Numerous studies have quantified the impact of employee engagement. The report Creating a New Deal for Middle Managers: Empowering a Neglected but Critical Group by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and the World Federation of People Management Associations (WFPMA) examines a global engagement problem, especially among middle managers, who oversee the majority of employees at most companies:

In a typical organization of 50,000 employees, there are 50 to 200 senior executives and approximately 7,000 middle managers overseeing some 43,000 employees.

If senior leaders set aspirations and strategy, middle managers translate the strategy into concrete business plans, communicate with employees, and manage the business—and most of the people within the business—while team members execute and interact with customers.

Survey respondents focused on six areas of weakness at their companies. Each relates to specific talent management processes and technology support:

1. Structured career management that rewards appropriate behaviors.
2. Clear consequences for individuals not living the company values.
3. Compensation linked to performance.
4. Managers acting as “resources,” or coaches.
5. Training and development of employees in people-management practices.
6. Recognition beyond compensation.

Talent management practices that address the work of middle managers span from strategy to tactics. Better support and strength in the middle bolsters the entire organization.

According to the study: Middle managers…are key to bringing engagement back.

There are many interesting nuggets in the detailed results of The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FedView Survey) of more than 250,000 government employees. Drilling down into the data reveals significant differences by agency and specific areas for improvement. However, overall good news in the findings includes:

78% of the respondents believe their agency was successful at accomplishing its mission, and 62% were satisfied with their organization, a 5% gain since 2008. A full 92% thought their work was important, and 86% liked the work they did.

What may be more telling is the study’s comparison with the private sector. These results not only shed light on US Federal employee views but also highlight the half empty / half full execution of talent management practices in both the public and the private sectors, especially in performance management, internal mobility, and promotion. Consider these findings:

In both the public and the private sectors, only one out of every two employees is satisfied with recognition and advancement opportunities. Organizations—both public and private—should heed these insights. Dissatisfied employees are disengaged employees or worse yet, will leave their job for a better situation.

Think of the employee view as a “voice of the customer”. Then respond by improving your talent management practices. Where gaps are identified, opportunity is presented.

Too many mid-size enterprises do not have the management commitment and technology to execute talent management practices. The result is a negative impact on their growth.

Integrated talent management Part 2 – Surviving corporate adolescence and reaching organizational maturity from IBM’s Institute for Business Value and HCI offers insights into mid-size enterprise talent practices where they find: many Mid-size organizations are in the midst of adolescent crisis.

On the other hand, mid-size enterprises such as Taleo customer CDW Corporation with 6,000 employees have supported rapid growth with talent management practices and technology, and:

• Replaced a manual paper process and drove efficiencies.
• Reduced approval times for job requisitions and postings.
• Targeted candidate markets more cost effectively.

There are many proof points for fueling growth with talent management and talent intelligence. Companies need to recognize where they are in their business lifecycle and make the requisite investments.

HR leaders must first be aware themselves, but then be able to sell leadership on the needs for an overall talent management plan and infrastructure.

The infrastructure must also include the capability to collect and analyze the right data, and, of course, the integrated systems that will enable human capital professionals to truly understand the workforce—its strengths and weaknesses and the talent gaps that must be filled.

There’s a lot of buzz around hiring activity worldwide which accentuates the need to redouble efforts to optimize the talent acquisition process.

According to the Economic Conditions Snapshot, June 2010: McKinsey Global Survey: It’s been a tough two months for the world economy, with the eurozone at the core of executives’ fears. But most predict that their companies will continue to grow.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) 2010 Resourcing and Talent Planning survey found two thirds (68%) of organisations have experienced recruitment difficulties, due mainly to a lack of necessary specialist skills (67%). As a result, attracting and recruiting key staff is the top resourcing objective for 8 in 10 (79%) of nearly 500 organisations surveyed.

The National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) report, Women In IT: The Facts, details how U.S. businesses are falling behind in the global race for IT talent by failing to build a diverse workforce.

There’s mounting concern about Bridging the Talent Gap in India's 'Demographic Dividend'.

And the PricewaterhouseCoopers Talent Mobility 2020: The next generation of international assignments report states: An explosion of activity in emerging markets has contributed to a significant increase in the need for companies to move people and source talent from all around the world.

Growth and hiring are being viewed in a global context. Register to find out more in the upcoming Taleo sponsored webcast, Global Recruiting in 2010: Trends and Best Practices.

Your candidate experience—from career sites and assessments to interviews, hiring process, onboarding, performance, and compensation—relies heavily on your online presence. Collectively these experiences can impact your company’s employment and consumer brand perceptions.

In Businesses losing customers due to poor recruitment practices, SHL reports nearly half of UK adults surveyed: had a negative view of an organisation following an unsuccessful job application. And that experience has additional negative business ramifications: Retailers at risk of losing customers through poor recruitment practices.

Staffing.org’s 2010 Corporate Recruiting Report found even higher numbers of applicants expressing frustration, noting Problems in the Recruiting Funnel.

Universum’s Rejection Machine, the Last Recruitment Taboo? focuses on students and cautions “If the interaction is wrong, it could impact future hiring at a lateral level and, as recruiters are all too acutely aware – students today share their experience at the click of a button.”

All these reports deliver the numbers on why a superior candidate experience is an important investment because it’s a significant part of your company’s online reputation.

On the flip side, according to Microsoft Survey: Online 'Reputation' Counts, more than three quarter of hiring companies also look at a candidate’s personal online reputation.

This juncture of online presence between companies and individuals triggers multiple convergences and additional questions. To learn more about how these and other factors impact the talent pipeline, attend this Taleo sponsored HCI webcast:

The Intersection of Talent Pipelines and Workforce Plans
Sandy Soto, VP Talent Acquisition, Home Shopping Network
July 13, 2010 | 10:00 a.m. PT | 1:00 p.m. ET