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The 2009 Talent Management Study has gathered information about employer response to two significant changes affecting the 21st century workplace: |
- Shifts in the age composition of the workforce (especially age, but also gender, immigration, and talent availabilities).
- Changes in the economic climate (including long term transitions to a “new economy” and recent changes stemming from the global economic downturn of 2008-2009.
The Talent Management Study has replicated the center’s 2006 National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development, making it possible for us to compare changes over time.
The study gathered specific information about changes in:
- organizations’ awareness of changes in labor force demographics (in general);
- the steps employers have taken to assess the significance of those changes for their organizations (or specific parts of their organization); and
- workplace responses to the diverse 21st century multi-generational workforce, including the expansion of workplace flexibility.
context/need
In Spring 2009, the center gathered information from a representative sample of 696 U.S. workplaces representing the 10 leading sectors of the economy that account for 83% of employment and 85% of payrolls in the United States, including: retail trade; manufacturing; health care and social assistance; accommodation and food services; administrative and support and waste management and remediation services; professional, scientific, and technical services; construction; wholesale trade; finance and insurance; transportation and warehousing.
key research questions
- Between 2006 and 2009, have there been changes in organizations’ awareness and assessment of the 21st century multi-generational workforce? Does the extent of change vary by factors such as industry sector and employer size.
- Between 2006 and 2009, have there been changes in the action steps that organizations have taken, such as the adoption of flexible work arrangements, in response to shifts in the age composition of the workforce? Does the extent of change vary by factors such as industry sector enterprise?
- What factors external to the organization (including shifts in the labor market, past/anticipated changes in the economy relevant to the industry sector, normative response/interest of industry associations in changing age demographics of the workforce, public policies, recognition and awards, etc.) explain variation in workplace flexibility and adaptive responses evident at U.S. workplaces?
- What factors internal to the organization (such as demographic composition, salient business strategies, talent management challenges, workplace culture, nature of the work performed the employees) predict variation in workplace flexibility and adaptive responses evident at U.S. workplaces?
- To what extent is the utilization of flexible work options connected to employees’ age and/or life stage?
- What are the relationships between indicators of quality of employment at the workplace, including the extent of workplace flexibility, and organizational outcomes?
employer benefits & outcomes
The center will be writing a book about talent management in the 21st century, based on the findings of the study.
publications
- The Pressures of Talent Management (October 2009)
by Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, Stephen Sweet, and Kathy Lynch, with Elizabeth Whalley
contact
For questions and more infomration about the Talent Management Study, contact:
Chad Minnich, Associate Director, Marketing & Communications
minnicch@bc.edu | +1 . 617 . 552 . 3122
the talent management study team
To schedule a conversation with any of our researchers or staff, please contact Chad Minnich, Assistant Director, Marketing & Communications, at 617-552-3122, or minnicch@bc.edu.
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Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, PhD
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Director Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes, PhD directs the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. She is an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Social Work, and has appointments at the Boston College Carroll School of Management and the Business School at Middlesex University in London. She was the Co-Principal Investigator for the 2006 National Study of Business Strategy and Workforce Development and the 2007-2008 Age & Generations Study. Her current work includes oversight of the 2009 Talent Management Study. She will be leading the 2010 Generations of Talent study with colleagues from around the world. She was invited to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging as an issue expert, and recently co-edited a special issue of Generations (2007) that focused on aging and work. Dr. Pitt-Catsouphes was a recipient of the 2007 Work-Life Legacy Award. She serves on several boards and advisory committees, including the National Advisory Committee for Workplace 2010 at Georgetown University, the Strategy Board for the Association of Work/Life Professionals at the World of Work, and the Purdue Center for Families. Dr. Pitt-Catsouphes’ articles have been published in a number of scholarly and practitioner journals. She was a founding co-editor for the international journal, Community, Work and Family. Her publications include The Work-Family Handbook: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and Approaches to Research, published by Erlbaum Publishers (2006) which she edited with colleagues. She received her BA from Tufts University, MSP from Boston College, and PhD from Boston University. |
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Stephen Sweet, PhD
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Associate Professor of Sociology Stephen Sweet is an Associate Professor of sociology at Ithaca College and was formerly the associate director of the Cornell Work and Family Careers Institute. He has published widely on work-family concerns and curriculum development. His most recent books are Changing Contours of Work (2008), The Work and Family Handbook: Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Methods and Approaches (2005), and Data Analysis with SPSS: A First Course in Applied Statistics (2008, 2003, 1998). His current research focuses on the intersecting concerns of job security, talent retention, and the changing composition of the workforce. |
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Shoghik Hovhannisyan |
Research Associate Shoghik Hovhannisyan, a native of Armenia, majored in Economic Cybernetics at the Yerevan State Institute of National Economy. Working with the Armenian Ministry of Finance and Economy for six years, she ultimately functioned as Head of Working Groups, coordinating the work of twelve regional units. Shoghik also attended the Terry Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University and, since 2005, has consulted for various organizations including the World Bank, Urban Institute, the Duke Center for International Development, and the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College. Shoghik is currently pursuing a PhD in Economics at Boston College while actively collaborating with the Sloan Center on Aging & Work. |
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