Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/136276
Thought Leaders Many CEOs plunge forward with a new strategic direction, blissfully unaware of their companies' skill sets and gaps. The reason is they have virtually no idea about these skills or gaps. management, but take a more traditional perspective that this of finding, motivating, and retaining capable workers as they is a cost to be minimised," says Steve Foster, manager, business were a decade ago," concluded the study authors, noting that 59 consultancy, at HR services provider NorthgateArinso. per cent of senior managers routinely fail to spend enough highquality time on talent management. If companies change their focus and see people in terms of the talent they bring to particular projects, while providing necessary Not much has changed in the interim. Many CEOs plunge forward training and education to fill in their perceived skill gaps, Foster with a new strategic direction, blissfully unaware of their says human capital can "be a source of competitive capital." companies' skill sets and gaps. The reason is they have virtually no idea about these skills or gaps. People may be their most Unfortunately, "Many companies merely pay lip service to this," important asset, but they have the wrong people to execute the he notes. "Despite the platitudes that people are their `most new direction. important asset,' they really do not mean it." Spink blames this disconnect on both executive leaders/board Aligning Human and Financial Capital directors and HR heads. "If the HR director is not a board Five years ago, a study by Accenture reached the same conclusion. member, strategies are doomed to failure," she asserts. "You can't "Companies like to promote the idea that employees are the pursue a strategy without having, attracting and retaining the biggest source of competitive advantage, yet the astonishing right resources, in this case people. If the HR director isn't there reality is that most of them are as unprepared for the challenge at the board saying we don't have the people to pull this off, or SPRING 2013 | www.hroglobal.com [19]