Dive Brief:

• Pomello, a culture analytics software firm, released its survey, "People Management in 2017: A State of the Industry Report." The company surveyed 600 senior HR executives. Organizations ranged in size from 100 to more than 10,000 employees.
• The report shows that when companies grow to 1,000 employees, their people management focus shifts to leadership development and management, software and technological solutions, and the use of more analytics. Companies with fewer than 1,000 employees focus on company culture, employee engagement and performance management.
• The survey also found that industry type drives the type of culture companies believe will make then successful or give them a competitive edge. Pomello studied the education, manufacturing, technology, health and financial services industries.

Dive Insight:

Surveys like Pomello’s are showing that managing and developing leadership is on the rise. This is a clear shift from merely supervising workers to identifying top talent and focusing on succession planning.

With the growing sophistication of technology, it’s not surprising that companies with more than 1,000 employees are 25% more likely to use software to measure employee engagement and 33% more likely to use software for performance management.

One interesting revelation in the survey is that 25% of respondents in companies with more than 1,000 employees don’t think they have a strong culture, while a third of respondents in smaller companies believe they have a strong culture. Culture is easier to identify and engage workers in in smaller work environments, a continued challenge for larger employers. Strong middle leadership is key to that.