KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 4): Global executive talent search consulting firm BTI Consultants and workforce solutions provider Kelly Services Inc have launched an Asia-Pacific centre of excellence for talent management and leadership development.

In a statement yesterday, BTI said the initiative was part of its commitment to raise the bar on leadership development to accurately identify high potential leaders and develop resiliency processes for continuous enhanced productivity.

Towards this end, BTI said it is collaborating closely with The Forté Institute — a globally recognised communication intelligence solutions provider — to support the evolution of an individual, team or organisation by providing more collaborative, quality-focused recruiting processes that balances hiring quality with hiring efficiency thereby ensuring organisations make good hires every time.

BTI managing director Anthony Raja Devadoss said the costs of poor hiring practices were extremely high, no matter how big or small an organisation.

"As such, accuracy is critical when hiring especially in the current uncertain economic climate. This is where BTI Forté CEO Toolkit comes in," he said.

Devadoss said a wrong hire can cost an organisation hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars depending on the position and business segment.

He said that according to a study by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), recruiting the wrong person could cost up to five times the employee's annual salary.

"This does not include intangible costs like lower employee morale, customer dissatisfaction, lost customers, lost sales and the true loss of productivity," he explained.

Meanwhile, founder and chairman of The Forte Institute C.D. Morgan III said that the relationship with BTI and clients was of high importance.

"We are looking forward to supporting this initiative at the highest level.

"The Forté toolkit is supportive in obtaining exceptional and resilient interpersonal performance over the long term. Forte is not once then done! Rather it supports evolving organisational growth and effectiveness," he said.

He said the BTI Forté suite empowers organisations to recruit and retain the right talent, develop talent to improve their communication and managerial skills, improve individual and team performance, as well as minimise conflict and build resiliency.