HR not aligned with organisational change, says Mercer survey
There’s a huge chasm between business planning and execution. Many organisations around the country are planning big, bold changes, but business executives feel they are not agile enough to handle the change process, HR consultancy Mercer’s 2017 Global Talent Trends Study has revealed.
There’s a huge chasm between business planning and execution. Many organisations around the country are planning big, bold changes, but business executives feel they are not agile enough to handle the change, HR consultancy Mercer’s 2017 Global Talent Trends Study has revealed.
That’s not all, what can do serious damage to organisations is their HR leaders’ confidence that they are managing talent efficiently, even though over half of the employees (54%) have plans to quit in the next 12 months.
The study, which has taken inputs from 7500 senior business executives, HR leaders, and employees from organisations around the world, 461 from India, says 83% firms in India plan to restructure in the next two years. However, only 11% business executives say their organisation can adapt to this change with agility.
Organisation or job redesign is definitely not a priority for HR leaders this year as they continue to prioritise skill-building, identifying high-potential talent and developing leaders for succession, and attracting top talent externally.
Even though more employees in India (compared to other countries) are satisfied with their jobs they report to feeling less “energised” while coming to work and are less likely to thrive in a collaborative and innovative workplace. This could be alarming for business executives as 78% are expecting a significant increase in competition.
It’s easy for executives in this age of digitisation, robotics and AI to overlook the human element and “ focus on superior technology as the solution to ensuring the competitiveness of their organisations,” Ilya Bonic, president of Mercer’s Career business has said. What should not be forgotten is that “Growth rests on engaging and empowering today’s workforce in ways that we are just beginning to uncover. It takes employees armed with the right skills and opportunities to develop innovative solutions to advance the business and themselves.”
Health and wellness is also an important concern. Despite 53% of employees saying their health is more important than their wealth or career, and 64% expecting their workplace to be more focused on health, health and well-being ranks at the bottom half of HR leaders’ list of top talent management priorities this year.