Director Dialogue: Board Oversight of Talent Strategy

In brief:  Talent strategy is an integral component of a company’s overall business strategy. It is no coincidence, therefore, that boards are expanding their oversight of management’s activities related to talent acquisition, development, retention, and employee engagement throughout the organization—reflecting the findings of NACD’s Blue Ribbon Commission Report on Talent Development: A Boardroom Imperative.

In 2015, NACD and Protiviti hosted a series of roundtables that brought together more than 65 directors of public and private companies to discuss challenges, opportunities and effective practices in board-level oversight of talent strategy. This Director Dialogue paper summarizes current boardroom approaches and directors’ lessons learned in three areas:

• Setting clear expectations with management about the board’s requirements for a human capital strategy.
• Using incentives to reinforce the focus of the CEO and senior executive team on talent development.
• Taking advantage of opportunities for directors to participate in talent-development efforts beyond the C-suite.

Most relevant audiences:   Board members of public, private, and nonprofit organizations, particularly those who sit on committees with responsibilities related to oversight of management development, talent, etc.