The Truth about Talent: A guide to building a dynamic workforce, realizing potential and helping leaders succeed

Appendix A. Researching the Truth About Talent

We received 302 responses to our survey. Participants were mainly women, 57% compared with 43% men. They also reflected a Generation X bias, with 44% between 35 and 44 years old, 19% between 25 and 34 years old. Twenty-eight per cent were Boomers, 45–54 years old, another 6% were over 55. Only 2% were under 25 years.

The majority of our participants (80%) were employed full time with the remaining group self-employed, working flexibly or on a career break. Sixty-one per cent have been working for at least 15 years.

They are above averagely qualified, 41% are graduates, 46% Masters graduates and 5% PhD students. Unsurprisingly, this also played out in income terms; over 50% earned between £70 and 150k equivalent.

Participants were mainly based in the UK (68%) or the US (12%), however, the remainder reached across all the continents: Europe, South America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

Professionally, 51% are HR professionals with a further 21% operating in consulting. The majority work in the financial services sector, 43% and remainder are distributed across a range of technical/professional areas: sales, marketing, accountancy, advertizing and education. Interestingly, 5% were from not-for-profit organizations.

As a group our participants said their most important work drivers were to: 'Stave Off Boredom, Travel and Make New Friends'. They were also most attracted to employers who offer: 'Stimulating Work, Inspiring Line Managers and ...