NetworkNews | Network of Executive Women - Tools and Tips for Retail and CPG Executives

In the face of a growing need for talent, an “astonishing number of companies” around the world are still struggling to fill key positions, according to a survey published last year in the Harvard Business Review.

While 97 percent of companies surveyed have talent processes in place “those practices may have fallen out of sync with the company needs to grow or expand into new markets,” HBR reports (“Make Your Company A Talent Factory,” June 2007).

One problem cited by the magazine--cost-cutting that is under-cutting the development of high-potential executives. Another issue: indifference by senior management. According to the survey quoted by HBR, more than half of specialists surveyed said they had trouble keeping top leaders focused on talent issues.

A company that is getting it right is Procter & Gamble, which has emerged as one of the nation’s top talent factories, the authors say. “P&G has tied its talent management processes to its strategy for growth, which means a focus on winning in the emerging markets of China, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Eastern Europe,” HBR reports. “The company is building what amount to a global talent supply-chain management process, coordinated worldwide but executed locally.” That means that while hiring and promotion remain the responsibility of local manager, “high-potential prospects and key stretch assignments are identified globally.”

Here are ten talent areas that companies that wish to compete need to focus on, adapted from the HBR article:

1. Skills. Do you know what your company needs to achieve its growth objectives? What is your organization doing to improve its understanding and capabilities of these skills?

2. Assessment. Does your firm have a process for identifying, assessing and developing next generation leaders?

3. High-potential Leaders. Do you have special programs for high-potential leaders?

4. Speed and Agility. Are you able to move the right people to the right jobs within your organization quickly?

5. Pipeline. Do you have a sufficient -- and sufficiently diverse -- pipeline of talent willing and able to take on new assignments at key areas of your company?

6. Leadership. Do you have a sufficient and diverse talent pipeline for senior-level positions?

7. Career Development. Do you offer assignments and training designed to prepare executives for future leadership roles in your company?

8. Commitment. Does your company‘s top leadership expressly support talent development in deeds and words?

9. You. Are you playing an active role in the talent development process key to your organization’s future?

10. Accountability. Does your company hold managers accountable for talent development?

For more information on this survey visit the Harvard Business Review online at hbr.org.