The War for Talent

The War for Talent

Better talent is worth fighting for. But at a time when the need for superior talent is incrasing, big US companies are finding it difficult to attract and retain good people. To investiate the talent problems faced by organization, the writers studied 77 companies from a variety of industries. The survey was companies are about to be engaged in a war for senior executive talent that will remain a defining characteristic of their competitive landscape for decades to come.

An economic growth rate of 2 percent for 15 years would increase demand for executives by about a third, in response to the unprecedented opportunities and challanges to be addressed in the knowledge-based economy. However supply is moving in the opposite direction: the number of 35-to-45 years old in the US will decline by 15% between 2000 to 2015. Below is the survey result based on demographic data in US and Europe.

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Source: http://autoassembly.mckinsey.com/html/downloads/articles/War_For_Talent.pdf, 16 Aug 2010

The forces of the war for talent required companies to adjust the way they manage people by using talent management as a burning priority. Several things to do are:

1. Create a winning employee value proposition (EVP)

Companies with superior EVP have a compelling answer to the question, “Why would a talented people want to work here?”. Creating a winning EVP means tailoring a company’s brand and products to appeal to the people it wants to find and keep, and the price – paying what it takes to attract and retain strong performers. The executive talent pool can be segmented into four groups: “Go with a winner”, “Big risk, big reward”, “Save the world”, “Lifestyle”. The other EVP component will be “high competitive compensation” to be an essensial ticket to the game of attracting and retaining top talent.

2. Sourcing great talent

By spotting talent early and train it within, and regularly hiring senior executives from...