Report: Global Talent Development on the Rise in M
New York, December 19, 2005--A majority of companies want to accelerate the development of their global talent, according to a report released today by The Conference Board, the global research and business membership organization.
Seventy-seven percent of the 81 companies surveyed by The Conference Board on global leadership development report that they are seeking a variety of approaches to improve their global talent development.
Providing targeted feedback on performance and potential was cited by 47% of the survey participants as being the most effective tactic in accelerating the nurturing of global talent. The most effective practices to develop global business leaders are longer-term international assignments (cited by 33%) and international cross-functional team participation (18%).
“The best way to accelerate global leadership development is to have a sound framework,” says Robert Kramer, principal researcher, The Conference Board, and author of the report. “It is important to identify what lessons and performance demands are needed to build international business proficiency, and to find key talent and focus attention on the fast learners.”
Because the primary vehicle for developing international leaders is experience, it is important to recognize early the experiences that prepare talented people to become global executives. Some companies are developing key development jobs for talented, experienced executives and conducting interviews with the experienced individuals.
Several of the survey participants suggest that early assessment can be executed through assessment centers, rating scales, and manager input. Selection criteria for this review include job performance, learning agility, evidence of early leadership skills, and demonstration of adherence to company values. Assessing early leadership attributes requires at least three years of work experience to demonstrate performance and potential. Deutsche Post World Net, for example, withholds judgment on talent until at least three years of experience can be analyzed.
Well-managed firms (firms with a return on investment equal to or higher than their respective industry averages) are more likely to accelerate global leadership development by giving global leadership talent access to a few, targeted, developmentally-rich positions, providing greater opportunities for global networking, using assignments in foreign client or supplier organizations, employing focus groups, and using off-site education or training programs.
The report says that well-managed firms make use of longer-term international assignments (2-3 years or more) to develop global business leaders. Additionally, well-managed firms say they involve their global leadership talent in expatriate assignment goal-setting. These firms also say that their global business leadership activities differ distinctly from their general business leadership activities in that they require learning how to handle business and personal stress.
Survey participants overall rated early career overseas experiences such as specialized offshore assignments as one of the most frequently used accelerating techniques. Approximately 86% of the survey participants that use it report that it is a moderately to very effective development technique. In addition, more than two-thirds of companies regard education and training to be only a supplement to actual expatriate assignments in the development of global leaders. Less well-managed firms, however, feel the use of education or training programs is of equal or greater effectiveness than expatriate assignments in developing global business leaders.
“This signals that expatriate assignments in these less well-managed firms are not producing the leadership development benefit they could be,” says Kramer.
