The Worldcom PR Group highlights role of talent, in latest report

By A Correspondent

Business leaders should expect to face a battle for talent in 2018, according to a new Report issued by The Worldcom Public Relations Group. The report indicates that 43 per cent more organisations are planning to give most attention to employees in 2018 – the only audience to see an increase in attention since 2017. This heightened focus on employees seems to be driven by what CEOs and CMOs see as the top three threats to achieving their organisation’s plans. The first is government and legislative changes; the second is the lack of available talent and, the third is cyber crime.

The Report, entitled the Worldcom Confidence Index (CI) explores the issues global CEOs and CMOs believe will most influence business success in 2018. The leap in attention for employees may also be a response to very low confidence levels when it comes to the ability to attract and retain the best talent.

Despite these low confidence scores, and only marginally above average confidence for the ability to increase productivity by energizing and engaging employees, business leaders remain surprisingly optimistic about their ability to satisfy customers, rating it as their top source of optimism for 2018.

Employees have a crucial role to play in ensuring compliance with regulations and with essential cyber protection practices. As a result, the report’s findings are a clear signal that leaders see employees as a vital ingredient for success. In fact, attracting the best talent ranked highest as the criteria that will have the most influence on success in 2018 – just ahead of the strength of the global economy. It was three times higher than disruptive competition, which declined to almost half its 2017 level.

Reflecting on the Worldcom Confidence Index Global report, Aman Gupta, Managing Partner of S.P.A.G. Asia, said: “I second the findings of the report. It has become the imminent need to lay more focus on empowering employees, along with honing their talent and transforming them into excellent brand advocates. That is the way forward to take organizations several notches higher wherein the benefits stretch beyond pure profit.”