Workforce development strategies are major drivers of a company's success and are factors that firms should truly invest on, a recent study by Mercer shows.

In the latest Mercer Talent Barometer Survey, 60 per cent of the organisations polled worldwide said that they invested more on talent in the past years. This complements the 77 per cent that have strategic workforce plans in place.

However, while investment on human resources is higher, more firms are also questioning whether this in actually effective. The survey shows that only 24 per cent say their plans are highly effective in meeting short and long-term human capital needs, while only 12 per cent admitted that their HR plans went beyond five years.

"Effective workforce planning is essential. The question is whether the increased attention and efforts deliver the intended results," commented Julio Portalatin, president and chief executive of Mercer. 

The Talent Barometer identified education, health and wellness and career experience as key accelerators of talent effectiveness and powerful drivers toward the success of workforce practices. The survey found that 57 per cent of the firms polled are not confident that today's educational institutions will generate the talent needed by businesses today. In Asia, health management falls behind with the rest of the world, affecting how people perform. 

"The research suggests a strong link between health and wellness and employee engagement and productivity. This means that employers are missing out on one of the greatest tools available to enhance their strategic workforce plans," said Dave Rahill, president of Mercer Health & Benefits.

The Mercer survey covers responses from HR and talent management executives at over 1,260 organisations worldwide.