Human capital takes a front seat

Human capital is becoming an increasingly important measure of business success. In the Sunday Times’ recent Best Companies to Work For competition, the share performance of the top 31 listed companies out performed all those in the FTSE 100 index.

Published: 25 Mar 2008

Human capital is becoming an increasingly important measure of business success. In the Sunday Times’ recent Best Companies to Work For competition, the share performance of the top 31 listed companies out performed all those in the FTSE 100 index.

The same is true in the US where the Watson Wyatt Human Capital Index surveyed the human capital performance of 750 US and European companies. Companies with a lower human capital performance averaged a return of 21% to shareholders, while those that who invested in their staff averaged a 64% total return.

Brett Walsh, lead consulting partner for human capital EMEA at Deloitte says he is not surprised at the correlation, but surprised by the lack of companies that realise it. Attracting, training and retaining good talent is essential, especially as the talent pool reduces for the future.

The problem is particularly acute in the Asia Pacific region where a growing region is coupled with a sparse talent pool. The importance of human capital in this environment is paramount, companies are realising that if they don’t make staff a key priority their ambitious growth plans will be hampered by not having the right people to manage it.

The US and Europe have a highly developed infrastructure to develop much needed talent in the travel industry, which Asia Pacific is lacking.

EyeforTravel is expanding its research in this area and we would welcome your input so please leave your comments on this story or contact tom@eyefortravel.com

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