Urging companies to include talent in their corporate responsibility agendas might seem an unnecessary exercise. Few organisations need to be told that their key to success lies in the ability to recruit and retain skilled, experienced employees, and business leaders have long cited people as their "greatest asset".

However, the issue of talent is moving up the UK's national agenda, with senior government officials stressing the need to address talent, not only to safeguard the country's growth but also to ensure that a greater proportion of the population benefits from that growth. At a summit convened last year by Business in the Community (BITC), Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, urged the more than 100 business leaders present to rise to the "talent challenge".