Most companies fail to make the most of the talent they have, according to a new report.

‘Creating the Talent-Driven Business’, published by independent report provider Business Intelligence in association with the Corporate Research Forum and Taleo, reveals that most companies lack a clear view of the kinds of talent that matters most to their organisations and fail to forecast the talent they need to succeed in the future.

 Among the findings are:

•  60% of companies do not have a talent strategy, although a similar number believe that talent is critical to business success
  
  
• Only a handful of companies have a joined-up approach to managing the talent management life cycle from recruitment to development and performance management
  
  
• Linking talent goals to business objectives is rated the number one challenge by 78%.
   

David Harvey, principal author of the report, says: “The report confirms that talent management is as crucial to business success in tough as well as good times. But companies need to be far more rigorous about assessing where talent can make the biggest impact.

“It’s not just next-generation leaders that contribute to outstanding performance but individuals in other key positions in the organisation. Finding and nurturing these people is what talent management is all about.”