2007: The Year of the Mission-Critical Workforce
Published December 2006
We all have read the statistics: By 2010, more than half of all workers in the United States will be older than 40. The decade ahead will see vast numbers of people retiring or at least leaving their full-time careers. What’s more, this “brain drain” is leading to a talent shortage in a few mission-critical workforces, those that most affect an organization’s bottom line.
Two research studies conducted in 2006 highlight the importance of concentrating learning and development resources on mission-critical workforces. The first research study, conducted jointly by the Economist Intelligence Unit and Development Dimensions International, is titled “The CEO’s Role in Talent Management: How Top Executives From 10 Countries are Nurturing Leaders of Tomorrow.” This study interviewed 20 CEOs from multinational companies that generate at least $1 billion in annual revenue.
It revealed a startlingly fact: Seven of the 20 CEOs interviewed said they spend between 30 percent and 50 percent of their working time each month identifying, developing and retaining key talent.
The second study, conducted jointly by Babson Executive Education and Accenture Learning, “Focused Learning For Mission-Critical Jobs,” found taking an undifferentiated mass curriculum approach to workforce enablement was on the decline. Instead the most successful organizations — those identified by BusinessWeek as high-performing organizations over the past three years — focus their learning investments on a select number of mission-critical jobs.
There are several factors driving this focused approach to talent development. CLOs are becoming more strategic in their management of the learning investment. This is being driven by the increased usage of strategic advisory boards composed of senior executives who now have a voice in how to align learning to solve business needs.
What does this razor-sharp focus on mission-critical workforces mean for the learning and development department in 2007? There are three areas for CLOs to consider:
First, based on your organization’s business goals, can you readily identify your top three mission-critical workforces? Next, can you answer the following questions about them?