Attracting talent to work for you – and keeping hold of the best staff for as long as you want them – is a business issue that keeps getting hotter. But one study suggests that heads of industry have been fiddling while Rome burns.

According to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit on behalf of DDI, a business leadership consultancy, the notion that talent management needs to top the board’s agenda is beginning to sink in. Two in 10 business leaders told the survey they frequently engage in talent management issues, yet only one in 10 review progress on talent management issues frequently with their boards.

Steve Newhall, managing director at DDI, says the talk about talent management began in earnest among CEO circles two years ago, but has yet to filter down throughout their organisations. Some 85% of respondents said talent management is as important or much more important than other business priorities, but only 3% believe that their organisations are doing an excellent job at it.

Newhall says the problem is twofold. Demographic pressures mean businesses face a dwindling labour supply as baby boomers retire and fewer people come onto the labour market. In the meantime, the scope for expansion into emerging markets is seemingly limitless.

So where are the shortfalls? In the UK, skill shortages in sectors such as engineering have been well documented, but other market sectors have their pain points. Duncan Howarth, managing director of consultancy JLT Benefit Solutions, sees risk management shortages in financial services. In manufacturing, the ability to manage complex and often global supply chains is lacking. He believes the most worrying characteristic of the current skills drought, however, is the shortage of experienced managers. Findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Recruitment, Retention and Turnover survey for 2007 bear that out: the research found that 45% of organisations found managerial and professional roles difficult to fill and 25% struggled to fill senior management posts. It is a problem with longer term implications for succession, says Howarth. “Across the board, the demographics mean a lack of senior managers and therefore potential CEOs.”

The CIPD’s survey found that 84% of organisations struggle to recruit new people. Appointing people who don’t fully match the job criteria but who show the potential to grow into the role is the most frequent method of addressing this issue, but it can be problematic.

Jonathan Thomson, a coach, consultant and facilitator, often finds himself coaching individuals who have been recruited or promoted into a role, but their managers feel that their performance has not lived up to expectations. “It is not clear how far organisations have thought through their talent management programmes,” he says. “What they don’t always do effectively is put in structures and support for the people they promote, It’s unclear how an individual is supposed to go about acquiring the extra capabilities.”

So once you’ve got them, a clear programme for nurturing your talented staff is important.

Problems can arise where someone with technical or specialist skills is moved into a leadership role, especially as their business is becoming increasingly international and complex. Thomson recalls working with one individual who reported to two bosses – one in the UK and one in America – and in his own team one person reported to him from southeast Asia.

With all the talk about impending job losses and economic slowdown, CEOs might be tempted to think that a market correction will save them from addressing their talent shortfalls. That would be a mistake, says Newhall. “We haven’t seen people adjust their strategy because of the economic climate,” he says. “The goal is still to have the best people. They haven’t taken their foot off the pedal. Progressive organisations don’t worry about creating too much talent.”

Gordon Ramsay Holdings

GORDON RAMSAY’s restaurant business, Gordon Ramsay Holdings, has grown from 80 to 1,300 staff and now has 18 restaurants worldwide, including the recently launched Trianon in Paris, three pubs and consultancies in Dubai and Tokyo. Identifying talent in the restaurants and kitchens has been key to the company’s success.

Stuart Gillies, above, is head chef at Boxwood Café in Knightsbridge and has just opened Plane Food at Heathrow Terminal Five. The two men trained together, and Gillies worked at Ramsay’s first restaurant Aubergine in 1997 and subsequently at the Connaught.

Since 2003, Gillies, 41, has been a director-shareholder in the business as executive chef at the Boxwood Café at the Berkeley Hotel in Knightsbridge.

He places a high premium on developing and keeping staff and, since Boxwood opened, many of his original team have stayed with him. “We’re constantly pushing and moulding them so they can make the next step up. As they evolve and you see their strengths and weaknesses you can work on both.”

Gillies believes that the more younger chefs see the restaurants doing well, the more they are encouraged to develop their careers with the company. “They’re pushed and they see the level of potential ahead of them, so they stay.”

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