning as the
primary driver of
employee development

61%

84%

61 percent of executives
report challenges in
moving their organizations
toward external
self-directed learning

Key Take-Aways for Global Talent Managers

In todays dynamic and highly competitive global economy, organizations
recognize that they are not developing skills fast enough or leaders quickly
enough, and are increasingly turning to learning programs as the primary
driver of employee development.
Learning programs are also seen as an essential tool for attracting top talent,
engaging employees, and developing leaders. Employees appreciate the
need to continuously develop and upgrade their skills, recognizing that the
learning curve is the earning curve.

Millennials and other young employees

have grown up in this self-directed learning
environment. They expect it as part of their
working lives and careersand they will move
elsewhere if employers fail to provide it.

Advancements in technology, with powerful mobile devices, and ubiquitous

connectivity make learning tools and materials available to everyone,
everywhere. Employees are demanding access to dynamic learning
opportunities that fit their personal needs and schedules.

Ideas for Action

10

Evolve learning programs from a content-centric to a

learner-centric experience by driving a cultural shift from
a company-push approach to an employee-pull approach.
Give employees the freedom to engage and schedule
learning on their time in their terms.

Support an employee-centric approach with mobile, social,

and web-based platforms that can deliver on-demand
learning content and a better user-experience return to
the organization, as well as the employee.

How PEBS Can Help

PEBS is helping its clients around the globe to put their employees at
the center of the learning experience. Instant access to Business English
vocabulary libraries, productivity tools, email templates, and culture notes,
can help employees address immediate workplace situations. Progressively
developing English skills in their own time can improve their performance and
broaden future career opportunities.

In todays highly competitive global economy

and intensely competitive talent market, the
C-suite clearly understands that companies
that do not constantly upgrade skills and
rapidly build leaders will not be able to
execute their business plans.

Global Human Capital Trends 2016

This report is based on the findings delivered in the Global
Human Capital Trends 2016 report from Deloitte University Press.
You can find the full report at Global Human Capital Trends 2016

Pearson English Business Solutions

Pearson English Business Solutions enables employees to
seamlessly develop their Business English skills while continually
enhancing organizational productivity.
You can find out more about our services at www.globalenglish.com

Letting Talent Speak For Itself