As the talent wars raged in recent years, companies began to spend a lot more time managing their so-called human assets. Attracting and retaining the top talent in a market, they came to realize, is one of the best ways to forge a durable advantage over competitors. But even as businesses have showered attention and rewards on potential recruits and current employees, they’ve continued to ignore another key component of their human assets: their ex-employees. That’s a costly oversight.
A version of this article appeared in the June 2002 issue of Harvard Business Review.