Gartner CEO Talent Champions Methodology (2022)

Gartner uses trusted data to determine the Gartner CEO Talent Champions.

Gartner CEO Talent Champions are executives of organizations that have achieved and publicly demonstrated a commitment to talent outcomes. We identified CEO Talent Champions based on four quantitative assessments (referred to below as “filters”):
Financial performance

This filter identified companies that financially outperformed their peers over the past two years
Talent-related ESG measures

This filter identified companies that outperformed their peers over the past two years on trusted third-party talent-related Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) metrics
Employee voice

This filter identified companies that outperformed their peers on trusted third-party employee rating metrics
Public commitment to EVP preferences

This filter identified companies who match employee expectations regarding a humanized Employee Value Proposition (EVP) better than their peers

The Gartner CEO Talent Champions list and insights were announced in October at Gartner’s annual ReimagineHR Conference in Orlando, FL.

Eligible CEOs

All current CEOs of companies in the Russell 3000® U.S. Index as of January 1, 2020 with a minimum two-year tenure at their company are eligible for consideration as a Gartner CEO Talent Champion. We then use a series of sequential assessments to identify CEOs whose organizations have achieved exceptional talent outcomes. Identification of Gartner CEO Talent Champions is based entirely on the four assessments outlined on this page.  There is no cost to participate and current/past relationships with Gartner have no bearing on the assessments.

Financial Performance

We first identify all companies that financially outperformed their industry and market cap peers over the past two years, based on return on assets (ROA), earnings per share (EPS) and total shareholder return (TSR). All financial data is taken from each company's annual report, as compiled by a third party data provider. We drop all companies that report incomplete or missing financial data.

Talent-Related (ESG) Measures

We then identify all companies with a strong commitment to talent-specific ESG values, based on trusted third-party talent-related ESG metrics. These metrics capture how companies approach compensation and benefits, diversity and labor rights, training, safety and health, community development and philanthropy, and human rights. We compare companies’ ESG performance to their market cap peers.

Employee Voice

Next, we look at what employees think and say about their CEO and company using trusted third-party employee rating metrics. We identify companies that outperform their market cap peers in terms of their overall rating by employees, CEO approval rating and the likelihood of an employee recommending the organization to their friends. 

Public Commitment to EVP Preferences

We then assess whether a company has a humanized EVP by analyzing the company’s press releases and earning calls and comparing against market cap peers. We consider how committed a company is to key tenets of a humanized EVP, such as radical flexibility, shared purpose, deeper connections, personal growth and holistic well-being based on whether their public messaging matches what employees are looking for in a humanized EVP.

Final Selection

To identify our final list of Gartner CEO Talent Champions, we identify the top companies who outperformed their peers in each of our sequential assessments based on their cumulative performance across the final three assessment categories (talent-related ESG measures, employee voice and public commitment to EVP preferences). This final selection does not control for market cap size. The CEOs of these top-performing companies are included -- in no particular order -- on the list of Gartner CEO Talent Champions.