A Deloitte Private survey of C-suite executives and leaders revealed that nearly three-quarters (73%) of private companies plan to increase their investment in talent development in the next 12 months.
The survey asked respondents to share their organization’s top three business priorities during the next year, and productivity (36%) and leadership succession (33%) appeared highest. Comparatively, only a small percentage of respondents selected managing liquidity (5%) and pursuing mergers and acquisitions (4%) as top priorities, potentially pointing to increased optimism around company financial performance.
Key findings include the following.
- Private companies turn to innovative mentorship strategies to develop talent. Reverse mentoring (69%) emerged as the top development strategy organizations have implemented within the last year, suggesting that leaders recognize skills gaps to address among both early-career employees and senior leaders. Training employees on AI (64%) and on-the-job learning and apprenticeship programs (52%) were also among the top strategies. In the coming year, 72% of respondents say their organizations plan to increase or significantly increase their use of apprenticeship and mentoring programs.
- Organizations are divided about increasing in-person collaboration. Respondents from organizations with $500 million or more in revenue more frequently cited in-office events (37%) among effective approaches to maintaining corporate culture in a hybrid work environment. The larger private enterprises were also significantly more likely than smaller-revenue organizations to say in-office events would increase or significantly increase over the next 12 months (87% and 9%, respectively).
- Employee engagement and productivity levels are key metrics. More than seven in 10 (71%) leaders surveyed said employee engagement is one of the most important outcomes of employee development programs. Employee productivity was particularly important among organizations with under $500 million in annual revenue, with 80% of these respondents selecting productivity as a key outcome.
- Larger companies face more challenges getting buy-in from stakeholders when implementing talent initiatives. Organizations with $500 million or more in annual revenue were three times more likely to consider gaining support from other leaders or stakeholders as one of their biggest challenges compared with those with less than $500 million. More than half of total respondents noted challenges such as the potential for low employee engagement (59%), uncertainty measuring effectiveness (57%) and disruption to current workflows (55%).
“Many of the preeminent priorities among private companies are talent-centric, ranging from enhancing employee productivity to developing and establishing new leadership,” says Wolfe Tone, vice chair and U.S. Deloitte Private leader. “Investments in talent development are the cornerstone of fostering an engaged and collaborative workforce while ensuring an organization remains competitive and is poised to adapt in the future. While learning and mentorship programs are important pillars to a workforce development strategy, components like well-being and employee satisfaction also play a part in establishing a workforce aligned to company goals and forward progress.”
