talent

1. A natural ability to excel at a duty or action.

2. A group of people, such as employees, who have a particular aptitude for certain tasks. For example, producers of a movie might recruit local talent, actors and actresses who live nearby, to stand in as extras in a film.

What's Google worth without its super-geeks? Goldman Sachs without its number crunchers (and their golden Rolodexes)? The local bar without old Jim manning the tap? Not much, which is why attracting and retaining talent is critical to so many businesses. For starters, that means crafting the right benefits package. Starbucks sets a fairly high standard: Health benefits are available to any Starbucks employee who works at least 20 hours a week and has been with the company for more than 90 days.

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