Managing the Global Workforce free essay sample

But what does it really mean, and why is it important? Attracting and retaining talent has become a boardroom issue that is steadily climbing higher on the corporate agenda. The 2009 Ernst Young business risk report shows that risks associated with talent management broke into the Top 10 last year to become the seventh most important risk occupying corporate leaders’ minds. Talent management risk centers on the danger of losing key competencies (including members of leadership) that allow an organization to achieve its business goals. In response, companies are focusing on developing recruitment, training and retention programs to help ensure that needed skills are available in the future. At Ernst Young, we view talent management as an end-to-end process, linking a company’s mission, vision, values and strategy with the way it manages and develops its people. While other companies may de? ne talent management differently, we believe this end-to-end process encompasses every aspect of the employee life cycle and, therefore, use this de? nition as the basis of the concepts discussed in this report. We will write a custom essay sample on Managing the Global Workforce or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To gain a better understanding of the way companies outside of Ernst Young are approaching this challenge, we conducted the Ernst Young Global Talent Management Survey to answer the following questions: †¢ Do most companies integrate and align their talent management programs across the organization? Do companies run stand-alone programs or do they attempt to harmonize programs with each other and with the organization’s broader business goals? †¢ Do organizations with integrated and aligned talent management programs achieve superior business results compared with those whose programs are not? Are companies with international assignment programs losing key talent, skills and knowledge through inefficient career planning for repatriated employees? By failing to focus talent management programs specifically on these employees, do they lose valuable skills to competitors and waste their investments in their international assignees? Our experience strongly suggests th ree hypotheses: 1. The ability to align a company’s human capital (or people) processes with its overall business strategy, while fully integrating key elements of its talent management system, is an achievable goal rather than a theoretical or academic exercise. Sam Fouad Global Managing Partner – People Esther Hahm Co-author Human Capital Bill Leisy Co-author Performance Reward 2. Elevating talent management to a more strategic level yields indisputable business benefits. 3. Global companies must make international assignments part of their overall talent management program and include a focus on formal repatriation programs for returning expatriates. In mid-2009, we launched the Ernst Young Global Talent Management Survey to test these hypotheses and answer the questions posed previously. Our broader goal was to better understand talent management practices across different global regions, at companies of different sizes and in different industries. We received an overwhelming response from leaders at more than 340 global organizations — primarily senior executives — including CEOs, CFOs, COOs and vice presidents of human resources. Analysis of the survey data validated the hypotheses stated above. This report is a summary of our key ? ndings and observations, as it explores the value of aligning talent management programs with the overall business strategy. It also focuses on the importance of including international assignments in such programs and describes the relationship between talent management and ? nancial performance in companies. Talent management is about more than managing physical bodies that come to work each day. It is about managing human (or people) capital, a phrase that describes an intangible resource comprising your employees’ knowledge, abilities, capabilities and skills. Technologies, products and strategies can be replicated, but it is people who enable a company to innovate, differentiate and succeed. Harnessing that human capital requires elevating your view of talent management to a more strategic level. Forward-looking companies will regard these ideas as a starting point for building more effective talent management programs and for recruiting, developing and retaining your employees of choice. But this is not a one-size-? ts-all approach — your companies and your employees require a framework for building a strong human capital pool that meets the speci? c needs and challenges of your organization. Consider how the research ? ndings, observations and case studies apply to your organization. Managing today’s global workforce: elevating talent management to improve business 1 Overview Survey demographics and methodology Ernst Young LLP conducted an online survey among human resource, ? nance and risk management professionals, and C-suite executives from global Fortune 1000 companies. The aim of the survey was to provide further insight into how talent management programs and mobility assignments are being aligned and integrated across the enterprise. Our survey ? ndings are based on more than 340 responses representing a cross-section of some of the largest employers around the globe in a variety of industry sectors. Nearly one-third of respondents1 (32%) worked for companies headquartered in the US. Roughly one-quarter (24%) worked for organizations based in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 10% were headquartered in Australia; another 8% in individual countries like Canada, Brazil and China; and 7% in Japan. Most respondents were senior operations, ? nance or HR executives. The survey was conducted from July to September 2009. Why talent management holds the key to organizational performance A senior executive at a ? nancial services company recently stated that, if not for he employees, his company would be nothing more than a large building with bad furniture. While furniture and other features vary from one organization to another, the executive was correct: a business is only as good as its people. Given the recent economic downturn and its attendant workforce downsizing, you don’t hear this sentiment expressed as much as you used to. Nevertheless, as the global economy revives, bu sinesses that have kept in mind the importance of their people will be among the ? rst to rebound. These organizations have used downsizing more strategically than others, releasing employees who lacked the required competencies and keeping those whose skills ? t the company’s planned product or service offerings. They have understood that their people hold the keys to ef? ciency, competitive differentiation and success in the economic recovery. 1 Note: Percentages for all survey responses were rounded up or down to avoid using fractions when reporting ?nal data. In addition, not all survey respondents answered all of the questions in the survey and therefore, percentages may not add up to 100%. Foundations of talent management

Free Essays on Why Americans Dont Vote

The acquisition of political rights- including voting rights- has been a vital tool for every disempowered group in American’s history to achieve economic, social and civil rights and equality (Williamson, 1960; Porter, 1971). Because legislative bodies confer rights and make public policy, it is critical to possess the capacity to influence and/or select representatives. Legal barriers to political participation, however, have hampered the attainment of such rights by distinct classes of citizens, including African-Americans, women, and youth. Previously excluded groups have gained access to the franchise principally through political struggle. They fought their way into the polity through political agitation, sometimes using the courts as a tool. Ultimately they needed the support of other sectors in society to win political rights. The agitation of the property-less encouraged sectors of the propertied to extend the franchise; the abolitionist movement and civil rights movements led whites to enfranchise blacks; the suffragettes compelled men to include women among the voting citizenry; and younger adults, whose participation in the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, were granted voting rights by older adults. Why not for immigrants too? Although noncitizen immigrants behave in much the same ways as citizens, they possess fewer rights and benefits.1 Immigrants are subject to all laws and pay taxes, work in and/or own businesses, send their children to schools, serve in the military and can be drafted, and participate in all aspects of daily social life. Nevertheless, noncitizen immigrants are precluded from selecting those who fashion public policy and represent them at every level of governance. As Salvador Hernandez, a 40 year old immigrant from El Salvador who works for an organization called Centro Presente that promotes and supports immigrant civic â€Å"Non-Citizen Voting: Pipe Dream or Possibility† by Ron Hay... Free Essays on Why Americans Don't Vote Free Essays on Why Americans Don't Vote The acquisition of political rights- including voting rights- has been a vital tool for every disempowered group in American’s history to achieve economic, social and civil rights and equality (Williamson, 1960; Porter, 1971). Because legislative bodies confer rights and make public policy, it is critical to possess the capacity to influence and/or select representatives. Legal barriers to political participation, however, have hampered the attainment of such rights by distinct classes of citizens, including African-Americans, women, and youth. Previously excluded groups have gained access to the franchise principally through political struggle. They fought their way into the polity through political agitation, sometimes using the courts as a tool. Ultimately they needed the support of other sectors in society to win political rights. The agitation of the property-less encouraged sectors of the propertied to extend the franchise; the abolitionist movement and civil rights movements led whites to enfranchise blacks; the suffragettes compelled men to include women among the voting citizenry; and younger adults, whose participation in the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, were granted voting rights by older adults. Why not for immigrants too? Although noncitizen immigrants behave in much the same ways as citizens, they possess fewer rights and benefits.1 Immigrants are subject to all laws and pay taxes, work in and/or own businesses, send their children to schools, serve in the military and can be drafted, and participate in all aspects of daily social life. Nevertheless, noncitizen immigrants are precluded from selecting those who fashion public policy and represent them at every level of governance. As Salvador Hernandez, a 40 year old immigrant from El Salvador who works for an organization called Centro Presente that promotes and supports immigrant civic â€Å"Non-Citizen Voting: Pipe Dream or Possibility† by Ron Hay...