The War for Talent

by Helen Handfield-Jones, Beth Axelrod, Edward G. Michaels III

Book Overview

In 1997, a groundbreaking McKinsey study exposed the war for talent as a strategic business challenge and a critical driver of corporate performance. Then, when the dot-com bubble burst and the economy cooled, many assumed the war for talent was over. It's not. Now the authors of the original study reveal that, because of enduring economic and social forces, the war for talent will persist for the next two decades. McKinsey & Company consultants...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578514592
• ISBN13: 9781578514595
• Release Date: October 2001
• Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

The War for Talent

Great book, I recommend it for anyone who is in Human Resource management. It will change the way you think about running your organization.

An outstanding, although not original, look at talent

I recommend this book highly for anyone who works in or owns a business. The information contained here is not original in concept, as many of the concepts can be found in (not surprisingly) successful and well know businesses. The basic premise of this book is that the ability to attract, retain and engage the best talent available will give your business a competitive edge in the marketplace. Looking at these components in the "war for talent" the authors outline several strategies: The first issue is that in order to be able to focus on talent, companies must "embrace a talent mindset" and realize that in this age of intellectual capital, getting the top talented people to work for you and your customers will make the difference in your results. "Embracing a talent mindset" means not just awareness of the importance of great people, but investing in development, setting high performance standards, and getting actively involved in people related decisions. In order to do this, companies must look closely at "EVP" or an "Employee Value Proposition" approach to keep top talent engaged in exciting work and value added opportunities. The authors also discuss several different approaches to recruiting and identifying the key talent required for your business. In my experience, getting better talent up front makes all the subsequent processes better: training, communication, innovation, and of course business results. The book also discusses a concept made famous by GE - differentiating performance and performers. While it sometimes feels like business Darwinism, differentiating your top performers and rewarding and investing in them accordingly will bring about better results than trying to raise the poorer performers up a level. Overall, a great summary of the challenges and opportunities in this "war for talent" businesses are facing everyday.

Read this book before your competitors do!

You can no longer be satisfied with "C" players in your organization. To compete in today's world, you need a powerful team of "A" players-top talent. Every savvy employer knows this fact, at least intuitively. Incredibly, relatively few act on this knowledge, satisfying themselves instead with "warm bodies." And they wonder why they aren't more profitable. (Shake your head in disbelief here.)Produced by three consultants from McKinsey & Company, "The War for Talent" is based on five years of in-depth research on how companies manage leadership talent. [The research is explained in the book.] From what they learned from surveys of 13,000 executives at more than 120 leading companies and 27 case studies, the authors propose a talent-based approach to recruiting and holding management employees. The concept is simple: emphasize a deep conviction that competitive advantage comes from having better talent at all levels. Execution of that talent is more difficult, requiring total commitment and consistent action on the part of all leaders throughout the organization. The authors have limited their focus to managerial talent, ignoring the tremendous contribution made by non-management employees. Their contention is that if you have highly talented managers, everything else will work just fine. I had a problem with that concept, feeling that it takes strong talent at all levels to achieve corporate success. As I read the book, I found myself mentally extending the authors' approaches and recommendations to all workers. The book begins, aptly enough, with a chapter explaining the War for Talent. Wake-up call statements include recognition from 99% of the companies surveyed that their managerial talent pool needs to be much stronger in three years. At the same time, there is an understanding that the pool from which companies will recruit that talent will shrink. Therefore, competition for talent will become more like a war. In the first of many interesting comparison boxes in the book, we learn that the old reality says people need companies and that jobs are scarce. The new reality is that companies need people and that talented people are scarce. These comparison boxes deliver valuable, thought-provoking insights throughout the book.The authors explain that most companies are poor at talent management. This situation must change. Executives who read this book will be in a more advantageous position to do something about this problem-if they take action based on what they read. The book is filled with action stimulators. The second chapter shows readers how to Embrace a Talent Mindset. It's a way of thinking that drives the whole process. In chapter three, we learn how to Craft a Winning Employee Value Proposition. This is an essential part of the book, emphasizing the relationship between the management employee and the company. It talks about what managers are looking for in a job-in an environment, and how to give it to them. Included are culture,

A powerful tool for leaders across organizations.

In a market characterized by uncertainty and instability, one thing holds true for all organizations: building strong talent is crucial to success. "The War for Talent" delivers a powerful argument for why this is the case, illustrating the need for leaders to adopt a "talent mindset" and develop a strategic approach to talent management. Executives and managers will find this book a valuable guide that lays out the steps required to attract, develop, excite and retain highly talented employees.McKinsey & Company consultants Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones and Beth Axelrod translate five years of in-depth research and analysis into a clear perspective on how to develop a corporation's greatest asset - its people. The authors artfully weave examples of success stories from such companies as Amgen, GE, The Home Depot and Enron into a comprehensive framework for addressing long-term talent management. Their approach continually challenges the reader to assess his or her own organization and to take action. Leaders from all levels of organizations will gain practical knowledge and an insightful roadmap for winning the war for talent.

Now here's useful help at last!

The War for Talent not only makes a leak-proof business case around the significance of talent, it provides step-by-step instructions of how to win. As the President of a very small company the relevance and immediacy was clear to me, even though the book provided examples from very large corporations. I will re-visit this book time and again as I work to improve the talent in my company.