Introduction

Talent is a key ingredient for most organisations today, yet there is much room for improvement in the way that companies manage their talent. In fact, it could well be that retaining talent is harder than retaining clients. According to a recent Conference Board Inc. research in the US, human capital risk ranks fourth out of eleven risks in terms of potential business impact. When The Economist Intelligence Unit asked risk managers to rank thirteen key risks, human capital topped the list. Effective human capital may become the single most important driver of long-term financial success and shareholder value creation.

When human resources professionals were asked how effective they were at addressing critical talent issues, the number of ‘very confident’ responses was only in the 20 to 30 per cent range. Another survey found that approximately 50 per cent of organisations do not have a talent strategy. On the other hand, organisations with superior talent management practices have realised significant advantages including 26 per cent higher revenue per employee, 41 per cent lower turnover among high performers, 17 per cent lower voluntary turnover, as well as having a 156 per cent greater ability to develop great leaders.