Talent management cannot be viewed as merely an HR process or company boards will not buy into it, says Cath Possamai, director of talent at Capita on the first day of the Recruiter Show in the Barbican Centre in London today.

Possamai, who was appointed in January, told delegates how she successfully managed to get the board at Capita to take its internal talent management more seriously.

Her approach involved:

• getting sponsorship from Capita's chief operating officer Dawn Marriott-Simms who agreed the firm needed a director of talent

• using data to take the ‘fluffy’ out of HR by showing attrition levels of senior hires and the resulting cost to the business

• being clear with the board about the scope of her role, that it only covers leadership and leadership development

• ensuring the talent management approach is as simple as possible and can be replicated anywhere

Possamai explained talent management must be something business can feel ownership of. "The fact I don't sit in HR has been critical,” she told the audience.

"The fact that everything I do has been very simple and puts ownership on the business to take it and run with it has also been very important to take that success and drive credibility."