Attracting, retaining talent directly affects bottom line

Ninety-five percent of C-suite executives believe that hiring and retaining talent directly affect the bottom line, and 80% say human resource management is a strategic partner in helping drive talent strategies across the organization, research found.

Three hundred C-suite executives participated in the study, The Change Agents, by HR Certification Institute(R) conducted by Dow Jones Customer Intelligence.

"Finding the right people, keeping them motivated and creating cultures of high performance are among the toughest challenges facing business leaders today," Amy Dufrane, Ed.D., SPHR, CAE, the CEO of HRCI.

While more than 70% of respondents described their firms as “above average” or “industry leaders” in customer satisfaction, profitability, revenue growth and innovation, just 59% said the same about their firms in terms of attracting and retaining talent – the remaining 41% said they were “average” or “below average” in this aspect.

"To stay competitive, companies must increasingly rely on competent HR teams and work harder to redefine HR as a strategic driver of people, innovation and business performance," Dufrane said.

Talent strategy and employee engagement ranked as a top business concern – next only to financial growth, customer experience and new technology adoption.

Improving HR skills and knowledge within the organization is also critical. Seven out of 10 executives say their organizations would benefit from having HR departments with HR certifications, such as those offered by HRCI, that demonstrate professional excellence and commitment to continuous learning.

"There are many talent and leadership concerns that keep executives up at night -- from lack of candidates with the right skills and experiences, to succession planning, anticipating future work skills and managing a multigenerational workforce," Dufrane said.

"The opportunity is for HR to provide expertise and strategic guidance in each of these areas."