Why Talent Drives Growth

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This article is about the study from Oxford Economics and SAP Links Workforce Investment and Company Performance. SAP and Oxford Economics announce new findings from global Workforce 2020 Study, examining how high-performing companies are setting themselves apart.

A greater emphasis on workforce development correlates with better financial results, according to findings from Workforce2020, an independent, global study from Oxford Economics with support from SAP SE (NYSE: SAP). The study examined thousands of high- and low-performing companies worldwide, examining correlations between workforce priority and financial success. 

The results found several key characteristics of high-performing companies regarding their use of talent to drive bottom-line growth:

High-performing companies understand and plan for the demographics of the future workforce

Executives at higher-growth companies tend to be more forward-looking and better prepared to adapt to changing workforce trends, by paying greater attention to the demographic shifts shaping the workplace. High performers are more likely to say that an influx of millennials and an aging workforce are two key market shifts affecting their business strategy.

“All organizations create business strategies,” said Mike Ettling, president of the HR Line of Business, Success Factors, an SAP company. “But to translate those business strategies into business outcomes requires committed, involved, productive people. The human resources function has therefore never been more important to organizational success. HR has the opportunity to find, support and drive the talent that ultimately leads to greater financial success, a connection validated by the Workforce2020 study.”

The Looming Talent Crisis: Research Shows Companies Unprepared for Future of Work

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Businesses are facing the most diverse work environment that the world has ever seen with five different generations working together, across geographies — each with different skills, experiences and work habits. More of these workers will be freelancers and long-term contractors. All of this represents a major opportunity for productivity, talent development and employee engagement, but according to new wide-scale research from Oxford Economics, most companies are unprepared to capitalize on it.

As revealed in Workforce 2020, an independent, global study by Oxford Economics with support from SAP SE, most companies recognize the importance of managing an increasingly international, diverse and mobile workforce. However, the majority lack the strategy, culture and solutions to do so. Oxford Economics surveyed more than 5,400 employees and executives and interviewed 29 executives in 27 countries, finding that two-thirds of businesses have not made significant progress toward building a workforce that will meet their future business objectives. The announcement was made at SuccessConnect 2014, being held September 9-11 in Las Vegas. 

“To gain advantage in the future, businesses must understand the workforce of tomorrow and its importance to bottom-line success — today,” said Edward Cone, managing editor of Thought Leadership at Oxford Economics. “Our research shows that the C-suite is out of touch with HR on business strategy and priorities, and workers are not getting what they want from their employers in terms of incentives, benefits and training.”

A Royal Performance from the Michelin Pilot Sport EV in England

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The inaugural FIA Formula E Championship concluded in style, with e.dams-Renault clinching the Teams’ title after Race 1 on Saturday, June 27, thanks to the lights-to-flag victory of pole-winner Sébastien Buemi. The Swiss driver’s points haul of 28 points closed the gap to leader Nelson Piquet Jr to just five units ahead of Sunday’s action. That boosted his confidence, which was lifted further when Buemi got a dry qualifying slot (Q2) for Race 2, while title rival Piquet was slowed by a heavy shower during Q3.

For the first time this season, the drivers faced wet conditions but the MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV rose to the occasion to provide the necessary grip. “We’ve been waiting for this sort of weather since the beginning on the championship,” says Serge Grisin, manager of Michelin’s Formula E programme. “We designed the MICHELIN Pilot Sport EV to be a very versatile tyre and we finally got the opportunity to see how it performed in a wet qualifying session on Sunday. Technically, that was very important because we wanted to collect data and get feedback from all the drivers. Now we know we met our objective because we received positive praise from everyone.”

The wet session shook up the start order for Race 2, with Stéphane Sarrazin (Venturi) claiming pole position and title challengers Buemi and Piquet starting from sixth and 16th places on the grid respectively. Forty minutes later, after one of the season’s most exciting contests, the Swiss driver and the Brazilian collected fifth and seventh places overall. That was enough for Piquet (144 points) to seal the Drivers’ crown by a single point. The race itself was won by Sam Bird (Virgin Racing), ahead of Jérôme D’Ambrosio who claimed his second strong result of the weekend.