The Psychological Contract As Perceived by CEMS Alumni And Resulting Implications for Talent & Retention Management

As employment settings become increasingly unstable, there is a call for new career concepts, opposing the traditional one. This paper is reviewing old and new career concepts and introducing the psychological contract as the essence of talent and retention management. To determine what international management students expect of their employers, this research investigates talent and retention management processes across industries and occupations. Interviews with CEMS alumni identify several effective practices helping to attract, select, develop, and retain talent. The results suggest, that winning the war for talent is a combination of carefully selected HR practices, aligned with the company’s culture and values, linked to its business strategy and steady awareness of the importance of the psychological contract.