Planning to measure a company's 'return on talent' is as important as measuring any return on investment. Olympus America recently completed a 26month corporate headquarters relocation from Melville, N.Y., to Center Valley in Eastern Pennsylvania, achieving a significant amount of change. We knew, however, that this was just the foundation for sustainable change, and that the more important work was ahead in aggressively investing in developing employees' workplace strengths, while also continuing to attract the best talent who would choose to build careers with us.

Financial services firms are failing to maximise their return on talent, according to new research by management consultancy Talent Max.

In the New Economy, where college graduates can expect four to five job offers and annual employee turnover is at a near-record 14 percent, an iron truth has emerged: You must keep your employees very, very happy. There is even a new management buzzword for it: 'ROT,' or 'return on talent.'