How many times have you heard companies say "people are our best asset"?
In 1989, when Maynard Leigh first opened its doors for business with our pioneering approach to people development, "people are our most important asset" was a much less common utterance than it is today.
We have seen attitudes change radically during this time. Talent is a business differentiator and hiring, developing and retaining the best people is an acknowledged source of competitive advantage. But the recession is testing the resolve of even the most progressive employers. Talent management is at a crossroads.
The current economic climate threatens to undermine best practice in talent management as budgets come under scrutiny and attitudes are put to the test. Have organisations merely been following the herd, or do boards really commit to talent management as a business fundamental?
Armed with our 27 year track record and perspective of the market, we set out to talk to 20 of the UK's most admired companies to find out how their senior talent professionals are coping with this unprecedented downturn.
