Product Description

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 Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, and Beth Axelrod argue that winning the war for leadership talent is about much more than frenzied recruiting tactics. It's about the timeless principles of attracting, developing, and retaining highly talented managers-applied in bold new ways. And it's about recognizing the strategic importance of human capital because of the enormous value that better talent creates.

Fortified by five years of in-depth research on how companies manage leadership talent-including surveys of 13,000 executives at more than 120 companies and case studies of 27 leading companies-the authors propose a fundamentally new approach to talent management.

They describe how to:

* Create a winning EVP (employee value proposition) that will make your company uniquely attractive to talent

* Move beyond recruiting hype to build a long-term recruiting strategy

* Use job experiences, coaching, and mentoring to cultivate the potential in managers

* Strengthen your talent pool by investing in A players, developing B players, and acting decisively on C players

Central to this approach is a pervasive talent mindset-a deep conviction shared by leaders throughout the company that competitive advantage comes from having better talent at all levels.

Using practical examples from companies such as GE, The Home Depot, PerkinElmer, Amgen, and Enron, the authors outline five imperatives that every leader-from CEO to unit manager-must act on to build a stronger talent pool.

Written by recognized authorities on the topic, this is the definitive strategic guide on how to win the war for talent.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #298799 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-01
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .94" h x 6.47" w x 9.26" l, .98 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 200 pages

From Amazon.com
Talent, as defined by Ed Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, and Beth Axelrod, is shorthand for a key employee who possesses "a sharp strategic mind, leadership ability, communications skills, the ability to attract and inspire people, entrepreneurial instincts, functional skills, and the ability to deliver results." It's also, they contend in The War for Talent, an overarching personnel characteristic that companies of all kinds will require throughout their organizations in order to survive the competitive recruiting era that we appear to be entering. Michaels, Handfield-Jones, and Axelrod, authors of a 1997 McKinsey Quarterly article that uncovered a definitive connection between top performers and superior corporate achievement, spent the intervening years studying 13,000 executives in 27 companies to identify the programs and behaviors that help today's foremost firms attract and retain the best kinds of employees. The authors outline five common "imperatives" that they found these companies employed to strengthen their talent pools ("Embrace a Talent Mindset," "Craft a Winning Employee Value Proposition," "Rebuild Your Recruiting Strategy," "Weave Development into Your Organization," and "Differentiate and Affirm Your People") and construct a practical framework for making it happen in your company. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
The consulting firm McKinsey & Co. coined the phrase "War for Talent" several years ago when its surveys revealed a diminishing talent pool. The basic McKinsey principle asserts that employers must adopt innovative recruitment techniques, and the authors offer many examples from companies like the Limited, Enron and Amgen. Among their suggestions: offer mentoring programs; encourage employees to switch departments; and with senior hires, look for "leadership style and values" consistent with "the company's culture." Employers will find this book useful if somewhat dry. McKinsey's name along with extensive publicity will help initial sales, but the boilerplate content may not maintain them.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
In 1997 and 2000, Michaels, Helen Handfield-Jones, and Beth Axelrod, from McKinsey & Company consulting firm, surveyed CEOs, executives, and managers at large and midsize companies headquartered in the U.S. Winning the war for talent is the theme of their book, and the authors discovered that talent mindset was the key to winning the war. As Kevin Sharer, a participant in the survey and currently CEO of Amgen, said, "I told my leaders that if they believed that people are the responsibility of HR, they've totally missed the point." Jobs are being cut at corporations around the U.S., but the authors predict a shortage of talented, qualified managers as more people reach retirement age or choose to retire early. They suggest management needs to play more of a role in the process of attracting talented managers and structuring the organizational policies and practices to create a winning employee-value environment, encourage development, facilitate mentoring and coaching, and attract talent. This book provides worthwhile information for many levels of managers to review and implement. Eileen Hardy
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