In any given day, you probably find yourself faced with at least two priorities that are competing for your time and attention. As the number of priorities increases, so does the chance that something will get left behind. Organizations face the same challenge, but on a much grander scale. They’re all important, right? Otherwise we wouldn’t call them priorities. The challenge is allocating the right resources to the right ones at the time in the right amount.
Brandon Hall Group’s survey, Business Focus 2014: Leaders’ Top Priorities asked companies the extent to which they are planning to spend time, energy and resources on a vast array of items across several different areas. For more than 50% of the respondents, there are 37 different items that they consider either a clear priority or critical to the business. These items are in the areas of Talent Management, Learning and Development, Executive Management and Sales Effectiveness. Here are some of the top priorities:
Talent Management:
- Talent Retention
- Learning & Development
- Performance Management
Learning & Development:
- Learning Content Development
- Learning Strategy and Planning
- Performance Support
Executive management:
- Leadership Strategy
- Leadership Development
- Organizational Effectiveness
Sales Effectiveness:
- Sales Strategy and Planning
- Customer Engagement
- Sales Management
That’s a lot of priorities fighting for not a lot of resources. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The full report from this survey includes all of the items, how they rank as priorities, and how that has changed from the previous year. The report also looks at what companies consider to be their top overall business priorities. It turns out that where companies are planning on spending their time does not always line up with the needs of the business. The survey also found that despite the ongoing concern over a shortage of talent, companies are more interested in what will happen with social media and mobile technologies over the next 12 months.
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