Category: Business Trends

The Business Case for Talent Management: Steve Ballmer Agrees

Talent management makes money.

If you are trying to build a business case for a corporate talent management program, here is some astounding data:

Of the 700+ organizations we studied in 2010 and 2011, only 7% told us that they have a “strategic talent management” program. We defined talent management in four levels of ... Read more»

Talent Management in the Nordics: Globalization on the Front Burner

This week I had the opportunity to speak about next-generation talent management at two events in Stockholm.  In this post I’d like to highlight some of the big talent challenges facing global businesses in the Nordic countries.

The Nordics are home to some of the world’s greatest businesses. We had Ericsson, Electrolux, Logica, A.P. Moeller ... Read more»

Talent Acquisition in Turmoil: The Facts and Figures

Today we released our first ever Talent Acquisition Factbook®, a comprehensive study of trends, benchmarks, and spending data in the US (and UK) recruiting market.  It points out the tectonic shifts taking place in recruiting right now, as the staffing industry shifts steadily toward the use of social networking, employment branding, and a variety ... Read more»

Moneyball comes to Human Resources: Data Science Matters

While you may not be a baseball fan, you have to admit that this movie (and book) is really all about Human Resources. Billy Beane learned that by using data shrewdly he could build a high-performing team at a fraction the cost of his competitors. Isn’t this what strategic HR is all about?

I’ve had ... Read more»

Small Silver Lining in August Jobs Data

This labor day weekend we learned that the US economy created no new jobs in August, resulting in a 2.2% drop in the stock market on Friday.

After looking at the data in historic perspective, I want to point out some of the dynamics taking place and give you a slightly more positive perspective.

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The Real Succession Plan for Steve Jobs: Apple Thinks Different with Apple University

This week’s announcement of Steve Jobs’ succession to Chairman puts the topic of success management back on the front page.  When such a strong leader steps aside, how does Apple maintain its admired culture of innovation, execution, and business growth?  There is more here than turning over the reigns to Tim Cook:  Apple has a ... Read more»

Talent Priorities in Today’s Economic Environment: Leadership, Engagement, Quality of Hire

We just completed our latest TalentWatch research (our semi-annual report on business and talent trends) and as most HR and business leaders know, we are in a very strange talent environment.  One one hand we have a US unemployment rate over 9% and Europe is still in early recovery. On the other hand, businesses tell ... Read more»

IMPACT 2011: Live Streaming – Mark your Calendar

Next week we launch IMPACT 2011: The Business of Talent®, our fourth annual research conference.

For those of you who follow our blogs and our research, the conference is sold out. But if you would like the excitement of attending the conference virtually, our marketing team has put together a wonderful opportunity for you ... Read more»

Building the Borderless Workplace: IMPACT 2011 Research Conference

This year is our fourth annual Learning and Talent Management Research Conference, IMPACT:  The Business of Talent® (April 26-29 at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in St. Petersburg, Florida) and it is going to be the best conference ever!

The theme this year is “Building the Borderless Workplace” – how organizations can build modern, high-performing talent, ... Read more»

Business’s Role in Educating our Workforce

Despite the uptick in business optimism from our mid-year TalentWatch® report, the US economy continues to be slow. This month we learned that there are 14.5 million Americans looking for work and 1.4 million of them have been out of work for more than two years.  And the Labor Department just revised last year’s ... Read more»

The Recovery Drives Bold New Priorities for HR

This week we published our TalentTrends® research for the first half of 2010 (report available to research members). In this research we ask more than 200 top HR and business leaders to tell us about their business outlook, hiring forecast, talent and leadership readiness, spending, and priorities.

What we see is a stark ... Read more»

The Coming Talent War: Young, Global, Diverse

The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently published its Occupational Outlook for 2018 (the next 10 years) and it is well worth reading.  This data, coupled with a number of meetings I”ve had recently with HR and L&D executives, clearly tells me that we are about to re-enter a new “war for talent.”

This phrase has ... Read more»

Skillsoft goes Private. E-Learning Market has Matured.

Today Skillsoft announced that the company is being acquired by a private equity firm for approximately $1.1 billion.  This acquisition price reflects a 14% premium over the public share price and a price to sales ratio of 3.3, which is quite high for a company of this size.

Why did this private equity firm decide ... Read more»