Canary Wharf workers
The UK's top companies are failing to meet the new demands of their workers, the Hay Group said Reuters

The global war for talent is heating up but some of the UK's top companies are failing to meet the new demands of their workers, according to management consultancy the Hay Group.

The firm, which questioned 300 heads of engagement at FTSE 250 and Fortune 500 companies, found that more than three-quarters of respondents (84%) believed that employers must engage their workforces differently if they are to succeed in the future.

But the research also revealed that less than a third (30%) of engagement leaders said that their organisations are doing enough to adapt appropriately to the changes that lie ahead.

Two-thirds of those surveyed (67%) said they have not personally changed the way they operate in light of the megatrends.

"Ensuring that your engagement strategy aligns with these trends has become more and more important," Sarah Pittman, a managing consultant at Hay Group, told IBTimes UK.

"We know from a recent study that [staff] turnover figures will increase annually and will reach an all-time high by 2018, with maybe a quarter of employees [on average] exiting an organisation.

"It will be important for organisations to think about their people plans and their HR strategy."

The Hay Group also identified six so called 'megatrends' in employee engagement, including individualism, digitization, and demographic change, which are changing the global business environment.

Survey respondents named individualism and digitization as the two megatrends that will have the greatest impact on their employee engagement strategies – and the megatrends that will be most challenging to address.