You can easily figure out the premise from the title of the study, The Gap Between Needing and Doing: A Survey on Why Some Companies Don’t Act on Strategic Workforce Planning Needs, and How Successful Companies Do.

The report focuses on another disconnect—again between business challenges and business practices. Survey says:

Eighty-one percent identify talent competition and 53 percent the aging workforce as critical factors affecting their workforce, yet only 46 percent are doing workforce planning of any kind – a clear gap between those who know they need workforce planning and those who are doing it.

The top three barriers to workforce planning?

#1 - Clear accountability (59%)
#2 - Lack of resources (54%)
#3 - Analysis paralysis (50%).

My favorite is #3. It’s clear that identifying the problem does not solve it. You’ve got to do something about it! Talent management solutions are a good place to start.