Brandon Hall Group recently released Business Focus 2014: Leaders’ Top Priorities, its annual survey that ranks the top priorities of business leaders for overall business objectives, learning and development, talent management, executive management, and sales effectiveness.

The survey, conducted between December 18, 2013 and January 13, 2014, is based on 307 responses from business, HR, talent, sales, and learning leaders from organizations in North America and two dozen other countries. Respondents were asked how they were planning to spend their time, energy, and resources over the next 12 months.

Brandon Hall Group’s survey asked companies the extent to which they are planning to spend time, energy and resources on a vast array of items across several different areas. For more than 50 percent of the respondents, there are 37 different items that they consider either a clear priority or critical to the business.

However, respondents rated the top three overall business priorities for 2014 as:

1. gaining market share

2. delivering new products and services

3. improving innovation

These were also the top three priorities in the 2013 survey.

Other highlights:

• Among learning and development priorities, performance support – ranked just 9th last year – was the third biggest priority of 2014, behind learning content development and learning strategy and planning.

• In talent management, talent retention rose to become the top 2014 priority, after ranking third last year.

• Leadership strategy and leadership development programs were the top two executive management priorities, with organizational effectiveness third.

• The survey also found that despite the ongoing concern over a shortage of talent, companies are more interested in what will happen with social media and mobile technologies over the next 12 months.

The full report from this survey looks at all 37 priorities, how they rank as priorities, and how that has changed from the previous year.  The report also looks at what companies consider to be their top overall business priorities. It turns out that where companies are planning on spending their time does not always line up with the needs of the business. The survey also found that despite the ongoing concern over a shortage of talent, companies are more interested in what will happen with social media and mobile technologies over the next 12 months.

Download the complimentary research brief at http://go.brandonhall.com/business\_focus\_2014.