Companies Struggling to Fill Leadership Needs

September 28, 2010 – Fifty-six percent of the corporate executives cited a critical talent gap for senior managers' successors, according to a global report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA). Yet while it is generally easier and more effective for homegrown talent to step into leadership roles, companies fill more than half of their executive positions from outside, the survey found. The report, titled “Creating People Advantage 2010: How Companies Can Adapt Their HR Practices for Volatile Times,” polled 5,561 human resources and business-unit executives from 109 countries and numerous industries. In addition, companies find it difficult to get a clear and accurate picture of the composition, age structure, and capabilities of their people in order to undertake strategic workforce planning. Only nine percent of companies surveyed deploy a sophisticated workforce supply-and-demand model. “Talent management needs are particularly critical at the leadership levels of the organization,” said Ernesto Espinosa, president of the WFPMA and a coauthor of the report. “Succession planning needs to be integrated with leadership development programs, and this practice has to be standardized. The challenge for HR is to bring talent management practices of executives to the next level in order to support business growth.”