Trend Research

Creating the Conditions for Sustainable Innovation: The Leadership Imperative - Full Report
Examining leaders’ ability to drive the innovation that today’s organizations so desperately need.
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Creating the Conditions for Sustainable Innovation: The Leadership Imperative – Executive Summary
Creating the Conditions for Sustainable Innovation

Highest Highs, Low Lows: Health Care Industry Highlights
DDI recently polled over 800 HR professionals and leaders in the health care industry. When we compared health care responses to a sample representing those in other U.S. industries, the health care sample frequently came out ahead. There are still some trouble spots, namely succession management. Read more about the health care’s highest highs and lowest lows when it comes to talent management.
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Generation Next: Ready to Step Up, or Step Off
Generation Y (a.k.a. Gen Y, Generation Next, or Millennials) comprises roughly 25 percent of the world’s population, numbering over 1.7 billion (Puybaraud, 2010). This group of individuals is now in the workforce and they are making their presence known. But are organizations taking advantage of all this generation has to offer? The research would say no.”This brief focuses on differences regarding age/generations that were uncovered in the forecast study.

DDI Clients Find Succession Success
How do DDI’s succession management clients perform against the competition? Find out in The Aberdeen Group’s new Research Brief.
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Leading Singapore: A Snapshot of Leadership Readiness
This study evaluates the readiness of leaders in Singapore to address key leadership challenges in a changing business landscape. Based primarily on DDI's own data obtained through our robust assessment center methodology, personality inventories, and 360-degree feedback process, this study provides unique insights and a more realistic snapshot of leadership readiness.
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Women Work: The Benefits of Closing the Gender Gap
In the last 10 years 2 million more women than men graduated from college in the United States. In addition, 70 percent of current high school valedictorians are women. Yet, the further up the management ladder you go, women continue to be increasingly underrepresented. This brief focuses on differences regarding gender that were uncovered in DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2011.

Global Leadership Forecast 2011: Time for a Leadership Revolution! Executive Summary
DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2011 is the biggest study of its kind, involving over 2,600 organizations in 74 countries. Nearly 1,900 HR professionals and 12,500 leaders participated. It is the sixth forecast we have conducted biannually since 1999. This Executive Summary highlights a handful of key findings.

Leadership at the Future’s Edge: India vs. China
This Global Leadership Forecast 2011 sub-report shares data comparing China and India. We compare and contrast the two countries on a few of the dozens of key areas evaluated in our core research.
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Strengthening the Middle - Executive Summary
This executive summary overviews the best practices leading companies are using to assess and develop their mid-level leaders. What practices have the most impact? What doesn’t work? Which organizations can we look to as leaders? You’ll find the answers in our new study.

Strengthening the Middle - Full Report
This study identifies the best practices leading companies are using to assess and develop their mid-level leaders. What practices have the most impact? What doesn’t work? Which organizations can we look to as leaders? You’ll find the answers in our new study.
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Global Leadership Forecast 2011: Time for a Leadership Revolution!
Global Leadership Forecast 2011 examines what’s behind such a pessimistic view. It uncovers five major shortfalls in leadership development around the world and recommends vigorous approaches for improvement.
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The New Reality of Mid-level Leadership: A Closer Look at Middle Managers in Australia
When it comes to skills required for success, their level of engagement and loyalty, and their plans for the future, how similar or different are middle managers in Australia compared to their global counterparts? DDI conducted a global survey of 2,000 mid-level managers and more than 15% of the leaders surveyed were from Australia.
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The New Reality of Mid-level Leadership A Closer Look at Middle Managers in South East Asia
When it comes to skills required for success, their level of engagement and loyalty, and their plans for the future, how similar or different are middle managers in South East Asia compared to their global counterparts? DDI conducted a global survey of 2,000 mid-level managers and nearly a third of the leaders surveyed were from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

The Talent Management Imperative: Fueling China’s Business Growth (full report)
This trend research study highlights findings from a study, in partnership with HRoot, of data collected from more than 540 HR professionals and business leaders in China, and a series of follow-up interviews. Examined here are the priorities, challenges, and areas of talent focus for State-owned, Foreign-owned, and Private-Owned Enterprises.

The Talent Management Imperative: Fueling China’s Business Growth (in conjunction with HRoot) - Executive Summary
This trend research study highlights findings from a study, in partnership with HRoot, of data collected from more than 540 HR professionals and business leaders in China.

Put Your Money in the Middle: A meta-study and talent management guide for mid-level leaders
Are mid-level leaders getting the development they need to face today’s unparalleled challenges? Do organizations effectively support leaders’ transition into crucial mid-level roles? And, are they selecting those most likely to succeed in the first place? This collection of contemporary research says: not always.
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The New Reality of Mid-level Leadership
To gain a better understanding of how mid-level leaders feel about their jobs, the skills required for success, their level of engagement and loyalty, and their plans for the future, DDI conducted a global survey of 2,001 mid-level managers in January-February 2010.
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L+D Trends in India The State of Front-line and Mid-level Manager Development-Aberdeen-DDI
Research conducted by Aberdeen on Learning and Development for Front-line and Mid-level Managers in India uncovered key strategies, learning delivery methods, and critical content areas utilized by top-performing organizations for the development of front-line and mid-level managers.
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DDI: Helping Organizations Arm Front-line and Mid-level Management Talent (Aberdeen)
Research conducted by Aberdeen and DDI on learning and development for front-line and mid-level managers uncovered key strategies, learning delivery methods, and critical content areas utilized by top-performing organizations for the development of front-line and mid-level managers.

DDI and HCI find Mid-Level Managers in a Gloom Spiral
To better understand HR’s perspective on mid-level leaders, DDI and the Human Capital Institute (HCI) launched research “Mid Level Managers: The Bane and Salvation of Organizations”.

Finding the First Rung
New DDI research uncovers the challenges facing today's frontline leaders.
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Mid-Level Managers: The Bane and Salvation of Organizations
DDI and HCI have published a new study on HR’s perspective on the challenges middle managers face in today’s organization. Read more on the findings, which include low levels of engagement among this critical level and a less than positive outlook for the future.
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L+D Trends in China: The State of Front-line and Mid-level Manager Development-Aberdeen-DDI
Research conducted by Aberdeen and DDI on Learning and Development for Front-line and Mid-level Managers in China uncovered key strategies, learning delivery methods, and critical content areas utilized by top-performing organizations for the development of front-line and mid-level managers.
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Are You Failing the Interview?
A study exploring how hiring managers think they’re doing in the interview process and examining candidate reactions to interviewing practices.
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Developing the Global Executive (in conjunction with the Institute of Executive Development)
An Institute of Executive Development/DDI Research Report

Holding Women Back: Why Women are Under-Represented at the C-level
A special report from DDI that explains gender discrimination in the 21st century workplace
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Learning and Development Arming Front-line and Mid-level Managers to Deliver People and Performance Results
This report looks at what Best-in-Class organizations are doing—the content being provided, the learning delivery methods being used, and the tools and capabilities put in place—to develop their front-line and mid-level managers.
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Pulse of the Workforce: 2009 Survey of Individual Contributors
According to DDI’s Pulse of the Workforce research, half of workers feel their jobs are stagnant. Read more about how they feel about their jobs, their opportunities for growth, engagement levels, and skills they desired to develop.
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Global Auto Plant Start-Ups
This research report offers a guide to establishing the HR processes needed to successfully launch new plants in the auto and auto component sectors. Highlighted are the six best practices and strategies as well as the challenges facing start-up executives. Fifteen respondents from around the world were surveyed by The MPI Group about their experiences.

Growing Global Executive Talent: High Priority, Limited Progress (in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit)
The survey asked executives to assess their leadership, pinpoint important leadership qualities, and specify the obstacles to effective talent management
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HR Executive's Agenda (in conjunction with the Aberdeen Group)
Provides timely insight into what HR executives have planned for 2009.

New Talent Management Network 2nd Annual Talent Management Survey
This report was co-sponsored by DDI and the New Talent Management Network. It is an annual review of the trends in the discipline of talent management.
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Swapping Engines in Mid-Air: The 2008 Sales Talent Benchmark Study
DDI and the Human Capital Institute surveyed 769 HR executives, directors, and managers in the U.S. and Canada to determine their perceptions on the workforce of the future, the impact of globalization, and the changing demands and roles of leaders in the global economy.
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2007-2008 Global Sales Perceptions Report
Sales: Strategic Partnership or Necessary Evil?
Study of 2700 buyers across 6 countries finds that poor perception of the sales profession creates hurdles for salespeople and their employers.
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2007-2008 Global Sales Perceptions Report
Sales: Strategic Partnership or Necessary Evil?
Study of 2700 buyers across 6 countries finds that poor perception of the sales profession creates hurdles for salespeople and their employers.
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2007-2008 Global Sales Perceptions Report
Is the Sales Force Delivering Business Value? (UK, 2007)
In order to understand how people responsible for corporate buying decisions feel about their interactions with salespeople, DDI has conducted a major Global study.
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Leaders in Transition: Stepping Up, Not Off
Leaders speak out about the challenges they face during a promotion.
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Leaders in Transition: Stepping Up, Not Off (an)
Leaders speak out about the challenges they face during a promotion.
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Talent Management in Motion: Keeping Up with an Evolving Workforce
DDI and the Human Capital Institute surveyed 769 HR executives, directors, and managers in the U.S. and Canada to determine their perceptions on the workforce of the future, the impact of globalization, and the changing demands and roles of leaders in the global economy.

DDI Survey Findings from the 2006 Talent Management Strategies Conference
DDI distributed a survey to the attendees of The Conference Board’s 2006 Talent Management Strategies Conference. The key findings of that survey are in this report.

Employee Retention in China 2006–2007—The Flight of Human Talent
DDI and the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) surveyed 215 HR professionals and 862 workers in China to find out why Chinese employees stay or leave — and what organizations can do to retain talent in China's burgeoning economy.
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Healthcare Selection Forecast 2006-2007
DDI presents this report on the current status of recruiting and hiring talent in the health care industry. As the ongoing “war for talent” heats up, the competition for a limited pool of health care workers becomes ever more painful—the theme for this report.

Leading the Past. Preparing the Future. (2006) (DDI Australia's 30-year perspective on business and leadership)
As DDI Australia approached its 30th year of operation in Australia, it was time to become a little sentimental, and reflect on the changing needs of business leaders over that time and to formulate key insights that will help today’s leaders face the challenges of tomorrow.

Managing and Developing Talent in China and India 2006
This paper summarizes the panel discussions at The Conference Board, Talent Management Strategies China/India Pre-Conference Seminar from March 2006.

Selection Forecast 2006-2007
DDI and Monster’s Selection Forecast 2006-2007 shows that today’s job market is increasingly in the hands of the candidate.
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The CEO’s Role in Talent Management (in conjunction with The Economist Intelligence Unit)
DDI and The Economist new global study on how top executives in ten countries are nurturing the leaders of tomorrow.
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2004-2005 Super Human Resources: Realizing Manufacturing Excellence Through Better People - Full Report (in conjunction with IndustryWeek and MPI)
This report presents findings from the IndustryWeek/Manufacturing Performance Institute (MPI) 2004-2005 Census of Manufacturers, which includes data from more than 1,000 manufacturing plants. DDI corroborated this data based on our work with manufacturing organizations.

Leadership in China: Keeping Pace with a Growing Economy
This study evaluated several aspects of leadership in China with a focus on these issues: 1. Leader skills. 2. The culture of leadership. 3. Leaders’ ability to identify and select talent.

Super Human Resources in China: Practices, Performances, and Opportunities Among China's Manufacturers (2005) (in conjunction with IndustryWeek and MPI)
Over the last two years, Development Dimensions International (DDI) and the Manufacturing Performance Institute (MPI) have published new groundbreaking research on the HR practices of China manufacturers.

Managing Performance: Building Accountability for Organizational Success - Executive Summary
This executive summary overviews performance management practices from 278 companies and 3,600 employees and managers.

Managing Performance: Building Accountability for Organizational Success - Full Report
This color summary presents detailed findings from the 2003 HR Benchmark Report on Performance Management.

The State of e-Learning: Developing Soft Skills - Executive Summary
This HR Benchmark series study includes responses from 139 organizations from 15 countries concerning the state of e-Learning practices.

The State of e-Learning: Developing Soft Skills - Full Report
This HR Benchmark series study includes responses from 139 organizations from 15 countries concerning the state of e-Learning practices.

Retaining Talent: A Benchmarking Study - Executive Summary
This piece is a brief summary of the 2000 HR Benchmark Group's study of retention practices.

Retaining Talent: A Benchmarking Study - Full Report
Results include current turnover rates and trends, costs of losing and hiring employees, top reasons why employees leave, effective retention strategies, and links between retention and organizational performance.

The Globalization of Human Resource Practices - Executive Summary
This piece is a brief executive summary of the 2000 HR Benchmark Group's study of the globalization of human resouce practices.

The Globalization of Human Resource Practices - Full Report
The purpose of the study was to investigate how organizations conduct HR practices in multiple locations and determine the challenges that organizations face when trying to globalize their HR function and practices.

A Survey of Trust in the Workplace
The primary focus of this survey was to explore interpersonal trust in the workplace (for example, between peers and leaders).