"Given the radical shifts in demographics and technology, doubling down on the human capital practices of the past will not be enough to get the job done," said Josh Bersin, principal and founder of Bersin by Deloitte, part of Deloitte Consulting LLP.

"The research shows that organizations should re-imagine their approach to engaging people and move to re-engineer many of their HR practices. Attracting top talent has become a serious competitive issue that demands attention at the highest levels of the organization."

Deloitte cited three major challenge areas for human capital managers:

• Leadership development (cited by 86 percent as No. 1);
• retention and engagement (79 percent);
• reskilling the human resources function (77 percent).

On leadership development

"Developing global leaders is the top issue facing these organizations, yet only 13 percent of respondents believe they do an excellent job in providing leadership programs across all levels," Deloitte said in a news release about the survey. "Sixty-six percent believe they are 'weak' in their ability to provide leadership programs for Millennials, and about half (51 percent) have little confidence in their ability to maintain clear and consistent succession programs."

Far too many companies are attempting to reinvigorate obsolete talent management systems that don't solve their problems for the long-term, Deloitte said.

Instead, companies should be harnessing online resources and integrating them with internal talent development systems to build a "supply chain for skills" to address the ever-changing need for new skill sets that arise as old skill needs disappear.

On retention/engagement

Not only are companies struggling to find or grow leaders, but they're not doing well at retaining the ones they have. They know they need to get better at retention, and much better at engaging their employees in their mission. But they are unsure how to go about these vital tasks.

"More than one-third (38 percent) report they are 'weak' at integrating social, community, and corporate programs and aligning employee and corporate goals," Deloitte said. Forty percent of respondents rated their company as "weak" in providing support for work-life balance, a factor that many surveys have identified as critical to an engaged workforce.

And a puny 8 percent "believe they have a strategy to help employees manage the barrage of information they receive every day."

"Twenty-first century employees have radically different expectations about work than those of previous generations," said Bersin. "Today, people want to work for organizations that continually invest in developing their skills, thereby enabling them to stay relevant in the ever-changing workforce. They also want balance, passion, and purpose in their jobs.

"This changing employment value proposition requires organizations to align their business and corporate objectives with the professional, personal, and social goals of their employees and give them an opportunity to make a difference, not just earn a paycheck."

On reskilling HR

While the unconscious process of de-skilling HR has worked incredibly well, the mindful attempt to reskill the function has failed miserably, according to the survey.

"Many HR teams lack the skills and data they need to understand today's global business environment, local labor markets, evolving workforce demographics, shifts in technology, and the changing nature of work itself," Deloitte said. "In fact, more than one-third (34 percent) of the respondents report that their HR and talent programs are just 'getting by' or even 'underperforming.'

"Moreover, less than 8 percent of HR leaders have confidence that their teams have the skills needed to meet the challenge of today's global environment and deliver innovative programs that drive business impact."

Forty-three percent of respondents labeled their organizations as 'weak' in providing HR with appropriate training and experiences. Another 47 percent checked the 'weak' box when asked to describe how well prepared their HR team was to deliver programs aligned with business needs.

Jason Geller, national managing director for U.S. human capital consulting at Deloitte Consulting LLP, said he believes the survey results indicate that "reskilling HR teams is arguably the most critical mission for organizations today."

Other key bullets from the survey include:

The overwhelmed employee: Sixty-five percent of executives responding to the survey rate the overwhelmed employee phenomenon as being an urgent or important trend, while 44 percent say that they are "not ready" to deal with it.

Developing leaders: Eighty-six percent of respondents in the Deloitte survey rate leadership as "urgent" or "important." Yet just 13 percent say they do an excellent job in developing global leaders.

Corporate learning redefined: More than two-thirds (70 percent) of respondents surveyed see new learning methods, such as free online and mobile learning platforms, as "urgent" or "important," yet only 6 percent say they have mastered the content and technology capabilities needed to make online learning accessible and compelling for their employees.