Ten years ago, a landmark McKinsey report warned companies they were entering a war-zone for talent. Now a follow-up study finds that not only is war still raging, but the fighting is about to intensify. CEOs, meanwhile, talk a lot about talent. But ‘jaw, jaw’ will never resolve this ‘war, war’.

How companies can respond to increasing talent shortages is the subject of this report. More specifically, it focuses on how companies can nurture their own talent in a market where poaching is becoming an increasingly expensive and ineffective strategy. The report begins with an examination of trends that are changing the battleground for talent and moves on to look at what we mean by talent and how a new approach, using ideas taken from supply chain management, is providing a cost effective solution to managing the talent supply. It then considers:

• how to attract the right talent: ie people who will fit in, engage with your culture
• how talent is created: taking what psychologists know about elite performers in other fields and applying those lessons to the world of business
• the specific nurturing needs of leaders and knowledge workers: two very special groups of employees that all organisations depend on for their success

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