Winning the race for talent in emerging markets (attracting and retaining the best employees in developing economies)

Citation

Ready, D.A. (2009), "Winning the race for talent in emerging markets (attracting and retaining the best employees in developing economies)", Human Resource Management International Digest, Vol. 17 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/hrmid.2009.04417cad.007

Winning the race for talent in emerging markets (attracting and retaining the best employees in developing economies)

Article Type: Abstracts From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 17, Issue 3

Ready D.A., HillL. A., Conger J.A.Harvard Business Review (USA), November 2008, Vol. 86 No. 11, Start page: 62, No. of pages: 9

Purpose – Studies the growing problem facing companies and organizations in developing countries of attracting and retaining the most talented employees. Design/methodology/approach – The rapid growth of emerging markets, with compounded growth rates estimated to be as high as 40%, is causing problems associated with finding talent sufficient to meet the growing demand. Discusses the disappointing results obtained in developed countries when trying to export their existing talent strategies to countries that have different cultures. Reports the results of an eight-month research project that involved interviewing dozens of executives and collecting data from over 20 global companies in order to identify the factors that differentiate the successful from the less successful approaches in emerging markets. Findings – The results indicated that four factors are of particular importance (brand, opportunity, purpose, culture) but that they play out in ways that differ from their counterparts in developed countries. Describes a framework for attracting and retaining talent and suggests how the four factors isolated in the study might be successfully applied to finding and keeping employees in China, Brazil and other developing countries. Illustrates the points made in the article with particular reference to the talent market characteristics of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) countries and the talent compact at Standard Chartered Bank, China. Originality/value – Offers useful advice to companies facing the growing difficulties of recruiting and retaining employees in developing countries.ISSN: 0017-8012Reference: 38AA064

Keywords: Developing countries, Human resource management, Organizations, Recruitment, Retention, Skilled workers