INTERNATIONAL: Coca-Cola company wallet no longer guarantees talent
15 June 2012
Coca-Cola can no longer rely on outbidding competitors for the talent it needs in emerging markets because in many cases that talent no longer exists, according to the company's HR director for its Eurasia Africa group.
Fri, 15 Jun 2012
Coca-Cola can no longer rely on outbidding competitors for the talent it needs in emerging markets because in many cases that talent no longer exists, according to the company's HR director for its Eurasia Africa group.
Speaking at the Economist Talent Management Summit - The Next Generation of Leaders, Stevens J Sainte-Rose said that taking out the Coca-Cola wallet no longer worked as it had in the past.While this approach could still work, Sainte-Rose said: “Now we take our wallet out and there is not a person to bid for.”
He described the challenge: “We have a surplus of people at the bottom of the pyramid and many of them don't have the required skills to go up the ladder.”
A long-term approach was needed said Sainte-Rose, one that both provided the right experiences for internal talent to progress and provided those not working directly for Coca-Cola with the right skills.
Sainte-Rose said that Coca-Cola was working with companies in local communities and with its partners, for example in Delhi, “to identify where people lacked some of the skills needed”. Some of these were in the area of manufacturing, said Sainte-Rose.
Coca-Cola can no longer rely on outbidding competitors for the talent it needs in emerging markets because in many cases that talent no longer exists, according to the company's HR director for its Eurasia Africa group.
Speaking at the Economist Talent Management Summit - The Next Generation of Leaders, Stevens J Sainte-Rose said that taking out the Coca-Cola wallet no longer worked as it had in the past.While this approach could still work, Sainte-Rose said: “Now we take our wallet out and there is not a person to bid for.”
He described the challenge: “We have a surplus of people at the bottom of the pyramid and many of them don't have the required skills to go up the ladder.”
A long-term approach was needed said Sainte-Rose, one that both provided the right experiences for internal talent to progress and provided those not working directly for Coca-Cola with the right skills.
Sainte-Rose said that Coca-Cola was working with companies in local communities and with its partners, for example in Delhi, “to identify where people lacked some of the skills needed”. Some of these were in the area of manufacturing, said Sainte-Rose.
