Publications

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November 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Dilyana Karadzhova

a-connect was started in 2002 by three former McKinsey partners who wanted to develop an alternative business model consulting firm, which they have positioned as a high-end staffing company. The company has been very successful, growing to revenues of CHF 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Initial Public Offering; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Consulting Industry

09 Aug 2021
Research & Ideas

OneTen: Creating a New Pathway for Black Talent

different people would tackle a job. Hiring managers would also benefit from thinking afresh in each case about which skills the job truly requires. Breaking down barriers to build talent All companies,... View Details

Keywords: by Rawi E. Abdelal, Katherine Connolly Baden, and Boris Groysberg

29 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Beyond Goals: David Beckham's Playbook for Mobilizing Star Talent

powerful.” Some questions to ask when working with star talent The case raises key questions for businesses in sports, entertainment, and media that also apply to many companies that work with highly visible individuals: How do you View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

February 2020
Case

Leading Change in Talent at L'Oréal

By: Lakshmi Ramarajan, Vincent Dessain and Emer Moloney

Jean-Claude Le Grand just stepped into a new role as Executive Vice-President for Human Resources at the global cosmetics company, L’Oréal. He is now responsible for the hiring, development, promotion, and retention of 83,000 employees worldwide. The highly successful... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Business Headquarters; Business Divisions; Business Organization; Change; Change Management; Transformation; Competency and Skills; Experience and Expertise; Talent and Talent Management; Demographics; Diversity; Gender; Nationality; Multinational Firms and Management; Human Resources; Employees; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Management; Jobs and Positions; Employment; Human Capital; Leadership; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Management Practices and Processes; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Product Marketing; Organizations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Personal Development and Career; Planning; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Networks; Social Psychology; Attitudes; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks; Business Strategy; Advertising Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; France; Paris

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Akamai Technologies: Expanding the Talent Pipeline

By: Christopher Stanton, Lynda M. Applegate, Allison Ciechanover, Emily Grandjean and Sophie Beck

In 2022, senior executives of Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies met to consider whether and how to scale a successful technical training program. The program, Akamai Technical Academy (ATA), was launched in 2016 to address a key challenge at Akamai and in the... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Diversity; Talent and Talent Management; Technology Industry; United States; Boston

July–September 2014
Article

Investing in Superstars: Lessons from the World of Football [¿Cómo Invertir en Superestrellas? Lecciones del Mundo del Fútbol]

By: Anita Elberse

Markets for soccer players are winner-take-all markets in which a select few top players earn extremely high rewards. The search for effective talent strategies in these conditions has led clubs to pursue a superstar-acquisition model, a talent-development model, or a... View Details

Keywords: Sports Management; Talent Management; Talent and Talent Management; Sports; Sports Industry; Europe; Latin America

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Supplement

GE's Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

CEO Jeff Immelt, ex-CEO Jack Welch, and HR Chief Bill Conaty discuss how GE has made talent development a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Immelt describes GE's deeply embedded philosophy around its people and how it has allowed the company to add value... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources; Business or Company Management; Performance Capacity; Performance Effectiveness; Competitive Advantage; System; Value

August 31, 2017
Article

CEOs Should Get Personally Involved in Talent Development

By: Frank V. Cespedes, Jay Galeota and Michael Wong

Estimates indicate that, globally, human capital has a value about 2.3 times that of physical capital. This difference is likely to widen in increasingly service-driven economies. Yet, most companies maintain their equipment better than their people. The issue is not... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Employees; Training

13 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

Breaking Through the Self-Doubt That Keeps Talented Women from Leading

There it is, gleaming at the top of your LinkedIn feed: your dream job, a high-level, well-paying position in your field. Are you qualified enough? Should you apply? New research shows that women might be less likely to take that chance than men. View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

January 2022 (Revised October 2023)
Case

OneTen: One Million Careers for Black Talent (A)

By: Boris Groysberg, V. Kasturi Rangan, Annelena Lobb and Kerry Herman

The OneTen case study examines the nonprofit organization’s origin story. Its founding team includes a roster of corporate superstars—Ken Chenault (former CEO of American Express), Ken Frazier (former CEO of Merck), Charles Phillips (chair of Infor), Ginni Rometty... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Demographics; Ethics; Organizations; Social Enterprise; Society; Business or Company Management; Nonprofit Organizations

24 May 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows

Keywords: by John Horton, William R. Kerr, and Christopher Stanton

04 May 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Reversing Brain Drain: Moving Talent to Middle America

2023
Working Paper

Polarizing Corporations: Does Talent Flow to "Good" Firms?

By: Emanuele Colonnelli, Tim McQuade, Gabriel Ramos, Thomas Rauter and Olivia Xiong

We conduct a field experiment in partnership with the largest job platform in Brazil to study how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices of firms affect talent allocation. We find both an average job-seeker’s preference for ESG and a large degree of... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Job Search; Talent and Talent Management; Wages; Attitudes

March 2025
Article

Global Talent and Economic Success

By: William R. Kerr

Access to top performers sets an upper bound on a country’s aspirations. View Details

Keywords: Immigration; Talent and Talent Management

September 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Zurich Insurance: Fostering People Management Practices

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on manager development, diversity and inclusion, job model and data analytics, recruitment, and talent pipeline. The case provides background for the company, as... View Details

Keywords: Managing Change; Organizational Behavior; Diversity Management; Organizational Architecture; Recruiting; Succession Planning; Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Human Capital; Human Resources; Insurance; Leadership; Diversity; Organizational Structure; Recruitment; Management Succession; Insurance Industry

24 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Part-Time Employees Want More Hours. Can Companies Tap This ‘Hidden’ Talent Pool?

many such workers are caregivers, excluded from full-time jobs because short-sighted employers don’t offer them the flexibility they need. Filtered out by hiring algorithms due to employment gaps or other hiring “red flags,” these willing workers could offer one... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

2015
Chapter

Leave No Slice of Genius Behind: Selecting and Developing Tomorrow's Leaders of Innovation

By: Linda A. Hill

More than ever, leaders of nearly every kind of organization view their human resources teams as essential to institutional well-being and long-term growth and sustainability. That's the central and animating theme of "The Rise of HR: Wisdom from 73 Thought Leaders," a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Talent Management; Talent Development And Retention; Innovation Leadership; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Leadership; Leadership Development

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2017
Working Paper

Digital Labor Markets and Global Talent Flows

By: John Horton, William R. Kerr and Christopher Stanton

Digital labor markets are rapidly expanding and connecting companies and contractors on a global basis. We review the environment in which these markets take root, the micro- and macro-level studies of their operations, their ongoing evolution and recent trends, and... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Talent and Talent Management; Labor