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Most businesses know that human capital is their most important asset. Yet, few have a strategic plan for how to hire and retain top talent.

Recent research by Oxford Economics found that less than a third of the companies it surveyed had a strategic, enterprise-wide vision for the workforce they wanted to create.

Moreover, businesses currently have several mismatches when it comes to the workers they want and the processes they have in place. The research found that most businesses do not offer the right kind of training, do not have enough data on employees, and do not provide the flexibility that employees need to perform their jobs in 2015.

There is a significant gap between what businesses need and what they look for in workers. Flexibility, self-direction and learning on the job are crucial for today’s economy, yet businesses often privilege institutional learning and prior educational background when hiring workers. This is inconsistent with the need to hire self-directed learners.

Second, there’s a dearth of data on employees. Only 38 percent of executives surveyed by Oxford Economics said they have enough data about their workforce to understand their strengths and weaknesses in terms of skillsets.

Further, only 40 percent of businesses surveyed said they use qualifiable metrics and benchmarks as part of their workforce development strategy. While this is great news for workforce optimization solutions, it also shows how far businesses need to come when it comes to optimizing their workforce.

If businesses do not have enough data on their employees to make informed decisions, there obviously is substantial room for improvement!

Third, the study found that contingent and part-time workers are increasingly being used by businesses, yet only 34 percent of businesses enable flexible work locations.

This is a mistake, as it reduces the pool of qualified candidates and is out of step with mobility and telecommuting trends. The best talent is going to choose a company that enables work location flexibility.

Overall, the Oxford Economics study offers some interesting food for thought. To what expect businesses will start getting serious about workforce optimization remains to be seen.