By Robert Bell, Executive Director, Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI)

"The global war for talent” is how, in 1997, McKinsey & Company described the emerging competition among companies for a resource vital to their success—but one that always seems in short supply. The consulting company predicted that the ability to identify, recruit and retain the best and brightest would become a major competitive advantage in a global economy.

Events have proved McKinsey correct beyond the company’s wildest dreams. The most obvious example is the new class of companies—from Netflix and FaceBook to Google—whose major asset is talent. Those companies are relevant to the satellite business because some have announced blue-sky satellite projects as well as because they form part of the competition for talent faced by the satellite industry. 

In March of this year, the Society of Satellite Professionals International published the first multinational, multi-company study of talent in the satellite business. Are We Winning the War for Talent? asked how well the experienced incumbents of our industry are stepping up to the challenge laid down by McKinsey, and started a dialogue about collective actions to improve performance.

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