SHL Talent Report Provides Unprecedented Insight on the Global Workforce

SHL Talent Report Provides Unprecedented Insight on the Global Workforce

• International leadership indices reveals talent time bomb in South Africa
• Female leaders rank 14 in the world for capability but gender divide can’t be broken

Pretoria, SA – 26February 2013– SHL, the global leader in talent measurement, today announces the release of the first annual Talent Report, providing an unrivalled worldwide view of the capability and potential of talent pools across industries, regions, and job functions. SHL has analysed data from four million candidate and employee assessments from 205 countries and territories held in the SHL Talent Analytics™ database.

Exploring the global availability of current and future leaders[1], the Report reveals Hong Kong, Germany and the UK have more effective leaders today than any other country in the study; South Africa ranks 20^thwhile Denmark, Brazil and Norway have the lowest supply.

 “The strength of supply of leadership talent in South Africa is ahead of other BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China) but leadership levels lag behind developed G8 nations and the global average,” said Eugene Burke, chief science and talent analytics officer at SHL.

The landscape of leadership potential changes significantly when analysing the supply of leadership talent for tomorrow*. Mexico, Turkey and Egypt have the greatest source of potential future leaders. In stark contrast, South Africa falls out of the top 25 ranked countries, the UK drops 18 places to fall out of the top 20 and Hong Kong falls from poll position to 20^th. Mexico and Brazil jump 19 and 21 places respectively, with Mexico topping the list.

Commenting on local leadership challenges, SHL South Africa, head of science and research, Kim Dowdeswell said: “Despite having a strong supply of leaders for today, South Africa has a leadership time bomb on its hands if it doesn’t invest in learning and development programmes to cultivate its future leaders.”

Adding to this Burke said: “As the global landscape changes economically and socially, nations in the newer economies have a huge growth opportunity if they can identify, nurture and develop the leadership potential they have.”

SHL’s indices also reveal South African women as ranking 14 globally in leadership capability today, and despite the research showing negligible differences in capability between the sexes, the gender divide in leadership positions is vast with only 28% of leadership roles held by women andjust 8% of businesses led by a female CEO[2].

However there are stark differences in critical motivational factors that distinguish people in senior positions worldwide, which may be preventing women from progressing to the top. The findings expose men in leadership positions as being more motivated by power and fear of failure, whereas women are motivated by a constructive working atmosphere and receiving recognition.

“With three men to every one woman in leadership positions on average globally and men being motivated by power and a fear of failure, SA boardrooms are self-perpetuating an unbalanced culture, which is likely to naturally disengage women from aspiring to reach a senior position,” said Dowdeswell.

It is evident that females are becoming increasingly demotivated as they progress in their careers. At companies with more than 1,000 employees around the globe women’s representation diminishes significantly as responsibility and titles increase: 48% of junior-level positions are held by women, which drops to 36%for mid-level roles and just over 26% for senior level jobs including senior vice presidents and above according to CEB research.[3]

Burke said: “Do the math. If you do not tap into the leadership potential of women, and given that every other person is a woman, then companies are making the search for effective leaders even more difficult for themselves. What odds would you prefer: 1 in 15 or 1 in 30? For businesses to remain competitive in the global economy, the C-suite culture will have to change to encourage more women to continue their career path to the top. Moving away from an organisational culture framed by fear of failure to one founded on recognition for contribution and performance will be a stronger attraction for potential female leaders.”

 “Organisations need to build greater intelligence about their leadership talent, be aware consider aspirations and motivations, and be open to exploring potential barriers to success. This is about helping to build the capability of our next generation of leaders so a diverse and inclusive workforce can be achieved,” concluded Burke.

The Talent Report provides businesses, public organisations, academic institutions and governments with insight and expert analysis on the most critical management issues today: leadership, skills, diversity, organisational risk and innovation.

To find out more about The SHL Talent Report visit and download your free copy of:www.shl.com/talent-report-uk.

Top 25 countries with leadership potential today and tomorrow

∞Indicates those counties ranked in the top 25 leaders today but not listed in the top 25 for leadership potential tomorrow

*New entry – those countries not ranked in the top 25 leaders today but listed in the top 25 for leadership potential tomorrow

Additional findings from the study:

• Globally, only 1 in 15 (6.7%), managers and professionals qualify as leaders today. 1 in 3 managers and professionals have the next tier of leadership potential but for this level of people the journey to realise that potential is longer and needs targeted investment.  The value of investing in these people

is substantial because there are six times as many managers and professionals with this level of potential than leaders for today

• In China (Taiwan), Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and United States, the supply of leadership for today and tomorrow is stronger than the average global supply. While competing for leadership talent remains a challenge in these geographies, the odds of finding effective leaders for today are significantly higher at 1 in 10 vs. the global average of 1 in 15

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Notes to editors

Effective Leadership

Effective leaders are those individuals with many of the following attributes: the ability to direct, influence, motivate, communicate and work harmoniously at peak performance to achieve an organisation’s goals.

Effective Leaders today

An effective leader today is an individual who currently has many of the key leadership characteristics identified by SHL research including:

• The ability to build relationships
• The ability to solve problems
• The ability to communicate effectively
• The ability to think laterally
• The ability to influence
• The ability to respond positively to change
• The ability to organise
• The ability to motivate and be motivated

Potential Leaders of tomorrow

Leaders of tomorrow are those individuals who exhibit some of the key leadership characteristics (outlined above) but require additional development to realise their full leadership potential.

Talent Analytics

SHL Talent Analytics™ is the first ever offering of its kind and draws on more than 25 million assessments annually from over 50 countries. It is the largest global database of scientifically-based talent assessment data and people intelligence available today. The data provides companies with answers to the most critical talent questions – from the effectiveness of recruitment and employee development strategies to industry and regional comparisons on how their workforce stacks up against the competition. This database has the ability to benchmark talent globally against industry norms, providing evidence-based and scientifically researched data to give businesses the actionable insight they need to make effective talent management decisions.

The Global Availability of Current and Future Leader – Methodology

One million five thousand SHL assessments were taken from its Talent Analytics database and analysed. The data set is based on assessments from 37 countries between 2006 and 2011. SHL’s Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)data from graduates, managers, professionals and senior leaders was analysed to determine the findings of SHL’s Global Leadership Study.  The assessments were taken by job applicants or those currently employed by organisations ranging from FTSE 100 companies to small businesses.

The Landscape of Diversity – Methodology

1.12 million SHL assessments were taken from its Talent Analytics database and analysed for leadership potential by gender and generation. The data set is based on assessments from 67 countries between 2006 and 2011. SHL’s Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ)andmotivation questionnaireswere analysed from employee level through to executive positions to determine these diversity findings. The assessments were taken by job applicants or those currently employed by organisations ranging from FTSE 100 companies to small businesses. The sample size is of people aged 18 – 65, with a 50:50 split of men and women.

About The SHL Talent Report

The SHL Talent Report for 2012 focused on important talent management topics: leadership, innovation, organisational risk, diversity, and the distribution of critical employee skills globally, which are covered in each chapter of the report. To download the SHL Talent Report: http://www.shl.com/uk/forms/content/the-shl-talent-report

Talent Report Methodology

SHL supports organisations in acquiring and mobilizing talent by providing scientifically researched and objective assessments.  These assessments provide the People Intelligence used by the world’s leading organisations to improve the validity and fairness of the decisions they make in hiring, developing and promoting people.

The SHL Talent Report is based on over 4 million assessments within SHL’s Talent Analytics database. The data set is drawn from more than 150 million assessments conducted across 205 countries and territories between 2006 and 2011.

About SHL

SHL is the leader in talent measurement solutions, driving better business results for clients through superior people intelligence and decisions - from hiring and recruiting, to employee development and succession planning. With a presence in over 50 countries, SHL delivers more than 30 million assessments annually in over 30 languages - allowing over 10,000 business customers to benefit from both global expertise and local insight. Along with its world-class consulting practices and 24-hour support centre, SHL clients can access over 1,000 assessments through an easy-to-use technology platform. SHL was acquired in 2012 by CEB, the leading member-based advisory company.  By combining the best practices of thousands of member companies with advanced research methodologies and human capital analytics, CEB equips senior leaders and their teams with insight and actionable solutions to transform operations.  Headquartered in London, UK, SHL has offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia/New Zealand. For more information, visitwww.shl.com.