SHL Talent Report 2012 Provides Unprecedented Insight on the Global Workforce

Global Study Reveals Untapped Leadership Potential in Mainland China

SHANGHAI, Dec. 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- SHL, the global leader in talent measurement, today announces the release of the first annual Talent Report, providing an unrivalled worldwide view of the capability and potential of talent pools across industries, regions, and job functions. SHL has analyzed data from 4 million candidate and employee assessments from 205 countries and territories held in the SHL Talent Analytics™ database.

The Talent Report provides businesses, public organizations, academic institutions and governments with insight on the most critical management issues today: leadership, skills, diversity, organizational risk and innovation. The report, which provides invaluable insight for workforce planning, provides international indices on leadership potential, gender disparity in leadership and IT skills shortages as well as SHL's expert analysis.

The global availability of current and future leaders

The global leadership study identifies the top 25[1] countries and territories based on the analysis of over a million people from SHL's global Talent Analytics™ database. China (Hong Kong), Germany and the UK have more effective leaders today than any other country and territory in the study whilst Denmark, Brazil and Norway have the lowest supply. Mainland China falls outside of top 25 rank demonstrating massive shortage of effective leaders today.

The landscape of leadership potential changes significantly when analysing the supply of leadership talent for tomorrow*. Mexico, Turkey and Egypt have the greatest source of potential future leaders; Mexico and Brazil jump 19 and 21 places respectively, with Mexico topping the table. In contrast, the UK drops 18 places to fall out of the top 20, China (Hong Kong) falls from poll position to 20th, Singapore drops from 9th to fall out of the top 25 ranking, whilst mainland China enters the table at 25. More stability in leadership supply is seen in China (Taiwan), which holds 12th position for effective leadership and climbs one place to 11 for tomorrow.

"Across the Asian countries (and territories) there is a relatively stable supply of leaders for today. Although mainland China does not feature in the ranking for effective leaders today, it has a strong pool of potential leaders for tomorrow -- these findings deliver a compelling message to organizations to invest in learning and development today to unlock this potential and cultivate future leaders," said Mr Quan Fu, Managing Director, at SHL China. "Rising education standards and a culture of entrepreneurialism are some of the many environmental factors that are driving emerging economies such as (mainland) China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Turkey up the rankings in terms of future leadership potential. These nations (and territories) have a huge growth opportunity if they can identify, nurture and develop this potential."

The landscape of diversity

SHL's research provides a worldwide view of diversity in the workplace[2]. The study reveals that whilst there is little difference between gender and leadership potential there are stark differences in critical motivational factors that distinguish people in senior positions worldwide which may be preventing women from progressing to the boardroom. Norway ranks 1st out of 25 with 42% of leadership roles held by women, followed by Thailand (39%), Italy (36%) and China (Hong Kong) (33%). Asian countries and territories like China (Taiwan) rank 8th (27%), Singapore 15th (23%) and Japan ranks 25th (5%) for leadership roles held by women.

With around three men to every one woman in leadership positions on average globally, the findings show that men in these roles are motivated by power and fear of failure, whereas women are motivated by a constructive working atmosphere and receiving recognition. It is evident that females are becoming increasingly demotivated as they progress in their careers. At companies with more than 1,000 employees around the globe women's representation diminishes significantly as responsibility and titles increase: 48% of junior-level positions are held by women, which drops to 36%for mid-level roles and just over 26% for senior level jobs including senior vice presidents and above according to CEB research.

"Businesses are failing to tap into 50% of the global talent pool, this is a huge missed opportunity given the challenge for finding high performing leaders," said Mr Quan Fu. "However the C-suite culture will have to change if it is to attract aspiring female leaders. Moving away from an organisational culture framed by fear of failure to one founded on recognition for contribution and performance will be a stronger attraction for potential female leaders."

"Companies need to build greater intelligence about the capability, potential and aspirations of talent within their own organisations to ensure the right person for the job is appointed regardless of gender. The Talent Report equips line managers and HR professionals with the insight to better understanding the supply of leadership to maximise leadership development and talent mobility programmes so that companies can achieve a diverse and inclusive workforce and remain competitive in the global economy," concluded Mr Quan Fu.

To find out more about SHL's global behavioural risk study and download your free copy of the SHL Talent Report visit: www.shl.com/talent-report-uk.

Notes to Editors

About SHL Talent Report 2012
The SHL Talent Report for 2012 focused on important talent management topics: leadership, innovation, organisational risk, diversity, and the distribution of critical employee skills globally, which are covered in each chapter of the report. To download the SHL Talent Report:
http://www.shl.com/uk/forms/content/the-shl-talent-report

Talent Report Methodology
SHL supports organisations in acquiring and mobilizing talent by providing scientifically researched and objective assessments.  These assessments provide the People Intelligence used by the world's leading organisations to improve the validity and fairness of the decisions they make in hiring, developing and promoting people.

The SHL Talent Report is based on over 4 million assessments within SHL's Talent Analytics database. The data set is drawn from more than 150 million assessments conducted across 205 countries and territories between 2006 and 2011.

Talent Analytics
SHL Talent Analytics™ is the first ever offering of its kind and draws on more than 25 million assessments annually from over 50 countries and territories. It is the largest global database of scientifically-based talent assessment data and people intelligence available today. The data provides companies with answers to the most critical talent questions -- from the effectiveness of recruitment and employee development strategies to industry and regional comparisons on how their workforce stacks up against the competition. This database has the ability to benchmark talent globally against industry norms, providing evidence-based and scientifically researched data to give businesses the actionable insight they need to make effective talent management decisions.

The global availability of current and future leaders
Top 25 countries and territories with leadership potential today and tomorrow

∞Indicates those counties and territories ranked in the top 25 leaders today but not listed in the top 25 for leadership potential tomorrow
*New entry -- those countries and territoriesnot ranked in the top 25 leaders today but listed in the top 25 for leadership potential tomorrow

Methodology
One million five thousand SHL assessments were taken from its Talent Analytics database and analysed. The data set is based on assessments from 37 countries and territories between 2006 and 2011. SHL's Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) data from graduates, managers, professionals and senior leaders was analysed to determine the findings of SHL's Global Leadership Study.  The assessments were taken by job applicants or those currently employed by organisations ranging from FTSE 100 companies to small businesses.

Effective Leadership
Effective leaders are those individuals with many of the following attributes: the ability to direct, influence, motivate, communicate and work harmoniously at peak performance to achieve an organisation's goals.

Effective Leaders today
An effective leader today is an individual who currently has many of the key leadership characteristics identified by SHL research including:

• The ability to build relationships
• The ability to solve problems
• The ability to communicate effectively
• The ability to think laterally
• The ability to influence
• The ability to respond positively to change
• The ability to organise
• The ability to motivate and be motivated

Potential Leaders of tomorrow
Leaders of tomorrow are those individuals who exhibit some of the key leadership characteristics (outlined above) but require additional development to realise their full leadership potential.

The landscape of diversity

Methodology
1.12 million SHL assessments were taken from its Talent Analytics database and analysed for leadership potential by gender and generation. The data set is based on assessments from 67 countries and territoriesbetween 2006 and 2011. SHL's Occupational Personality Questionnaire (OPQ) and motivation questionnaires were analysed from employee level through to executive positions to determine these diversity findings. The assessments were taken by job applicants or those currently employed by organisations ranging from FTSE 100 companies to small businesses. The sample size is of people aged 18 - 65, with a 50:50 split of men and women.

About SHL
SHL is the leader in talent measurement solutions, driving better business results for clients through superior people intelligence and decisions - from hiring and recruiting, to employee development and succession planning. With a presence in over 50 countries, SHL delivers more than 25 million assessments annually in over 30 languages - allowing over 10,000 business customers to benefit from both global expertise and local insight. Along with its world-class consulting practices and 24-hour support center, SHL clients can access over 1,000 assessments through an easy-to-use technology platform. SHL was acquired in 2012 by CEB, the leading member-based advisory company.  By combining the best practices of thousands of member companies with advanced research methodologies and human capital analytics, CEB equips senior leaders and their teams with insight and actionable solutions to transform operations.  Headquartered in London, UK, SHL has offices in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia/New Zealand. For more information, visit www.shl.com.