What is Your External Talent Strategy?

I am currently doing research for a white paper and a webinar on harnessing the global talent pool to accelerate innovation, and I need your help to add to the case studies I’ve already gathered. Here is the premise:

As more industries become commoditized and innovation becomes more of a focus, organizations are being forced to move beyond a talent ownership mindset to a talent attraction and engagement mindset.

There are many reasons for this. In the United States this includes a growing percentage of researchers approaching retirement age and post 9/11 immigration policies that make it increasingly difficult for foreigners to come to this country to study and work. The intersection of an aging scientific workforce, tighter immigration policies, and a growing need for innovation to reinvigorate the economy is causing more organizations to make plans to engage talent outside their four walls. But this is not just an American problem…

Forward-thinking organizations are now seeking to harness the growing numbers of retired scientists, unemployed experts, and underemployed talent around the world to generate ideas, solve problems, and further the goals of the business.

This begs the question:

What is your organization’s external talent strategy?

Or, how does your organization plan to leverage the brains outside your four walls to achieve its goals?

Please leave a comment or contact me to share your story.

I’ll be sharing the results of my research and my thinking in a FREE webinar on December 13, 2011 and then later in a white paper in the new year.

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Braden Kelley is the author of Stoking Your Innovation Bonfire from John Wiley & Sons. Braden is also the editor of Innovation Excellence and founder of Business Strategy Innovation, a consultancy that helps companies connect with their customers and embed innovation across the organization.