STRATEGIC EMPLOYEE RESOURCING & TALENT MANAGEMENT (BLOG - 7)

 

Figure 1: STRATEGIC EMPLOYEE RESOURCING & TALENT MANAGEMENT 

What is Talent Management and Why is It Important?

You might have heard of the term talent management and possibly wondered if it is just another word for human resource management. Ultimately, talent management consultants exist so that organizations can more effectively address their goals and business needs in order to improve business performance in the long run.

 

Introduction to Talent Management

You might have heard of the term talent management and possibly wondered if it is just another word for human resource management. Some view ‘talent’ as employees who are top performers or those with high potential, while others view talent as everyone in an organisation.  The CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, UK) goes on to define ‘talent management’ as, 

“…Systematic attraction, identification, development, engagement, retention and deployment of those individuals who are of particular value to an organisation, either in view of their ‘high potential’ for the future or because they are fulfilling business/operation-critical roles.” 

Human resource management would ideally include talent management, however, some organizations have human resource departments, which are highly transactional, instead of also being strategic and transformational. 

‍This means that organisations might be meeting immediate needs, however, are not allocating time to strategically predicting what their people needs will be in the future. 

‍Ultimately, talent management consultants exist so that organisations can more effectively address their goals and business needs in order to improve business performance in the long run. A talent management plan will enable your business strategy through your people. 

 

Some Of The Top Reasons To Invest In Talent Management

Now that we have set a definition of what talent management is, below are some of the top reasons why talent management is important and why your organisation needs to invest in it.

Employee motivation: create more reasons for employees to be attracted to the organisation, such as a higher purpose or meaning for employees. 91% of employees surveyed by Chandler and Macleod said that they wanted more than just money to feel engaged and motivated.

Attract top talent: Recruit the most talented and skilled employees available. When you have strategic talent management, you are able to create an employer brand, which organically attracts your ideal talent, and in turn, contributes to higher levels of business performance and results.

Continuous coverage of critical roles: an organisation will be prepared for gaps in critical skills and have a plan to address the critical roles and highly specialized roles in the workforce. This means that an organisation will have a continuous flow of employees to fill critical roles, which ensures operations run smoothly and your clients and stakeholders are satisfied. It also means that other employees are not left with extra workloads, which could eventually lead to burnout.

Increase employee performance: It is easier to identify ‘good fit’ employees, rather than making decisions in recruitment which do not work towards the ideal organizational strategy.  This can lead to less performance management issues and grievances. It will also ensure that the top talent within the organisation stays longer.

Engaged employees: an organisation can make systematic and consistent decisions about the development of staff, ensuring that the people you require it have the skills and development necessary and saving money on unnecessary development. Additionally, when there is a fair process for development, employees feel more engaged and this again increases retention rates and also ensures that the organisation can meet its operational requirements.

Retain top talent: well-structured onboarding practices create 69% higher levels of retention. This means that an organisation saves on recruitment and performance management costs in the long run.

Improve business performance: when employees are engaged, skilled and motivated, they will work towards your business goals, which in turn increases client satisfaction and business performance.

Higher client satisfaction: a systematic approach to talent management means that there is organizational wide integration and a consistent approach to management. This, in turn, translates to general communication and dissolving of silos within the business. When systems are more integrated, client satisfaction rates are usually higher, since they are dealing with fewer people and their needs are met faster.

 

“Successful organizations like Apple and Google, renowned for a strong company culture and ideology, attract a workforce that doesn’t just work for a paycheque. Employees share the same beliefs and motivations and therefore invest more of themselves in achieving great results and contributing to the overall business success”. 

- Talent Management: The next wave, Chandler and Macleod. 

 

‍Talent Management Model

Talent management can include; talent acquisition (and recruitment), learning and development, organizational values and vision, performance management, career pathways and succession planning. While there are many talent management models, the elements of talent management can generally be categorised into five areas; planning, attracting, developing, retaining and transitioning. 

Figure 2: Talent Management Model

 

Planning

The planning stage of talent management is comprised of 3 key areas.

·         Understanding the organisational/business strategy

·         Evaluation and measurement/analytics

·         Developing a Workforce Plan

‍With any talent management approach, it is critical to be aligned with the broader organizational strategy. The environment surrounding the organisation is also taken into account when assessing the organizational strategy. 

 

Prior to developing the workforce plan, an evaluation of previous initiatives, an assessment of the workforce profile and talent performance and the behaviours to date, are carried out. 

A workforce plan is then developed based on the current workforce situation and the future desired state. The workforce plan ensures that the right people, at the right time and with the right skills are employed and working towards the strategy. 

In other words, the workforce plan translates business strategy into organizational talent needs. Some of the areas, which are assessed in order to develop a workforce plan include:

Figure 3: Developing a Workforce Plan for Talent Management

 

The planning stage addresses needs across the organisation and is proactive, rather than reactive to ad hoc needs or the needs of only a few leaders or teams and divisions. The plan enables the organisation to become more integrated, rather than work in silos and to best use the resources available to it, including its employees.

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Once the initial assessment or analysis is carried out, then; the talent required is identified, the timeline in which the organisation requires the talent and in what capacity (permanent, contractor, casual and so on).  

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This is where forecasting talent needs for the future commence.  

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At this point, an assessment can be carried out if the talent is recruited externally for future needs, or developed from within, and whether or not there is enough talent internally and with the right skills to step into future or higher-level roles.  

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Developing a workforce plan is a continuous process, once the initial plan has been developed it is revisited when there are major changes affecting the organisation. Below is a sample of a portion of your workforce plan; identifying the roles required currently and in the future. 

Figure 4: Current and Future Roles- Workforce Plan

 

Having a workforce plan means that an organisation can be prepared for changes within the organisation and that it is well prepared and resourced.

For example, if an organisation has several highly specialised roles, which are difficult to recruit for, a workforce plan will document the need for the organisation to develop talent internally for such roles (once the current talent leaves the role). 

 

‍Without a workforce plan, critical and highly specialised roles may go unnoticed and therefore unfilled for 6 months or longer, thus affecting business performance.  (Momtazian, 2023)

 

Conclusion

Talent management has been described as a multi-faceted strategic concept championed by HR practitioners. It is a source of competitive advantage and an integrated set of enterprise-wide,  technology  enabled,  evidence-based  HRM  policies  and  practices.  The  benefits  of  an

effectively implemented talent management strategy include improved employee recruitment and retention rates and enhanced employee engagement. (Rinaldhy, 2023)

 

References

Lamture, U. (2023, 4 30). Top 10 Recruitment Strategies to Attract Talent in 2022. Retrieved from blog.darwinbox.com: https://blog.darwinbox.com/recruitment-strategies

Momtazian, M. (2023, 4 17). What is Talent Management and Why is It Important. Retrieved from expert360.com: https://expert360.com/articles/talent-management-important

Rinaldhy, M. A. (2023, 4 17). The Importance of Talent Management and the Challenges It Faces. Retrieved from www.researchgate.net: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/353109897_The_Importance_of_Talent_Management_and_the_Challenges_It_Faces