TM - December 2007 - (Page 5)

[from the editor] by Mike Prokopeak I I Looking Forward increases, organizations are finding themselves in a high-stakes battle for the quality talent they need to execute their organizational goals. and, perhaps most provocatively, Reich says that people have stopped acting as citizens and started acting more as consumers and shareholders, negatively impacting the democratic process. Whether or not you agree with Reich’s conclusions, it’s hard to argue against his point about increased global competition. While there’s a war for talent going on today, the real battle is for the business to remain competitive and profitable in this high-stakes environment. Making talent management a priority is a solution to both challenges. Effective talent management leads to attracting and retaining the best employees, engaging them and furthering their growth, and making human capital a critical component of organizational strategy. All of which lead to better performance. In the competition, what sets you apart is your talent, and those who manage their talent best will win. And, talent management, the approach to the organization’s human capital that we dedicated this magazine to at the beginning of this year, is your strategy for winning the war for talent and keeping your organization competitive. Thank you for reading this year and helping us drive forward the conversation about this critical business strategy by sharing your thoughts and insights. Have an insight you’d like to share? Drop me a line at mikep@talentmgt.com. We look forward to even bigger and better things in the coming year. t’s been an exciting year here at Talent Management magazine. Just last January, we rebranded and relaunched the magazine, going from bimonthly to monthly and taking a whole new perspective on the business of HR. This is, by no means, breaking news. Talent management practitioners, academics and analysts have been Our goal was to provide a new kind developing, testing and measuring of magazine with a new approach to new approaches to attract, retain the HR industry. Bringing together and develop the talent they need to the leading HR and business thinkers, succeed. And while there have been industry analysts and seasoned prac- some initial battles for talent, the titioners, we set out to explore the bigger tests still lie ahead as the pool of available talent shrinks and competition But the war for talent is really intensifies. just a single front in a larger campaign: an all-out global battle for market share. new HR landscape and the pivotal role talent management plays in the future of the organization. It was the right move. Not a day goes by that I don’t see an article or news item on the growing emphasis organizations place on talent management and their most valuable resource, human capital. But as the buzz around talent management increases, it’s natural to treat it with a little skepticism. Our culture is full of here today, gone tomorrow fads, and the business world is no exception. But talent management isn’t just a passing fad. The underlying philosophies are significant and the organizational challenges they’re designed to answer aren’t going away anytime soon. Ever since the landmark McKinsey report on “The War for Talent” came out nearly 10 years ago, companies have been turning their attention to the critical role their talent will play in future growth. The most important resource in the future will not be the organization’s capital, its strategy or its technology — it will be its talent. As the pool of qualified workers shrinks and global competition But the war for talent is really just a single front in a larger campaign: an all-out global battle for market share. It’s a supercharged competition to attract customers, maximize profits and keep shareholders happy. Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich coined a term for this new economic reality: supercapitalism. It’s the Web-enabled economic system in which anyone can buy almost anything, anywhere on the planet, at any time. It’s capitalism on steroids, fueled by consumers and investors freed from physical boundaries to seek out great deals around the world. In his recent book, Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life, Reich points out the benefits of the new system, such as more choices for consumers, cheaper products, more innovation and rapid stock market growth. But he also points out the downside. The average worker’s income is shrinking as he competes with cheap labor in other parts of the world, resulting in economic inequality and job instability. Environmental damage is increasing as a result of increased industry Mike Prokopeak Editorial Director mikep@TalentMgt.com December 2007 4 talent management magazine www.TalentMgt.com http://www.TalentMgt.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of TM - December 2007

Talent Management - December 2007 Editor's Letter Contents Letters to the Editor Human Performance Leading Edge Capabilities The Engaged Difference: What People Want Analytics in Talent Management: The Sports View The Use of Merchandise for Employee Recognition Taking Aim at Performance Appraisals Talent Management Drives Organizational Change Generational Diversity: Mastering the Boomer-X-Y Divide Dashboard: Security-Savvy Workforce: Designing a Security Awareness Program That Works Application: Hilton Hotels Corporation:Checking Out the Merits of Paperless Efficiency Insight: Unlimited Engagement: Innovative Corporate Communication at Deloitte & Touche USA Advertisers' Index Editorial Resources Foundations

TM - December 2007

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