A recent Deloitte Private survey reveals a strong focus on talent development among private companies, with 73% planning to increase or significantly increase investments in this area over the next year. This shift highlights the importance of employee engagement, productivity, and leadership succession in shaping future business success.
Key Insights from the Deloitte Private Survey
- Top Business Priorities for Private Companies
- Productivity (36%) and leadership succession (33%) emerged as the most important priorities for the next 12 months.
- Financial concerns like managing liquidity (5%) and pursuing mergers or acquisitions (4%) were less frequently cited, reflecting optimism about financial performance.
- Innovative Talent Development Strategies
- Reverse Mentoring (69%): The most implemented strategy, bridging skill gaps between early-career employees and senior leaders.
- AI Training (64%): Preparing employees for advancements in technology.
- Apprenticeship Programs (52%): Fostering on-the-job learning and mentorship, with 72% planning to expand these programs in the next year.
- Hybrid Work and Corporate Culture
- Larger enterprises ($500M+ revenue) prioritize in-office events (37%) to maintain culture, 20 percentage points higher than smaller organizations.
- 87% of larger companies expect to increase in-person events, compared to just 9% of smaller companies.
- Key Metrics for Measuring Success
- Employee Engagement (71%): A critical outcome of talent development initiatives across all company sizes.
- Productivity (80%): Particularly significant for smaller organizations, emphasizing operational efficiency.
- Challenges in Talent Development
- Larger companies report difficulty gaining stakeholder buy-in, a challenge three times more common than in smaller companies.
- Other barriers include:
- Low employee engagement potential (59%)
- Uncertainty in measuring effectiveness (57%)
- Workflow disruptions (55%)
Deloitte’s survey underscores the evolving focus on talent-centric strategies in private enterprises. Initiatives like mentorship, training, and fostering engagement are becoming pivotal for maintaining competitiveness and ensuring adaptability. As Wolfe Tone, vice chair and U.S. Deloitte Private leader, emphasizes, fostering an aligned, productive, and satisfied workforce is key to driving forward progress and achieving organizational goals.
