In an increasingly knowledge-intensive and global economy, superior
management of human capital – the skills, talents, and knowledge of an
organization’s employees – is arguably the only sustainable source of
competitive advantage for an organization. Yet many firms remain
surprisingly unsophisticated in managing their human capital, placing their
success, if not their survival, at risk.
Why this lack of sophistication? The reasons are many. They include the
dearth of analytic capability within most HR departments, as well as
external accounting and reporting requirements that continue to foster
“industrial era” mindsets and human capital investment behavior. The
problems that result can range from difficulty in retaining key employees
to missed opportunities for growing market share and revenue.
Although there is no silver bullet for correcting this situation, there is an
important and typically overlooked solution: the development of better
systems for m