(The Beacon Group - June 10th, 2008)

Earlier this year The Beacon Group, an HR advising firm, conducted a study on the state of Human Capital in Canada. We asked 4,070 Canadian executives about talent management in their companies.

The message was clear: Executives and managers across the nation sounded an important warning regarding the lack of strategic direction for Canadian companies. Some key points from the survey results...

-Where are we going? That's the resounding question confronting nearly three quarters of Canadian corporate leaders. Economic conditions and competitive pressures are posing strategic questions that leaders know their companies cannot answer.

-Canadian executives - 68% of them - overwhelmingly indicate that external market challenges are the biggest threats to their companies.

-More than half of Canadian corporate leaders point to retention and succession planning as the biggest blindspots in their corporate strategies.

-Human Resource departments in Canada admit they are still heavily focused on attracting and retaining talent through compensation - a strategy dismissed as out of step with younger Generation Y employees entering the workforce.


"Leaders are well aware of the problems facing their businesses today. They know about international competition. They see the effects of higher commodity prices. They know there is an ongoing war for talent," said President & C.E.O. of The Beacon Group, Doug Williamson.

"Yet, these same leaders have incredible difficulty in articulating the strategy their respective companies have chosen to deal with these challenges".

The Human Capital Leaders 2008 study pointed repeatedly to external challenges, such as competition, labour shortages and economic recession as the biggest concerns for Canadian companies.

"While external challenges are usually the most perceptible corporate issues, the disparity we saw between external and internal challenges this year is alarming," said Williamson.

"We also noticed executives pointed to external challenges within their control as bigger concerns than others such as government regulation and exchange rates," he added.

"Leaders are calling out for direction."

The survey also documented the top 3 most admired companies in Canada for Human Capital Development according to respondents. Research in Motion, WestJet and Canadian Tire topped the list for 2008, with scores that were head and shoulders above the competition.

Other Canadian companies that were cited for Human Capital excellence in the survey include: Apple Canada Inc., Bank of Montreal, BMW Canada Inc., Ceridian Canada Ltd., Ellis-Don Corporation, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Federal Express Canada Ltd., Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Great West Life Assurance Company, IKEA Canada Ltd., I Love Rewards Inc., Magna International Inc., Manulife Financial, McDonald's Restaurants of Canada Ltd., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Royal Bank of Canada, Scotiabank, TD Bank Financial Group, TELUS and Vancity.

See full survey results here.