Talent management

As businesses look for global growth, chronic skills gaps combined with a mismatch between demand and supply of talent means that getting (and keeping) the right people in the right places at the right time has never been more challenging. HR leaders need to mobilise talent to help businesses grow.

The true cost of losing key talent is equivalent to 6-24 months’ salary.

27% of ‘high potential’ employees plan to leave their employer in the next 12 months1. What will it cost your business?

78% of CEOs intend to make a change to their strategies for managing people.

53% of CEOs see lack of key skills as a key challenge.

Only 30% of CEOs are ‘very confident’ that they will have access to the talent they need over the next 3 years.

The bad news for employers is that just 18% of millennials are planning to stay with their current employer. How are you attracting and retaining younger workers?

Getting talent management right means you can worry less about your talent problems and more about your business opportunities. At PwC, we use a fact based approach to help identify the specific elements of talent management which drive the most value in your business and industry. Using PwC’s unique Talent Management Framework and Diagnostic, we work with you to develop and implement strategies that deliver the right improvements – those that give you the best return on investment.

We’ve worked across many industries, geographies and with both growing and mature businesses. We understand that different organisations see ‘talent’ in their own unique way. For instance in China we have worked with businesses who need to rapidly upscale their operations and with others who struggle to incentivise and keep their star performers in pivotal roles. Learn more.

Peter Bedford, Head of Talent at ABB, explains how ABB as a leading global company finds and supports new and existing talent.

Do you need a talent management rethink?

Is your current talent management plan fit for purpose? Ask yourself these challenging questions:

Do I have the talent to quickly and successfully execute my organisation’s strategy?
Do I have people with the right skills, the right knowledge and the right experience in the right places – now and in the next 3 to 5 years?
What will it cost me if I get my talent pipeline wrong?
Which roles drive most value in my business, how do I best resource them and what is my cost of turnover?
How am I engaging and rewarding talent in these pivotal roles? Am I over-rewarding ‘non-talent’?
Are my global mobility programmes truly strategic - or are they reactive?
How do my people metrics stack up to my competitors in this industry? Is my people ROI good enough?
How effectively is the HR function delivering what I need?
Finally, does every aspect of my talent strategy directly contribute to the business plan and to creating value?

Our experience:

We’ve supported clients in all aspects of talent management across all industries, often in large, global, complex businesses.

Banking organisation – Managing top talent

We helped this global bank consider how a small top talent cadre could be best structured, managed and assessed as a unit controlled centrally by the Executive Committee. They had challenges identifying that top talent and determining how to coordinate the selection process between HR and the Executive Committee. Help was also needed to define differentiated career development and management activities that could be adopted for the top talent cadre. We provided external insight on how top talent could be best cultivated against the shifting global landscape. We also provided options regarding the management of top talent including Executive coaching and creating a committee structure for managing top talent globally.

Global Energy Company – Performance Management

We worked with our client to conduct a comprehensive review of the global performance management process applied to over 100,000 employees. We reviewed the existing performance appraisal process for compliance and quality, and advised on process change to drive performance value. We also supported implementation of the new process and tools.

Global pharmaceutical company – Talent management strategy

This global pharmaceuticals company’s existing talent management activity had been too focused on current performance and leadership capabilities, rather than assessing potential for leadership in future roles. The client also faced the issues of the inconsistent assessment of potential indicators and the variability in line manager’s assessment of employees reporting to them. We worked with them to develop a talent management strategy, which was globally aligned and imbedded into the organisation through increased line manager accountability. We did this by designing a talent review process aligned to the existing performance management cycle, ensuring that assessing talent was embedded into personal development plans. We also equipped the client with further tools for succession planning.

Global insurance provider – Talent management strategy and programmes

We worked with our client to define the business case for talent management to ensure they have the skills needed for success in a competitive external environment. We assisted them to identify key talent segments and transform their HR function. We also worked with our client to identify key moments within the employee lifecycle which influenced these employee behaviours and to create a practical plan to drive engagement.

Large global conglomerate of manufacturing and services – Strategic People Plan

We worked with our client to identify and plan for the talent requirements of their 5 year business goal to triple revenue within their Chinese operations. We defined capability requirements, skills and talent gaps, identified pivotal positions and developed retention strategies. We assisted the client with workforce analytics and planning, talent scenario planning and development of the HR business plan to implement operational solutions to support the business growth.