Failure to Manage and Retain Key Employees Negatively Affecting Corporations' Bottom Line

ARLINGTON, Va., May 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Executive Board (CEB) (NYSE: EXBD), a leading research and advisory services company, today announced research that indicates companies' failure to manage and retain top talent is negatively affecting their balance sheets.  In fact, 25 percent of top employees plan to change jobs in the next 12 months alone. Based on CEB's more than 20 years research on cultivating successful leaders, the company has developed CLCPro™-High Potential, a customizable top-talent management system designed to enable companies to manage better their high-potential talent across the organization, limiting the financial impact associated with departures.

Cracking the Talent Retention Code

For organizations that haven't yet faced the intense time and financial pressure associated with retaining top talent, the cost of high-potential departures may be shocking.  For each high-potential employee that departs, an employer will lose as much as 3.5x that employee's total annual compensation.  Organizations that think they are immune may also be surprised to learn that more than half of employers surveyed acknowledged that their own organizations are ineffective at managing and retaining top talent.

Across geography, industry and economic cycle, high-potential employees can have a substantial impact on business results. However, 64 percent of high-potential employees say they are unhappy with their development activities. What's more, fewer than one-in-three organizations reported significant returns from investments made in their top employees.

Companies that deploy CLCPro-High Potential will receive real-time visibility into all aspects of their high-potential talent management programs, including a measurement of the effectiveness of their program for top employees.  Additionally, the solution can eliminate costs and complexity inherent in the management of an enterprise-wide talent management program.

Ciena, a leading optical networking company, is focused on tackling top-talent management. "Managing and developing key talent is a critical component of Ciena's succession and overall growth strategy," said Jim Caprara, vice president of Global HRD & Learning at Ciena.  "CLCPro-High Potential contributes to a comprehensive talent management solution that ensures our emerging talent is prepared and the pipeline is in place to fill mission-critical positions.  By investing in developing our bench strength we are able to foster a culture of innovation that is driving our industry and enabling our customers to take their business to the next level" 

Overcoming Success Obstacles

According to CEB's High Potential research recently featured in Harvard Business Review, manually intensive processes that lack an underlying best-practice framework, and "one-size-fits-all" approaches that don't allow organizations to engage high-potential employees differently than others, can significantly inhibit the success of any talent management program.  Breaking down these barriers can help companies retain and develop key employees.  This is especially important today given that less than 15 percent of business leaders' direct reports are ready for immediate transition into subsequent roles.

CLCPro-High Potential allows organizations to design and deploy rapidly a web-based program exclusively for high-potential employees that leverages a proven talent-management model and complements existing investments.  In addition, companies will be able to:

• configure the applications workflow to unique frameworks and timelines;
• analyze aggregate and detailed talent views;
• export reporting and performance-driven metrics; and
• reduce the administrative burden of manual spreadsheets and disjointed discussions.

"The right program management platform can accelerate the performance trajectory of top talent and generate the right types of workforce outcomes, while focusing budget dollars on the right people and the highest value development experiences," said Jean Martin, executive director of CEB's Corporate Leadership Council. "CLCPro-High Potential enables companies to establish consistent, proven criteria from Corporate Leadership Council's years of research for identifying high-potential employees and then gives them the tools to develop and retain them."

To learn more about CLCPro-High Potential or about how to manage critical talent in your organization, please visit www.clcpro-highpotential.com.

About the Corporate Executive Board Company

The Corporate Executive Board Company drives faster, more effective decision making among the world's leading executives and business professionals. As the premier, network-based knowledge resource, The Corporate Executive Board provides customers with the authoritative and timely guidance needed to excel in their roles, take decisive action and improve company performance. Powered by an executive network that spans over 50 countries and represents approximately 85% of the world's Fortune 500 companies, The Corporate Executive Board offers unique research insights along with an integrated suite of exclusive tools and resources that enable the world's most successful organizations to deliver superior business outcomes. For more information, visit www.exbd.com.

SOURCE Corporate Executive Board