10 Talent Management Trends for 2011

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The dawn of a new year enables organizations to establish a new strategy as well as a new sense of urgency. As executives of large and small organizations begin to set their agenda, now is the time to look ahead at the trends that will drive business in 2011.

This year will be different as companies seek to return to higher profits. More emphasis will be placed on higher production and getting the most from the established core. The beginning to the middle of the year may see a continuation from the previous year. However, as the economy gains momentum, trust returns bringing more activity to business.



1. Dealing with survivorship – A concern of many employees that has not been addressed is the feeling of survivorship from the mass terminations during the recession. Many of these individuals have been very busy producing services, products, operations etc. There has been little time to reflect on the previous year’s effects.

Those that remain with organizations are completely overwhelmed. The amount of work left little time for thinking and reflection. As workplace issues stabilize many individuals will request time off to recuperate. Moreover, they will expect compensation from senior management for working through the difficult times without any recognition.

2. Slow return to hiring, hard return on productivity – With many executives concerned about profits, hiring will slowly return. In fact many organizations are failing to return to full time employees due to the high cost of benefits. Therefore organizations will hire temporary workers to fill voids in short-term projects.

Further many organizations will operate on a project basis to help manage costs and control budgets. Ironically, production will not decrease. Employees will continually work longer hours with similar pay structures. The only concern for executives will be bottom line results.

3. Training and self-development – A tremendous sum of money was spent on training and development prior to the recession. Many training companies have closed doors or contracted. The return to normalcy will be very slow and may never return to pre-recession levels.

Organizations simply did not gain the expected returns and frankly, training is expensive for two reasons 1) the amount of downtime and 2) the knowledge drain that accompanies turnover following training.

More importantly, organizations have become wiser to employees who believe training is a right not a privilege. To that end, organizations will require employees to invest in their own development. That investment will be returned either in part or in whole when organizations see a return.

4. Leadership challenges – During the 1960’s through 1980’s succession planning was a major initiative in organizations. The story of starting out in the mailroom and climbing to the executive office was not only a dream but also reality. Presently there is a distinct lack of succession planning in organizations of all sizes. This issue has created a dire shortage of leaders. Without proper leadership, organizations lack strategy and direction. There will be a need to begin mentor programs to ensure better methods of succession.

Additionally, leaders have been stressed with sales teams and other departments that do not meet their goals. With this in mind, leaders will request managers conduct better hiring and more frequently evaluate staff.

5. Accountability – The lack of meeting organizational goals, quotas, etc. has stressed leadership. Good times allow for flexibility. However as profits tighten leaders will require managers tighten controls so that employees meet or exceed goals. Difficult times require a return to fundamentals and more stringency for managing by objectives.

6. Customer service – Technology and globalization has increased competition. And customer to customer influences are more prevalent than ever. With the popularization of social media, client testimonials can either elevate the brand or simply implode it in the blink of an eye.

Organizations have been slow to determine that the purpose of business is the acquisition and retention of clients. In fact, it is the competitive differentiator. Therefore, organizations will work very hard on the organizational culture and interactions with clients. The impact reaps huge benefits for the bottom line.

7. Frugality versus extravagance – Without sounding trite, desperate times mean desperate measures. Yet the return to better times will not necessitate a return to bigger spending. Organizations previously spent unwisely on travel, meetings, and other expenses. The New Year will be a continuance of frugality. Leaders realize that the pre-recession extravagance led to similar results experienced during lean times. Frugal will be the theme for 2011.

8. Turnover – The new economic climate provides more opportunity for expansion. Surviving employees, new talent and simply those desiring change will leave their organizations, creating an intense drain on knowledge and production. Yet with so many unemployed to choose from and the notion that organizations will seek more temporary help, there will be less negotiation from firms to maintain talent. Managers will quickly enable employees to leave and find other experiences. Further, leaders have become wiser to employees that threaten to leave for more pay, only to leave the firm months later.

9. Ethics - Simply mention the names Bernie Madoff, Lehman Brothers and many others, and the first word that comes to mind is ethics. Ethics are the nexus of an organization’s culture along with its interactions with organizational stakeholders. There will be an increase in employee background checks, training and development, and hiring of corporate ethics officers to maintain compliance. The customer-to-customer influences are too strong to dismiss this vital issue.

10. Optimism - First and foremost, the New Year brings the opportunity to look ahead to better times. What are some of the trends that you see coming for your business or your industry? Provide your comments in the area below.

Contributor:   Drew Stevens, PhD.

Drew Stevens, PhD. is known as a leadership and productivity thought leader. Dr. Drew is a frequently requested keynote speaker and author. He operates a successful consulting firm, helping executives dramatically accelerate revenue and outstrip the competition.

Dr. Drew is a frequent guest lecturer in leadership and entrepreneurial studies and his doctoral work is focused specifically on workplace productivity and morale. He can be reached at 877-391-6821.

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Report Abuse   rjones 01/12/2011 9:38:34 AM EST This is a very interesting set of points and has some universal appeal. My sense is that many of these scenarios will be complicated by how we deal with the particular pressures facing middle managers. They have long been the overlooked group in leadership programs, and yet they are expected to step up for future roles. The impact of the GFC will have changed the career aspirations of many middle managers and I suspect that unless we deal with that group as a 'special case' we will face a far greater talent problem in the next 5 years. Replies (0) Post a reply Sign in or Sign up to post a comment

Report Abuse   Stefania Lucchetti 01/11/2011 10:26:21 PM EST One of the tips I always give my clients (also in my book The New Time Management Secrets) is to keep two running lists every day: list 1- important things that need some focus and time (a project, an article, a research). List 2 - urgent, quick, things to do (responding to emails, checking something on the internet). Then working WITH (not against) your attention span - when your attention span is at its highest and best, work on an item in list 1, when you get distracted, go to list 2 and tick off some of those. Stefania Lucchetti, Author and Speaker (www.stefanialucchetti.com) Replies (0) Post a reply Sign in or Sign up to post a comment

Report Abuse   Bill Bliss 01/11/2011 6:29:27 PM EST Great list to consider. I particularly like the point about succession planning. Recently, our company conducted a survey of almost 600 CEOs and business owners. I was surprised to learn that only 19% had a written succession plan in place. Of those, only half thought it was current! This is indeed a real need, and your point about not developing leaders will come home to roost if we don't do something about it. I am passionate about developing leaders, so how ever I can help, just call on me or visit us at www.blissassociates.com. Bill Bliss, Author, Speaker and Executive Coach Replies (0) Post a reply Sign in or Sign up to post a comment