Research by McKinsey and others reveals significant misgivings among CEOs and senior line executives about the effectiveness of talent management (TM) practices adopted since The War for Talent, 1997. In short, a gap is perceived between rhetoric and reality.

The Masterclass examined in depth typical problem areas such as not integrating TM sufficiently with business strategy, broader people management, nor with the employer brand and employee value proposition. Additional issues included talent retention, mapping talent resources - which affects effective deployment to roles - and evaluation of talent performance.

Foremost talent expert, Dr John Sullivan, provided a strategic framework for integrating and evaluating TM activities related to these issues. Prior to the Masterclass, the results of a joint survey by his firm and CRF contributed to a Research Briefing on what is happening in talent management. Executives in the UK, North America and Europe responded to critical talent questions, and cited specific practices that have made a measurable difference to what they do.