Winning in the marketplace does not occur by price alone. Nor does it happen only through innovation or marketing. All these business factors contribute to success. But they cannot happen unless you have engaged people.

Reducing costs, increasing margin, innovating design, streamlining production, and brilliant marketing are all driven by talent. BusinessWeek’s Is Optimism a Competitive Advantage article points out how Best Buy and other companies have focused on engagement as a differentiating business driver in a tough economy. They report:

2% increase in employee engagement at one of its electronics stores corresponds, on average, to a $100,000 annual rise in sales at that location.

With so much evidence that engagement and productivity are linked to business performance, consider how Alignment Drives Engagement and Productivity, the Definitions of Employee Engagement, and the need for Engaging Prime Talent.

Understand that unified talent management connects recruiting, performance management, development, and compensation and—for insights into how you can transform recruitment practices and reduce turnover with a unified view of your talent—read This is Not Your Father's HR.