aon hewitt 2011 talent survey

Igniting a High-Performance Culture

2011 Talent Survey

Consulting Talent & Rewards

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The economic challenges of the past three years have reduced organizations’ ability to deliver on their employer-employee contract. Often benefits or pay—or both—have been scaled back. Collegiality and productivity of work environments have suffered. Although these decisions were necessary, they adversely impacted employees’ view of their organization and work experience. In 2010, an Aon Hewitt study of employee engagement found that:

n Just over half of employees are disengaged; n There is a significant turnover risk (even among engaged employees); andn Employees are stressed and exhausted; a result of doing more with less.

The Aon Hewitt 2011 Talent Survey results build on these findings and emphasize the role that employee engagement plays in driving business results—both failures and successes. Our 2011 respondents report that engagement continues to be low, and employees have become myopic, more focused on their personal situation and less concerned with what they can do to help the company succeed. And, we see a striking lack of confidence in leaders’ ability to deliver on the factors that will steer their organization in the right direction and motivate a disengaged workforce.

What can organizations do to re-ignite the passion of their workforces and create a high-performance culture that will spark and sustain recovery?

Reinstating programs that have been cut and getting “back to normal” will simply yield middle-of-the-road results. We are challenged to create a “new normal.” We must be bolder, more aggressive, nimble, and, in many ways, smarter about how we manage our employees. Fresh ideas, new approaches, and rapid alignment strategies will lead to greater market share. The race to the new normal will create winners, as well as recession casualties.

Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Talent Survey examines what organizations are doing today and what they plan to do in the future as they embark on efforts to re-engage workers and provide meaningful reasons for them to stay. In doing so, they will build stronger, more resilient, more innovative, more productive and more fun organizations. We hope these findings are helpful to your organization as you focus on building a strong future with a highly engaged workforce. Sincerely,

Kathryn J. Hayley Chief Executive OfficerConsulting Americas

Contents 2011 Talent Survey Executive Summary

Engagement Findings: Engagement Drives Passion and Productivity

Leadership Findings: The New Normal Demands New Leadership

Talent Acquisition Findings: Focus on Quality New Employees over Quantity

Next-Generation Communication Findings: Communication in the New Age of Employee Engagement, Recruitment, and Productivity

Survey Data

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2011 Talent Survey

32011 Talent Survey

2011 Talent Survey Executive SummaryFor the fifth consecutive year, Aon Hewitt surveyed employers across the United States to examine their talent practices, strategies, and challenges. The survey was conducted in late fall 2010, as the nation begins to slowly emerge from the worst financial crisis in modern history. We find organizations optimistic and cautiously beginning to change their focus from reducing costs to growth strategies.

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As leaders transition toward growth, there is an increased focus on human capital: identifying and actively engaging the most critical employees, rapidly aligning the workforce around change, and thinking creatively about how to ensure that cost is managed to get the most out of every HR dollar spent.

In this report, Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Talent Survey, we examine survey responses in four areas: leadership, engagement, talent acquisition, and “next-generation” communication. We report on:

n Key Findings—as identified by our respondents

n Commentary and Calls to Action—steps to position your organization for success

n Survey Data—the complete findings for your reference The economic challenges of the past three years have significantly impacted organizations’ ability to deliver on their employer-employee contract. Employee engagement is at an all-time low. And yet, for the past two years, retention levels have been at an all-time high, driven in large part by a close to 10% U.S. unemployment rate. With fewer companies hiring, consolidation of businesses and processes, off-shoring, outsourcing, and fewer mature employees leaving the workforce, many employees have become reluctant to stray from their current employer.

As the economy shows signs of recovery, employees will begin to consider greener pastures.” What happens if there’s a mass exodus of key talent just as an organization is moving toward recovery? Organizational leaders are concerned and engagement strategies are a reported priority.

Key Findings:

n Engagement of critical talent is a top concern.

n Engagement levels are low and there is a lack of confidence that leaders can retain their critical talent.

n Total rewards plays a significant role in engaging a workforce.

n Middle management will be critical to business strategy execution and engaging the workforce.

Summary of Findings

Engagement Drives Passion and Productivity

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Talented, effective, creative, and respected leaders have a dramatic impact on employee engagement, innovation, and profitability. In an economic environment where change is the norm, leaders are finding themselves ill-equipped to adapt and become a catalyst for change. In this year’s survey, one striking finding is the perceived lack of leaders’ effectiveness in delivering on the success factors that are critically important.

Key Findings:

n There is a perceived gap in leadership effectiveness.

n There is a general lack of confidence in leaders’ ability to drive change.

With job cuts and unemployment stabilizing, and business recovery on the horizon, HR executives can look toward strategically growing their workforces. Forty-five percent of respondents anticipate slightly to significantly greater hiring volumes than in the past year. Only 16% of the responding organizations anticipate slightly or significantly less hiring this year compared to last. Respondents also report an increased focus on the quality of candidates, citing a priority for more productive employees. With those directives, the shrunken talent acquisition function must be bolstered with the required employees to match business demand.

Key Findings:

n Top hiring priority is quality, not quantity.

n The talent acquisition function is a strong candidate for process improvement.

n Social media is an emerging, but not yet prevalent, sourcing channel.

Most respondents agree that their organizations value the role that communication plays in engagement and retention; they also agree that they are not very good at it. Most acknowledge that their communications could be more effective at impacting employee behavior. They also report a wait-and-see approach to social media tools, with only 16% of organizations investing in this area.

Key Findings: n Traditional employee communication tools are still prevalent.

n Change communication is “easier said than done.”

n Social media networks are not prevalent in HR (yet).

Focus on Quality New Employees over Quantity

Communication in the New Age of Employee Engagement, Recruitment, Productivity

The New Normal Demands New Leadership

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A total of 1,328 individuals participated in Aon Hewitt’s 2011 Talent Survey. The confidence interval is 95% +/- 2%-6%. Numbers in this document are rounded.

The participant profile is as follows:

Participant Demographics

>5000 27%

C-Suite 17%

500-500039%

Director38%

<50034%

Manager28%

Professional14%

Support3%

Organization Size

Respondent Title

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Respondents by Industry Industry Percentage

Accommodation and Food Services 1%

Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting 0%

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation 1%

Construction 2%

Educational Services 5%

Federal Government 1%

Finance and Insurance 11%

Health Care and Social Assistance 10%

Information 1%

Management of Companies and Enterprises 1%

Manufacturing 18%

Mining and Quarrying 0%

Not-for-Profit 6%

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services 7%

Real Estate and Rental and Leasing 2%

Retail Trade 4%

State and Local Government 5%

Technology 6%

Telecommunications 2%

Transportation and Warehousing 2%

Utilities 3%

Other Services (Except Public Administration) 8%

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Engagement Findings: Engagement Drives Passion and Productivity

The economic challenges of the past three years have significantly impacted organizations’ ability to deliver on their employer-employee contract. Employee engagement is at an all-time low. And yet, retention levels have been at an all-time high for the past two years, driven in large part by a close to 10% U.S. unemployment rate. With fewer companies hiring, consolidation, off-shoring, outsourcing, and fewer employees retiring, many have become reluctant to stray from their current employer.

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Engagement of critical talent is a top concern

As the economy shows signs of recovery, employees may begin to consider greener pastures.” What happens if there’s a mass exodus of key talent just as an organization is moving toward recovery?

The Aon Hewitt 2011 Talent Survey shows that:

n Engagement of critical talent is a top concern.

n Engagement levels are low and there is a lack of confidence that leaders can retain their critical talent.

n Total rewards plays a significant role in engaging a workforce.

n Middle management will be critical to business strategy execution and engaging the workforce.

Retaining and engaging the workforce is a business-critical focus coming out of the global recession, with more than half of the leaders rating them as two of their top three concerns:

n Talent retention (31%)

n Business strategy execution (18%)

n Engagement of employees (16%)

When asked to anticipate the HR actions mostly likely to occur in 2011, we again see a concern about acquiring, keeping, and developing talent:

n 61% anticipate an increased focus on talent development

n Nearly 40% anticipate an increased focus on hiring

n Nearly one-third anticipate increased turnover

Key Findings“

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Engagement levels are low and there is a lack of confidence that leaders can

retain critical talent

Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement.

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree

Strongly Disagree

The majority of employees in this organization are passionate and enthusiastic about their work.

15% 52% 22% 10% 1%

The majority of employees in this organization are devoted to getting the job done right.

22% 64% 11% 3% 0%

The majority of employees in this organization are immersed fully in their work.

7% 50% 31% 12% 0%

The majority of employees in this organization are focused and concentrate intensely while on the job.

6% 49% 34% 11% 0%

The majority of employees in this organization are driven to do whatever it takes to complete the job.

11% 50% 30% 9% 1%

When asked about their employees’ current level of engagement, 45% of employers don’t believe that their employees are focused on the job, 43% don’t feel that their employees are immersed fully in their work, and 40% don’t believe that their employees are driven to do whatever it takes to do their jobs.

As the nation emerges from the most recent economic crisis, please select the area of greatest concern to you.

Area of Concern Percentage

Aging workforce/retirements 9%

Business strategy execution 18%

Development of leaders to take on more critical work

10%

Engagement of employees 16%

Leading change 6%

Retention of top talent 31%

Succession planning 8%

Other 3%

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The respondents of Aon Hewitt’s 2010 Engagement 2.0 Study echo this concern and provide clear evidence that the actions taken during the global recession have impacted employee engagement. There’s a chink in the foundation of the employer-employee relationship:

n Over 50% are passive or actively disengaged

n 42% are not energized by their work

n Only 43% trust in senior leadership

n 40% are generally stressed to the point of feeling burned out

n 64% are physically exhausted when they get home from work

Respondents generally think that leaders play a significant role in the attraction and retention of key talent, but many agree that they may not be able to follow through:

n 73% agree that senior leaders play a very or extremely important role in attracting talent

n 83% agree that senior leaders play a very or extremely important role in retaining talent

n Only 33% rate their leadership as very or extremely effective in retaining the talent they need for the future

n Less than one-third feel that leaders are very effective in hiring more productive employees


Total rewards plays a significant role in engaging the workforce

Indicate how important managing the cost of total rewards is to your organization.

Extremely Important

Very Important Important

Somewhat Important

Not Important

Importance 25% 36% 29% 8% 3%

Indicate how effective your HR organization is at managing the cost of total rewards.

Extremely Effective

Very Effective Effective

Somewhat Effective

Not Effective

Effectiveness 12% 36% 37% 12% 3%

Please rate the effectiveness of your annual total compensation or total rewards statements at impacting…

Extremely Effective


Somewhat Effective

Not Effective

Employees’ understanding and appreciation of the value of their benefits and the organization’s substantial investment in them

11% 30% 37% 19% 2%

Employee/executive retention 8% 20% 41% 26% 5%

Employee engagement 4% 14% 45% 31% 7%

Only about half of responding organizations use annual total rewards statements. Those that do are reaping benefits from the transparency. Nearly 80% agree that total rewards statements are effective at helping employees understand and appreciate the value of their benefits. In addition, total rewards statements are reported to:

n Improve retention (69%)

n Improve employee engagement (63%)

Total rewards spend is one of the largest ongoing corporate costs—yet, the intended outcomes of this spend are not well articulated, understood, measured, or realized. Respondents to the Aon Hewitt 2011 Talent Survey report that the current management of the cost of total rewards is half as effective as its importance.

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Middle managers are the delivery mechanism to the workforce, communicating change and business strategy, developing models on how the workforce will contribute to the business’s performance. Twenty-six percent of respondents agree that middle managers are most essential for carrying out critical work for the organization; nearly the same percentage as choose senior management. And, when asked what the main issues are that could prevent an organization from reaching its strategic goals quickly, ineffective decision-making and siloed thinking behaviors were the top two responses. Middle managers are also perceived to be an at-risk attraction and retention group. One-quarter of respondents report that middle managers will be the most challenging in regards to attraction and retention. No other position is thought to be more challenging.

Role of middle management will be critical to business strategy execution

and engaging the workforce

What role in your organization do you see as being most essential for carrying out the critical work of the organization? What role in your organization do you see as being most challenging in regards to attraction and retention?

RoleMost Essential

Most Challenging

Executives 12% 5%

First level management 12% 12%

Individual contributors 14% 17%

Middle management 26% 25%

Other specialist specific to our industry 4% 9%

Senior management 29% 19%

Technical/scientific specialists 4% 13%


In the past few years, the employee contract has been disrupted—and in many cases decimated—as companies reacted to the economic downturn and legislative changes with programmatic cutbacks and continued shifting of benefits cost and risk onto employees. The Bureau of Labor Statistics shows a decrease in productivity (output per hour worked) for the first time in five consecutive quarters of strong productivity growth since 2009. The concept of “doing more with less” may have just reached a point of diminishing returns. Corporate stress and burnout are on the rise.

Igniting a high-performance culture may well have to start with engaging the workforce. Highly engaged employees provide higher value. They are more effective at producing high quality and innovative products/services, and they more positively impact customer satisfaction, cost, and revenue growth.

Getting back to normal may not be good enough. To re-engage the disengaged and obtain an “engagement lift,” baseline rewards must meet baseline needs. But, giving all employees exactly what they want is unrealistic. A pragmatic approach is required for an immediate impact. Focus on the highest-value employees. The 80/20 rule applies to human capital—20% of the organization’s employees create 80% of the value. Invest in identifying the 20%, the relative value that they provide, and what they want. Then, deliver on those factors that are under your control. Organizations may also design and market programs targeted at specific high-value segments (e.g., generations, levels, job classes, or functions) to drive specific desired outcomes from those groups.

Organizations are carefully considering the management and communication of total rewards, defined as “everything an employer provides that employees perceive as rewarding or valuable.” As we have seen from much of the data reviewed here, total rewards are far more than compensation and benefits. Leading companies are looking holistically at data to understand what rewards program designs will drive key employee outcomes. Not only do the drivers differ by employee segment, they also differ across the spectrum of attraction, retention, and engagement.

The key is to expend the appropriate level of organizational focus, attention, and investment, commensurate with the relative value that an employee, or employee group, creates.

Aon Hewitt’s Perspective

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Leadership Findings: The New Normal Demands New Leadership

Talented, effective, and respected leaders have a dramatic impact on employee engagement, innovation, and profitability. They also drive organizational change from the top, working through middle management to translate strategy into tactical plans.

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There is a perceived gap in leadership effectiveness

In this year’s survey results, striking is the perceived lack of leaders’ effectiveness in delivering on those success factors that are critically important to lead the organization to the new normal.


n There is a perceived gap in leadership effectiveness.

n There is a general lack of confidence in leaders’ ability to drive change.

When asked about the importance of leadership credibility, almost unanimously (97%) respondents agree that leadership credibility is important, very important or extremely important to the business strategy.

Respondents were then asked about importance and effectiveness of current leadership for meeting business growth goals, driving innovation, meeting profitability targets, delivering desired customer service levels, ensuring safety, attracting talent, and retaining talent. Respondents agree that leadership is extremely important for:

n Meeting business goals (56%)

n Meeting profitability targets (56%)

n Delivering service (56%)

n Retaining talent (44%)

Yet, less than 20% of respondents rank leadership as extremely effective in the same categories:

n Meeting business goals (12%)

n Meeting profitability targets (14%)

n Delivering service (17%)

n Retaining talent (7%)

And, when asked if there is a shortage of qualified leadership, nearly 20% report that there is a leadership shortage right now; another 15% expect a shortage of qualified leadership in the next one to two years.

Key Findings


Respondents reflect a lack of confidence in their leaders’ ability to drive change or effectively communicate change. When asked about leadership’s ability to manage change, only 9% report success to an extremely high extent and just 33% report success to a high extent. When asked about the importance and effectiveness of change interventions, respondents report significant gaps between extremely important and extremely effective:

n Communicating change: 45 percentage point gap

n Leadership alignment with change: 44 percentage point gap

There is a general lack of confidence in leaders’ ability to drive change

When your organization implements change, how important is each of the following change initiatives? How effective is your organization at each?

Change InitiativeExtremely Important

Extremely Effective

Communication 55% 10%

Leadership alignment with the change 57% 13%

We operate in a world that is volatile, uncertain, and complex. Rapid-fire change is the norm and is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, challenges facing an organization. Yet, enterprises often find themselves ill-equipped to adapt. So, change is often slow.

When continuous change is the norm, the entire leadership team must be equipped to become catalysts for change. For many, this requires a new set of capabilities—one of the most important being creativity. Leaders must now demonstrate speed and agility, navigate ambiguity and complexity, develop middle managers, lift engagement, and deliver relevant messages.

We see the need for a revised set of leadership skills reflected in the survey responses that confirms a lack of leadership effectiveness and inability to lead the changes that are necessary. Organizations should evaluate current leadership by assessing leaders against critical competencies, and accelerating skill development in areas found lacking.

Mid-level managers, too, are vitally important to rapidly aligning an organization’s workforce around leadership’s strategy and direction. They are in a unique position to bridge the gap between strategy and employee engagement, perceptions, and productivity. For a rapid alignment strategy to work, mid-level managers must be equipped with the right tools, driven by the senior leadership team, to internalize strategy, translate strategy into decisive local action, and drive performance. Our survey results find effective leadership communication lacking. Improving communication and empowering mid-level managers, who are closest to employees, will result in more efficient strategy execution and improved productivity.

Aon Hewitt’s Perspective

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Talent Acquisition Findings: Focus on Quality New Employees over Quantity

With retention of key employees a top concern and employers optimistically looking forward to bolstering the workforce in strategic areas, acquiring new talent becomes a driving force of organizational success.

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Top hiring priority is quality, not quantity

Respondents to the Aon Hewitt 2011 Talent Survey report a more optimistic hiring view of workers in the coming year, with 45% citing slightly greater to significantly greater hiring volumes than in the past year. Only 16% of organizations anticipate slightly or significantly less hiring this year as compared to last.


n Top hiring priority is quality, not quantity.

n Talent acquisition function may be a candidate for process improvement.

n Employee referrals continue to be the prevalent new hire source.

When asked about the goal of their organization’s talent acquisition function in the coming year, 55% report increased focus on the quality of candidates. Similarly, when asked their top hiring priority, nearly 60% agree that it is very or extremely important to hire more productive employees. Less than 50% cite filling positions faster and staying on budget as a top priority.

Key Findings

Extremely Important 20%

Very Important39%

Important30%

Somewhat Important 7%

Not Important3%

How important is hiring more productive employees to your organization?


Talent acquisition function may be a candidate for process improvement

Conventional wisdom would lead us to believe that hiring quality employees is easier than in years past due to the glut of unemployed workers. However, with increased candidate volumes flooding HR departments and a lack of recruiting resources to process and screen hundreds of applicants for each position, organizations are finding it difficult to find quality hires in the traditional and virtual resume piles. Only 28% report that they are very or extremely effective at hiring more productive employees.

With job cuts and unemployment stabilizing, HR executives can now look toward growing their workforces in strategic areas where growth is anticipated. That growth will require many formerly downsized talent acquisition functions to match business demand with the required employees to deliver the goods or services.

HR leaders appear less inclined to rebuild their recruiting function with full-time employees during recovery, with only 8% citing rebuilding the recruitment team as a primary goal in 2011. They may look at smaller fixes such as redesigning talent acquisition to be more scalable, streamlined, and to operate more cost-effectively, with 35% of respondents stating that recruiting and staffing could benefit from process improvement.

Extremely Effective 5%

Very Effective 23%

Effective51%

Somewhat Effective 18%

Not Effective3%

How effective is your organization at hiring more productive employees?

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What are the most effective sources of hires for your organization? (Choose up to 3.)

SourcesEntry level/ New hires

Experienced/ Mid-career

Employee referrals 48% 40%

Job boards 30% 31%

Resume mining, Internet and/or company resume databases

12% 20%

Agencies (search firms or temporary)

16% 28%

Company website careers page–unsolicited applications

29% 25%

Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook)

5% 10%

Existing employees (internal placements)

21% 27%

Print media (newspapers, trade journals)

12% 9%

Job fairs/recruitment events/open houses

9% 4%

Unsolicited walk-ins, resume, application

9% 2%

School outreach (college, technical school, or high school)

11% 3%

Social media is certain to change the face of talent acquisition, but respondents to the survey report a “wait-and-see” position. Only 24% of respondents cite that determining how to use social media in recruitment is very or extremely important. And, when asked to rank the most effective sources of new hires, traditional recruiting techniques such as employee referrals and job boards top the list for both entry level/hourly and experienced/mid-career new hires.

Employee referrals continue to be the prevalent new hire source


Aon Hewitt’s Perspective With job cuts and unemployment stabilizing and business recovery in most industries looming, HR executives can look toward growing their workforces in strategic areas outlined by executive management. The key acquisition issues HR departments will face are:

n How to react to fluctuating business demands combined with an urgency to hire productive new employees to support the new growth.

n How to best structure the talent acquisition function to be nimble, and how to cost-effectively scale up to meet business demand to deliver high-quality, productive employees to the organization.

Workforce planning tools will become increasingly important to HR executives and they will invest here as they work with their business units to help accurately forecast their near-term and long-term workforce needs.

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Next-Generation Communication Findings: Communication in the New Age of Employee Engagement, Recruitment, and Productivity

Today’s employees are empowered, confident, hard to reach, and equally hard to engage. Individual communication tools—e-mails, conference calls, webinars, hard copy mailings—don’t seem to have the desired impact. And communication for communication’s sake, without a tie to business strategy or an overall plan, is ineffective.

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Traditional communication tools are still prevalent

Change communication: easier said than done

Respondents confirm that most organizations value the role that communication plays in employee engagement and retention. However, they also report that those communications have not been closely aligned with an organization’s overall business strategy.


n Traditional employee communication tools are still prevalent.

n Change communication is easier said than done.

n Social media networks are not prevalent in HR (yet).

Where organizations are focused on employee communication, the use of more traditional methods such as e-mail and intranets still far outweighs the use of emerging social media tools. Even in the recruiting space there is a disconnect where 55% of employers see social media as an important tool to leverage when reaching recruits, but only 5% to 10% of employers think social media is an effective source of candidates.

When an organization implements change, 55% believe that communication is extremely important, while only 10% of those same organizations believe that they are extremely effective in delivering that communication. Today less than half (47%) of the organizations in the survey provide total rewards statements to employees, even though most find them to be effective in every category of the survey. Since 54% of organizations believe that employees’ understanding of the value of the total rewards program is important to their overall business strategy, it is reasonable to assume that more organizations will embrace personalized total rewards communications. Only 16% of organizations are investing in social media tools, with most still depending on established methods such as e-mail (push) and intranets (pull). Reluctance to embrace new technologies appears to carry ahead over the next three years, where only 30% of organizations believe that they will invest in social media as a means of communicating with employees. Generally speaking, investments in communication over the next three years are split almost 50-50 between increased budgets and holding steady. While companies do not seem to be focusing on social media in the next three years, a large number, 67%, either have formal policies in place dictating how employees should use social networking tools, or are working on formulating those polices.

Key Findings

Social media networks not prevalent in HR (yet)


Aon Hewitt’s Perspective The survey data confirms that while most organizations believe that communicating with employees is extremely important, the vast majority will admit that they are not very good at it. There is a fairly large disconnect between belief and actual results. While one can speculate on the reasons (e.g., internal staffing issues, budget, other priorities), it is clear that companies feel their communications could be more effective in impacting employee behavior. We feel strongly that organizations need to:

n Communicate with employees using tools that they use.

n Personalize those communications. Using targeted messaging based on employee demographics can be a highly effective means of engaging and retaining employees.

With all of the press that social media receives today, it is not yet the communication of choice for organizations’ budget dollars, at least in the near term. We believe these tools can be a highly effective and productive means of communicating; however, employers lack employees’ personal cell phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and that is hindering the expansion of social media as a broad-based resource. Allowing employees to “opt in” to text and e-mail message services is gaining some momentum, although it is still too soon to tell if most employees will embrace the technology for this purpose.

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2011 Talent Survey Data

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1 Do you anticipate your organization will experience any of the following HR events in 2010 and/or 2011? (Select all that apply.)

HR Event

Global off-shoring 8%

HR outsourcing 11%

Recruitment process outsourcing 13%

HR systems integration or upgrades; automation of manual HR activities

49%

Review of total rewards 38%

HR cost cutting 27%

Increased hiring 38%

Increased turnover and/or retirements 29%

Increased focus on leadership, talent development, and succession planning

61%

Increased focus on HR productivity and process improvement

48%

Increased focus on safety 20%

Use of new social media for job candidate or employee communications

35%

2 Please indicate your organization’s top HR strengths. (Select all that apply.)

HR Strength

Internal service excellence provided to employees 43%

Recruiting and developing a talented workforce 27%

Driving innovation 8%

Ensuring safety 13%

Low-cost function 24%

Competitive benefits 50%

Competitive compensation 23%

Recognition as an “employer of choice” in your market 22%

Organization effectiveness/organizational change 15%

Mergers and acquisitions facilitation 8%


3 Which of the following administrative areas of HR could benefit from a process improvement within your organization? (Select all that apply.)

HR Administrative Area

Recruiting and staffing administration 35%

Onboarding/Offboarding 37%

Leadership development and succession planning 57%

Benefits administration 19%

Training coordination/Tracking 34%

Workers’ compensation administration 10%

Global talent management 18%

4 What regions of the world will require your greatest focus on talent issues in the coming year? (Select all that apply.)

Region

Europe 10%

Russia 0%

Asia/Pacific 14%

India 5%

Africa 2%

Middle East 2%

U.S./Canada 74%

Latin America 7%

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5 As the nation emerges from the most recent economic crisis, please select the area of greatest concern to you.

Concern

Aging workforce/retirements 9%

Business strategy execution 18%

Development of leaders to take on more critical work 10%

Engagement of employees 16%

Leading change 6%

Other 3%

Retention of top talent 31%

Succession planning 8%

6 When, if ever, do you anticipate that a shortage of qualified leadership will impact your organization’s performance?

Outlook

Now, we currently have a shortage. 19%

Next 1-2 years 15%

Next 3-4 years 26%

Next 5-9 years 17%

Next 10+ years 2%

We do not anticipate a shortage of qualified leaders in our organization.

22%


7 Please rate how important it is that your organization’s leaders…

Importance

Extremely important

Very important

Important Somewhat important

Not important

a Meet business growth goals 56% 28% 10% 4% 3%

b Innovate 29% 39% 25% 6% 1%

c Meet profitability targets 56% 26% 10% 3% 4%

dDeliver desired customer service levels

56% 32% 11% 1% 0%

e Ensure safety 36% 25% 25% 9% 5%

f Attract talent 30% 43% 21% 5% 1%

g Retain talent 44% 39% 14% 3% 1%

8 Please rate the effectiveness of your organization’s leaders to…

Effectiveness

Extremely effective

Very effective

Effective Somewhat effective

Not effective

a Meet business growth goals 12% 34% 36% 16% 2%

b Innovate 7% 21% 36% 31% 5%

c Meet profitability targets 14% 31% 36% 15% 4%

dDeliver desired customer service levels

17% 38% 33% 11% 1%

e Ensure safety 17% 35% 37% 9% 2%

f Attract talent 5% 27% 41% 23% 3%

g Retain talent 7% 26% 40% 22% 4%

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9 What role in your organization do you see as being most essential for carrying out the critical work of the organization?

Role

Executives 12%

Senior management 29%

Middle management 26%

First level management 12%

Individual contributors 14%

Technical/scientific specialists 4%

Other specialist specific to our industry 4%

10 What role in your organization do you see as being most challenging in regards to attraction and retention?

Role

Executives 5%

First level management 12%

Individual contributors 17%

Middle management 25%

Other specialist specific to our industry 9%

Senior management 19%

Technical/scientific specialists 13%

11 What is the main issue preventing your organization from reaching your strategic goals quickly?

Issue

Governance, structure, and efficiency of decision making 17%

Inability of leaders to drive strategic change 13%

Insufficient leadership capacity 12%

Investment 12%

Lack of talent/succession pool 7%

Siloed thinking/behavior 29%

Workforce engagement 10%


12 What are the most important elements that your organization currently considers when making rewards and other HR program decisions? (Choose up to three.)

Elements

Cost 58%

Competitive position 25%

Legal/regulatory compliance 17%

Alignment with the business performance 38%

Leadership’s rewards philosophy 16%

Risk to the enterprise 7%

Ability to attract, retain, and engage the right talent 33%

13 What are the most important elements that your organization should be considering when making rewards and other HR program decisions? (Choose up to three.)

Elements

Cost 28%

Competitive position 34%

Legal/regulatory compliance 12%

Alignment with the business performance 50%

Leadership’s rewards philosophy 17%

Risk to the enterprise 5%

Ability to attract, retain, and engage the right talent 55%

38 Aon Hewitt

14 Please indicate how important each HR program is to your organization.

Importance

Extremely Important


Somewhat Important

Not Important

aManaging the cost of total rewards

25% 36% 29% 8% 3%

bAttracting and assessing the talent the organization needs

31% 42% 20% 6% 1%

cRetaining the talent the organization needs

38% 37% 17% 6% 2%

dEnhancing employee engagement and performance

31% 39% 20% 8% 2%

ePlanning future workforce requirements

16% 35% 31% 14% 4%

fManaging a multi-cultural, global workforce

11% 18% 25% 18% 28%

15 Please indicate how effective your HR organization is at delivering each of the following.

Effectiveness

Extremely Effective


Somewhat Effective

Not Effective

aManaging the cost of total rewards

12% 36% 37% 12% 3%

bAttracting and assessing the talent the organization needs

6% 25% 41% 24% 4%

cRetaining the talent the organization needs

8% 26% 41% 21% 4%

dEnhancing employee engagement and performance

3% 17% 40% 30% 9%

ePlanning future workforce requirements

3% 12% 35% 37% 14%

fManaging a multi-cultural, global workforce

5% 10% 35% 26% 24%


16 Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement.

Agreement


Strongly Disagree

aThe majority of employees in this organization are passionate and enthusiastic about their work.

15% 52% 22% 10% 1%

bThe majority of employees in this organization are devoted to getting the job done right.

22% 64% 11% 3% 0%

cThe majority of employees in this organization are immersed fully in their work.

7% 50% 31% 12% 0%

d

The majority of employees in this organization are focused and concentrate intensely while on the job.

6% 49% 34% 11% 0%

e

The majority of employees in this organization are driven to do whatever it takes to complete the job.

11% 50% 30% 9% 1%

17 How does your anticipated hiring volume in the upcoming year compare to the prior year?

Hiring Volume

Significantly greater 12%

Slightly greater 33%

About the same 39%

Slightly less 10%

Significantly less 6%

40 Aon Hewitt

18 How important are the following recruitment programs to your organization?

Importance

Extremely important

Very important Important

Somewhat important

Not Important

a Hire more productive employees 20% 39% 30% 7% 3%

bReduce early turnover of new employees

18% 32% 28% 13% 9%

c Fill positions faster 17% 32% 31% 15% 5%

d Stay on recruitment budget 14% 28% 36% 16% 6%

eLaunch new recruitment technology

7% 18% 25% 26% 25%

fDetermine how to leverage social media in recruitment

4% 20% 31% 27% 18%

gImprove onboarding/orientation program

14% 34% 30% 15% 7%

19 How effective is your organization at implementing the following recruitment programs?

Effectiveness

Extremely Effective


Somewhat Effective

Not Effective

a Hire more productive employees 5% 23% 51% 18% 3%

bReduce early turnover of new employees

7% 19% 43% 26% 5%

c Fill positions faster 4% 17% 39% 32% 8%

d Stay on recruitment budget 11% 27% 45% 13% 3%

eLaunch new recruitment technology

5% 13% 34% 28% 19%

fDetermine how to leverage social media in recruitment

3% 8% 26% 35% 28%

gImprove onboarding/orientation program

4% 16% 37% 32% 10%


20 What are the most effective sources of entry level/hourly new hires for your organization? (Choose up to three.)

Sources

Employee referrals 48%

Job boards 30%

Resume mining Internet and/or company resume databases

12%

Agencies (search firms or temporary) 16%

Company website careers page—unsolicited applications 29%

Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) 5%

Existing employees (internal placements) 21%

Print media (newspapers, trade journals) 12%

Job fairs/recruitment events/open houses 9%

Walk-in—unsolicited resume/application 9%


11%

21 What are the most effective sources of experienced/mid-career new hires for your organization? (Choose up to three.)

Sources

Employee referrals 40%

Job boards 31%

Resume mining Internet and/or company resume databases

20%

Agencies (search firms or temporary) 28%

Company website careers page—unsolicited applications 25%

Social media (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook) 10%

Existing employees (internal placements) 27%

Print media (newspapers, trade journals) 9%

Job fairs/recruitment events/open houses 4%

Walk-in—unsolicited resume/application 2%


3%

42 Aon Hewitt

22 Which properly describes the goal of your organization’s talent acquisition function for the upcoming year? (Choose up to three.)

Sources

Becoming more lean 15%

Increased focus on quality of candidates 55%

Creating more scalability in our process to respond to changing business needs

30%

Implementing new recruitment technology 22%

Developing processes that address global talent needs 12%

Rebuilding the recruitment team 8%

Evaluate increased use of outsourcing 7%

Evaluate in-sourcing work that was previously outsourced 3%

23 Please indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with each statement.

Agreement


Strongly Disagree

a

Our organization’s change initiatives achieve the desired behavioral and business outcomes.

4% 41% 40% 13% 2%

bLeader’s actions and behaviors support messages in our organization.

12% 43% 27% 15% 3%

cOur communication drives desired behavioral outcomes.

5% 39% 38% 16% 2%

dWe have a stated HR strategy and plan.

14% 40% 21% 18% 5%

eWe measure the ROI of HR initiatives.

5% 22% 30% 34% 10%

fWe measure satisfaction with HR services.

11% 31% 26% 25% 6%


24 When your organization implements change, how important is each of the following change interventions?

Importance

Extremely Important


Somewhat Important

Not Important

a Communication 55% 32% 10% 2% 1%

bLeadership alignment with the change

57% 31% 8% 3% 0%

c Rewards and consequences 14% 36% 35% 11% 4%

d Measurement 17% 37% 31% 11% 3%

e Capability building 13% 33% 37% 13% 4%

f Governance and decision rights 13% 32% 36% 15% 3%

g Stakeholder involvement 26% 38% 24% 8% 4%

hWorkforce transition (e.g., headcount reduction, redeployment)

12% 31% 38% 13% 6%

44 Aon Hewitt

25 When your organization implements change, how effective is your organization at each of the following change interventions?

Effectiveness

Extremely Effective


Somewhat Effective

Not Effective

a Communication 10% 26% 35% 24% 5%

bLeadership alignment with the change

13% 29% 31% 22% 5%

c Rewards and consequences 3% 15% 39% 32% 11%

d Measurement 5% 15% 32% 35% 13%

e Capability building 3% 12% 38% 36% 11%

f Governance and decision rights 5% 17% 44% 27% 7%

g Stakeholder involvement 6% 23% 37% 26% 7%

hWorkforce transition (e.g., headcount reduction, redeployment)

6% 20% 43% 24% 6%

26 Do you use business metrics to measure the success of a significant organizational change?

Agreement

Yes 51%

No 49%


27 Please indicate the business metrics used to measure the success of a significant organizational change. (Choose up to three.)

Business Metrics

Revenue growth 22%

Cost savings 22%

Market share 6%

Innovation 2%

Speed of transition/integration/restructuring 5%

Customer satisfaction 17%

Health and safety measures 3%

Employee retention 8%

Employee productivity 5%

Employee engagement 8%

28 How involved was HR in your most recent organizational change?

Involvement

Deeply involved in creating the strategy, then asked to execute

31%

Provided input to the strategy, then asked to execute the plan

40%

Asked to execute the plan 12%

Not involved 9%

There have not been recent organizational changes. 8%

46 Aon Hewitt

29 Does your organization use annual total compensation or total rewards statements?

Agreement

Yes 47%

No 53%

30 Please rate the effectiveness of your annual total compensation or total rewards statements at impacting…

Effectiveness

Extremely Effective


Somewhat Effective

Not Effective

a

Employees’ understanding and appreciation of the value of their benefits and the organization’s substantial investment in them

11% 30% 37% 19% 2%

b Employee/executive retention 8% 20% 41% 26% 5%

c Employee engagement 4% 14% 45% 31% 7%

dEmployee savings activity or participation

4% 17% 38% 29% 10%

e

Executives’ understanding of their unique pay, benefits, and wealth accumulation opportunities

11% 30% 38% 16% 5%

f Participation in voluntary plans 5% 16% 42% 26% 10%


31 Please rate the importance of each of the following to your organization’s business strategy.

Importance

Extremely Important

Very Important

Important Somewhat Important

Not Important

aEmployee understanding of business objectives

34% 40% 20% 4% 1%

bEmployee capability to deliver on business objectives

39% 41% 17% 3% 0%


dBuilding a strong corporate culture

33% 37% 21% 7% 2%

e Senior leadership credibility 53% 33% 11% 2% 1%

fManaging organizational transformation/change

28% 43% 23% 4% 2%

gEmployees’ understanding of the value of your organization’s total rewards

15% 39% 33% 11% 2%

hEmployees’ understanding of how your organization’s employee benefits plans work

17% 39% 34% 8% 2%

iEmployees’ understanding of changes to policies/procedures

17% 39% 35% 8% 1%

j Employee health and wellness 27% 36% 27% 9% 1%

k Safety 36% 26% 25% 10% 3%

48 Aon Hewitt

32 Please rate the extent to which your organization’s communication strategy is focused on the following.

Extent

Very high Extent

High Extent

Some Extent

Little Extent None

aEmployee understanding of business objectives

18% 36% 35% 9% 2%

bEmployee capability to deliver on business objectives

9% 36% 43% 10% 2%


dBuilding a strong corporate culture

18% 31% 37% 12% 3%

e Senior leadership credibility 18% 37% 33% 10% 3%

fManaging organizational transformation/change

9% 31% 44% 13% 3%

gEmployees’ understanding of the value of your organization’s total rewards

5% 25% 44% 21% 5%

hEmployees’ understanding of how your organization’s employee benefits plans work

9% 39% 38% 12% 2%

iEmployees’ understanding of changes to policies/procedures

8% 33% 45% 11% 2%

j Employee health and wellness 12% 35% 37% 13% 3%

k Safety 21% 28% 31% 14% 6%


33 Please select the communication areas your organization is currently investing in. (Select all that apply.)

Communication Areas

E-mail 61%

Organization intranet 57%

Online newsletters/brochures 39%

Printed newsletters/brochures 29%

Town halls/all-organization meetings 42%

Printed materials mailed to employees’ homes 29%

Multimedia/video 20%

Focus groups 23%

Electronic bulletin boards/dashboards (e.g., SharePoint) 24%

Instant messaging 13%

Pulse surveys 13%

Social networking (e.g., Facebook, MySpace) 16%

Blogs/discussion boards 12%

Podcasts 4%

Text messaging 5%

50 Aon Hewitt

34 Please select the communication areas your organization will invest in 3 years from now. (Select all that apply.)

Communication Areas

E-mail 36%

Organization intranet 42%

Online newsletters/brochures 33%

Printed newsletters/brochures 15%

Town halls/all-organization meetings 27%

Printed materials mailed to employees’ homes 14%

Multimedia/video 28%

Focus groups 22%

Electronic bulletin boards/dashboards (e.g., SharePoint) 31%

Instant messaging 14%

Pulse surveys 19%

Social networking (e.g., Facebook, MySpace) 30%

Blogs/discussion boards 21%

Podcasts 14%

Text messaging 8%


35 Over the next 3 years, will your organization’s total investment in communication:

Communication Investment

Decrease 2%

Increase 50%

Stay the same 47%

36 Do you have any formal policies that dictate how employees use social networking tools?

Social Networking Policies

Yes, employees are informed of our social networking usage policies

39%

No, but we are working on formulating those policies 28%

No, we have no formal policies 20%

We do not use social networking tools 13%

Copyright Aon Hewitt 2011

About Aon Hewitt Aon Hewitt is the global leader in human resource consulting and outsourcing solutions. The company partners with organizations to solve their most complex benefits, talent and related financial challenges, and improve business performance. Aon Hewitt designs, implements, communicates and administers a wide range of human resource, retirement, investment management, health care, compensation and talent management strategies. With more than 29,000 professionals in 90 countries, Aon Hewitt makes the world a better place to work for clients and their employees. For more information on Aon Hewitt, please visit www.aonhewitt.com.

aon hewitt 2011 talent survey

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