The global “war for talent”

Abstract

In this paper we examine the “global war for talent,” the factors that impact it, and organizations' responses to it. Using a comprehensive search of more than 400 contemporary academic and business press articles, the paper reviews relevant research and reassesses the “talent war.” We posit that the dominant approaches to the “talent war” based on a scarcity state of mind and action, often characterized by a tactical and exclusive top talent or “star” focus, are being challenged by the emergence of a more evolutionary paradigm. This new paradigm adopts more strategic, innovative, cooperative and generative approaches which we describe as creative ‘talent solutions.’ The paper also highlights implications for future research, teaching and development in the field.

Introduction

As the global economy expanded dramatically between 2002 through 2007, business leaders and human resource managers worried about the intensifying international competition for talent; the impact of not having the right people in place to lead and confront business challenges; as well as employing below-average candidates ”just to fill positions” (The Economist, 2006, Price, 2007). Reflecting these concerns, PricewaterhouseCoopers's 11th Annual Global Survey showed that 89% of CEOs surveyed put the ‘people agenda’ as one of their top priorities (PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2008a, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2008b:35).

Today, with an unprecedented global financial crisis, economic slow-down, and massive restructuring, “talent” remains a critical agenda item focused on the highest achievers: “As deteriorating performance forces increasingly aggressive head count reductions, it's easy to lose valuable contributors inadvertently, damage morale or the company's external reputation among potential employees, or drop the ball on important training and staff-development programs” (Guthridge et al., 2008). A recent Hewitt survey (2008) indicates that despite the downturn, the overwhelming majority of firms still intend to focus on top talent, with nearly half the companies planning to sustain or increase learning and development expenditures.

This paper examines the so-called global “war for talent” phenomenon — its drivers, responses, and implications for scholars and practitioners. Section 1 discusses the talent concept; Section 2 briefly covers critical factors impacting the “war”; Section 3 reassesses the “war”; Section 4 discusses evolving and creative solutions for talent; and Section 5 addresses research implications.

The paper's research methodology included comprehensive Google and ABI Inform Global searches between October 2007 and October 2008 using the key words “global war for talent,” “war for talent,” “talent management,” and “global talent.” Over 400 articles and books from the academic and popular press were reviewed, including 219 articles identified in an ABI Inform search of works published between 2006 and 2008 that included the keywords “global talent.”